A pyromaniac, ex-employee of a city oil refinery creates an explosion at the facility which starts a chain-reaction of fires that engulf the entire city.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
| Barry Newman | ... |
Dr. Frank Whitman
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| Susan Clark | ... |
Diana Brockhurst-Lautrec
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| Shelley Winters | ... |
Nurse Andrea Harper
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| Leslie Nielsen | ... |
Mayor William Dudley
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| James Franciscus | ... |
Jimbo
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| Ava Gardner | ... |
Maggie Grayson
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| Henry Fonda | ... |
Fire Chief Risley
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Jonathan Welsh | ... |
Herman Stover
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| Hilary Farr | ... |
Mrs. Adams
(as Hilary Labow)
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| Richard Donat | ... |
Captain Harrison Risley
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Mavor Moore | ... |
John O'Brien
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| Donald Pilon | ... |
Dr. Matwick
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Terry Haig | ... |
Terry James
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| Cec Linder | ... |
Councilman Paley
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Ken James | ... |
Andrew
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| Jefferson Mappin | ... |
Beezer
(as Jeff Mappin)
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Earl Pennington | ... |
Mr. Clark
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| Sonny Forbes | ... |
Tom
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Bronwen Mantel | ... |
Sarah Watts
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Janice Chaikelson | ... |
Debbie Watts
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Steven Chaikelson | ... |
Gerald Watts
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Murray Cruchley | ... |
Tony Miller
(as Lee Murray)
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Jérôme Tiberghien | ... |
Fireman Waller
(as Jerome Tiberghien)
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| Mel Ryane | ... |
Nurse Florence Stoddard
(as Melody Ryane)
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| Anthony Sherwood | ... |
Sam
(as Tony Sherwood)
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John Friesen | ... |
Albert
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Nancy Beatty | ... |
Mary Stover
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Doug Smith | ... |
Attendant Franks
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Maria De Aragon | ... |
Nurse (uncredited)
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Emil Glassbourg | ... |
Doctor (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Alvin Rakoff | ||
Written by
| Jack Hill | ... | (written by) & |
| David P. Lewis | ... | (written by) and |
| Céline La Frenière | ... | (written by) (as Celine La Freniere) |
Produced by
| Harold Greenberg | ... | executive producer |
| Sandy Howard | ... | executive producer |
| Claude Héroux | ... | producer (as Claude Heroux) |
| Howard Lipson | ... | associate producer |
| Larry Nesis | ... | associate producer |
Music by
| Matthew McCauley | ||
| William McCauley | ||
Cinematography by
| René Verzier | ||
Editing by
| Jacques Clairoux | ||
| Jean-Pol Passet | ||
Editorial Department
| Jim Doyle | ... | assistant editor |
Casting By
| Ann Bell | ... | (as Ann Hunter Bell) |
| Ingrid Fischer | ||
| Karen Hazzard | ||
| Victoria Mitchell | ||
| Anna St. Johns | ||
Production Design by
| William McCrow | ||
Art Direction by
| Claude Marchand | ||
Set Decoration by
| Csaba András Kertész | ... | (as Csaba Kertész) |
Costume Design by
| Yvon Duhaime | ||
Makeup Department
| John Alese | ... | special makeup |
| Jocelyne Bellemare | ... | assistant makeup artist |
| Thomas Booth | ... | assistant hair stylist |
| Pierre David | ... | hair stylist |
| Michèle Dion | ... | makeup artist |
| Stephan Dupuis | ... | assistant makeup artist |
| Chantal Ethier | ... | assistant makeup artist |
Production Management
| Roger Héroux | ... | production manager |
| Lyse Lafontaine | ... | unit manager |
| Kate Morris | ... | production manager: Los Angeles |
| Danny Rossner | ... | assistant unit manager |
| John Shirley | ... | post-production supervisor |
| L. Claude Teweles | ... | production executive |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Charles Braive | ... | first assistant director |
