Steel (1979)

Mike Catton was once a world-renowned construction foreman (at least in the construction world), but an accident left him with a serious fear of heights. Unable to climb the big skyscrapers... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Carver

Writers:

Leigh Chapman, Peter S. Davis (story)

Stars:

Lee Majors, Jennifer O'Neill, Art Carney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Majors	...	Mike Catton
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Cass Cassidy
Art Carney	...	Pignose Moran
Harris Yulin	...	Eddie Cassidy
George Kennedy	...	Big Lew Cassidy
Redmond Gleeson	...	Harry
Terry Kiser	...	Valentino
Richard Lynch	...	Dancer
Ben Marley	...	The Kid
Roger E. Mosley	...	Lionel
Albert Salmi	...	Tank
Robert Tessier	...	Cherokee
Hunter von Leer	...	Surfer
R.G. Armstrong	...	Kellin
Joe De Nicola	...	Tom

Storyline

Mike Catton was once a world-renowned construction foreman (at least in the construction world), but an accident left him with a serious fear of heights. Unable to climb the big skyscrapers while under construction, he retired and became a truck driver. But when an old friend needs him to help put up a building, and when the old friend gets harassed and threatened by an Evil Corporate Type, he comes out of retirement and assembles the creme de la creme of the construction world. Together, they race against time to finish the building while the Evil Corporate Type tries to stop them.

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Plot Keywords:

construction | building | race against time | truck driver | truck | 

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Taglines:

The Magnificent Eight. A Rare Breed Of Men "Hanging Iron" 40 Floors High In A Race Against Time, Corruption And Themselves!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 1979 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Look Down and Die

Filming Locations:

Interstate 75 Kentucky river overpass, Clay's Ferry, Kentucky, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fawcett-Majors Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A wooden mock-up set was constructed on the roof of the nearby Patterson Office Tower on the University of Kentucky campus. Most of the top floor scenes were filmed there, as to not interfere with the actual construction in progress at Kincaid Towers (the stand-in for Hayes Plaza Tower depicted in the film).

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Quotes

Mike Catton: Isn't there a law against these guys all being in the same state?

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Connections

Referenced in In Praise of Action (2018)

User Reviews

Steel Buildings and Steel Guys...

During construction of the Kincaid Tower in Lexington, Kentucky, a producer decided to make a movie about it. In the film, they are rushing to complete the building on schedule, they need to put up the top 9 stories in 3 weeks. This calls for some super construction workers-- the "only guy" for this job is a former construction whiz, now the truck-driving, womanizing Mike Catton (Lee Majors). He has to assemble his whole gang of super builders. The "Demolition Man" owes him a favor. Then there's "Dancer" for the last round-up, and others. Albert Salmi as "Tank" is the best of the lot, giving a stand-out performance; when we first see him, Albert is using his electromagnet crane to lift a metallic outhouse 60 feet in the air-- with someone in it! (The person inside the sky-high outhouse cusses a blue streak and throws newspapers at Albert.) There are countless innuendoes, comparing erecting Steel buildings to guys' other functions. In a scene in a bar, Lee Majors confesses to Art Carney that he "froze" on top of a building. Art Carney gives him the manly, double-meaning advice: "This building will give a you chance to 'get it up' again." Then, the Dream Team arrives at the construction site. This is the team they'll be talking about forever! Later, while socializing, Lee Majors says: "I get restless, maybe, just not used to all that sitting around." Jennifer O'Neill says: "You just tell me when you start 'stiffening' up... and I'll give you a massage." Still later, when they are discussing his fear problem, Jennifer asks him: "Why does yours have to be bigger than everyone else's?" As for Albert Salmi, he uses his big crane to drop a huge steel beam on (bad guy) R.G. Armstrong's car-- what a zany! (in real life, Albert Salmi and R.G. Armstrong had been friends for decades, back to when they starred together in the Broadway show "End As a Man" in 1954. R.G. even attended Albert's first wedding. This movie was like a reunion for them.)

Will the Dream Team get the building finished before the deadline? Will Lee Majors overcome his construction erecting dysfunction? Watch the movie and find out.