| Lamar Card | ... | second unit director |
| Pedro Gandol | ... | third assistant director |
| Daniel Hausmann | ... | second assistant director |
Art Department
| Jean Bourret | ... | props |
| Jacques Chamberland | ... | property master |
| Myles Clarke | ... | assistant set decorator |
| Pierre Fournier | ... | assistant set props |
| Jef Melamed | ... | assistant production designer |
| Roméo Turcotte | ... | construction manager |
Sound Department
| David Appleby | ... | sound recording mixer (as Dave Appleby) |
| Martin Ashbee | ... | dialogue editor |
| Dennis Drummond | ... | sound effects editor |
| Robert Grieve | ... | sound effects editor |
| Wayne Griffin | ... | dialogue editor |
| Austin Grimaldi | ... | sound recording mixer |
| Joe Grimaldi | ... | sound recording mixer |
| Kenneth Heeley-Ray | ... | sound designer |
| Thierry Hoffmann | ... | boom operator (as Thierry Hoffman) |
| Patrick Rousseau | ... | sound mixer |
| Andy Malcolm | ... | foley artist (uncredited) |
| Don White | ... | foley recording mixer (uncredited) |
Special Effects by
| Thomas L. Fisher | ... | special effects assistant |
| Carol Lynn | ... | special effects |
| Frank Varbel | ... | special effects assistant |
| Cliff Wenger Jr. | ... | special effects assistant |
| Cliff Wenger | ... | special effects (as Cliff Wenger Sr.) |
Visual Effects by
| William Cruse | ... | visual effects |
| James A. Mendrala | ... | television photographic effects supervisor: Sonex International Corp. |
| Cliff Culley | ... | matte artist (uncredited) |
Stunts
| Matt Birman | ... | stunt performer |
| Grant Page | ... | stunt coordinator |
| Jérôme Tiberghien | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
| John Berrie | ... | gaffer |
| Michel Paul Bélisle | ... | best boy gaffer |
| Jean Courteau | ... | electrician |
| John Daoust | ... | dolly grip |
| Marc de Ernsted | ... | second grip |
| Attila Dory | ... | still photographer |
| Daniel Fournier | ... | camera operator: second unit |
| Jean-Jacques Gervais | ... | clapper loader (as J. Jacques Gervais) |
| Denis Gingras | ... | focus puller |
| Paul Gravel | ... | focus puller |
| Walter Klymkiw | ... | best boy gaffer |
| Georges Krawzykowsky | ... | focus puller |
| Frank Lenk | ... | camera operator: second unit |
| André Ouellette | ... | key grip |
| Yves Paquette | ... | generator operator |
| Gérald Proulx | ... | electrician |
| Bert Tougas | ... | focus puller |
| René Verzier | ... | camera operator |
Casting Department
| Hannele Halm | ... | casting assistant |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Jean-Marc Castilloux | ... | dresser |
| Mario Davignon | ... | assistant costume designer |
| Andrée Gaboury | ... | wardrober |
| Christiane Galop | ... | dresser |
| Lise Poirier | ... | dresser |
| Corinne Verzier | ... | dresser |
Script and Continuity Department
| Susanna David | ... | script supervisor |
Additional Crew
| Joy Berger | ... | unit publicist |
| Manon Bougie-Boyer | ... | production accountant |
| Monique Brasseur | ... | production secretary |
| Peter Cohen | ... | medical advisor (as Dr. Peter Cohen) |
| Quinn Donoghue | ... | unit publicist |
| Dona Friedberg | ... | video designer/coordinator |
| Harold Greenberg | ... | presenter |
| Sandy Howard | ... | presenter |
| Dave Novak | ... | unit publicist |
| Louise Vincent | ... | assistant production secretary |
| Laurie Wenger | ... | assistant accountant |
Production Companies
- Astral Bellevue Pathé
- Astral Films
- Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) (participation)
- Famous Players Film Corporation (participation)
Distributors
- AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (United States) (theatrical)
- Astral Films (1979) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Concorde Film (1979) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- Europa Film (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Film France Distribution (1979) (France) (theatrical)
- Fram Film (1979) (Norway) (theatrical)
- Rank Film Organization (1979) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Residenz Film (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
- Roadshow Films (1979) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Filmes Lusomundo (1980) (Portugal) (theatrical)
- Shochiku (1980) (Japan) (theatrical)
- Rank Video Library (1981) (United Kingdom) (VHS)
- CBS (1982) (United States) (tv)
- Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
- Charter Entertainment (1986) (United States) (VHS)
- The Video Collection (1986) (United Kingdom) (VHS)
- Embassy Home Entertainment (1988) (United States) (VHS)
- Nelson Entertainment (1988) (United States) (VHS)
- Odeon (1989) (Italy) (tv)
- New Line Home Video (1995) (United States) (VHS)
- X-Gabu Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
- Topanga Canyon Films (2018) (Spain)
- Scorpion Releasing (2016) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- Scorpion Releasing (2016) (United States) (DVD)
- Incendo Media (2020) (Canada) (video) (Amazon Prime)
- Alpha Video Distributors (United States) (DVD)
Special Effects
- Sonex International Corp. (television photographic effects supervised by)
Other Companies
- CTM-Channel 10, Montréal (thanks)
- Ciments Lafarge Ltée (Région du Québec) (thanks)
- Dominion Gallery, Montréal (thanks)
- Karen Hazzard Casting (casting)
- Liberty Furniture Industries Ltd., Montréal (thanks)
- Los Angeles Fire Department (thanks)
- Mobile Video Services, New York (thanks)
- Montreal East Fire Department (thanks)
- New York City Fire Department (thanks)
- Panavision (camera: Panaflex®)
- Panavision (lenses)
- Pathé Sound and Post Production Center (sound facilities)
- Rougier Inc., Place Bonaventure, Montréal (thanks)
- Shell Canada Ltd. (thanks)
- Town of Montreal East (thanks)
- Vermont Army National Guard (thanks)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
There are a million stories in every large city each and every day, the following some in this large city this morning. The mayor William Dudley and widowed philanthropist and socialite Diana Brockhurst-Lautrec are the guests of honor at the dedication for the city's new Brockhurst Hospital, named after Brockhurst-Lautrec's deceased first husband, the former governor. The Chief of Staff Dr. Frank Whitman, a ladies man and ex-lover of Brockhurst-Lautrec, may cause a ruckus at the ceremony if asked to speak as he would accuse the corrupt mayor of playing politics in the deficiencies of the facility. The married mayor and Brockhurst-Lautrec are also unaware that a scandal may soon brew in photographs having been taken by investigative reporter Terry James of them in a romantic embrace. Some children are experimenting with smoking, one for the very first time. Herman Stover, an employee at the Manson Refinery, built in the middle of the city under the Mayor's approval, has just been fired for refusing to accept a departmental transfer, with the promotion he was hoping for given to someone else. With her producer Jimbo making the ultimate decisions based partly on her situation, local news anchor Maggie Grayson, who self-medicates with alcohol to deal with her aging in a hypercritical media landscape, is covering the hospital dedication ceremony as well as a tragic residential building fire. As Fire Captain Harrison Risden's unit is dealing with the blaze, his father, Fire Chief Albert Risden, has to find backup due to the massive nature of the blaze. These and other stories converge when the actions of one of the aforementioned players leads to a massive explosion, with the city ostensibly on fire. While everybody deals with the increasingly growing fire which has the potential to engulf the city, the most crucial possible impending threat being everyone at the hospital being killed by an associated issue, the aforementioned stories have the potential to live or die with the fire. Written by Huggo |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | What Happened to Them Could Happen to You ... In Any City Anywhere! See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Additional Details
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Box Office
| Budget | $5,300,000 (estimated) |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | Shell Oil, which owned a $600-million refinery that the production wanted to use as a location, granted permission as a gesture of raising awareness about safety issues (the dangers of locating oil refineries near cities). See more » |
| Goofs | Although set in an unnamed American city (identifiable because of the appearance of USA flags in a few scenes), the television station setting for the movie has the call letters listed as CFTM-TV. In the United States, all television and radio station call letters begin with either the letter K (for states west of the Mississippi River), or the letter W (for states east of the Mississippi River). The letter C is used for all of Canada's provinces. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Edited from Bullitt (1968). See more » |
| Quotes |
[last lines]
Fire Chief Risley: All it takes is one man, could be anybody... your neighbor, my neighbor... one man to destroy a city. See more » |