The Towering Inferno (1974)

Directors:

John Guillermin
Irwin Allen

Writers:

Richard Martin Stern (novel)
Thomas N. Scortia (novel) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

One Tiny Spark Becomes A Night Of Blazing Suspense.

Plot:

At the opening party of a collosal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Plot Keywords:

Fire | Party | Trapped | Architect | Skyscraper

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan
Paul Newman	...	Doug Roberts
William Holden	...	Jim Duncan
Faye Dunaway	...	Susan
Fred Astaire	...	Harlee Claiborne
Susan Blakely	...	Patty Duncan Simmons
Richard Chamberlain	...	Roger Simmons
Jennifer Jones	...	Lisolette Muller
O.J. Simpson	...	Harry Jernigan
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Gary Parker
Robert Wagner	...	Dan Bigelow
Susan Flannery	...	Lorrie
Sheila Allen	...	Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton	...	Will Giddings (as Normann Burton)
Jack Collins	...	Mayor Robert Ramsay
Don Gordon	...	Fireman Kappy
Felton Perry	...	Fireman Scott
Gregory Sierra	...	Carlos
Ernie F. Orsatti	...	Fireman Mark Powers (as Ernie Orsatti)
Dabney Coleman	...	Deputy Chief #1
Elizabeth Rogers	...	Lady in Buoy
Ann Leicester	...	Guest
Norman Grabowski	...	Chief Petty Officer Flaker
Ross Elliott	...	Deputy Chief #2
Olan Soule	...	Johnson (as Olan Soulé)
Carlena Gower	...	Angela Allbright
Mike Lookinland	...	Phillip Allbright
Carol McEvoy	...	Mrs. Allbright
Scott Newman	...	Young Fireman
Paul Comi	...	Fireman Tim
George Wallace	...	Chief Officer
Patrick Culliton	...	Technician
William Bassett	...	Leasing Agent (as William H. Bassett)
John Crawford	...	Callahan
Erik L. Nelson	...	Wes (as Erik Nelson)
Art Balinger	...	Announcer
Norman Hicks	...	Pilot (as LCDR. Norman Hicks)
Thomas Karnahan	...	Co-Pilot (as LTJG. Thomas Karnahan)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Johnson	...	Fire Victim in Elevator (uncredited)
Maureen McGovern	...	Herself - Singer at Party (uncredited)
John Moio	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
Hank Robinson	...	Dinner Guest (uncredited)
William Traylor	...	Security Guard in Control Room (uncredited)

Directed by
John Guillermin
Irwin Allen		(action sequences)

Writing credits
Richard Martin Stern		(novel "The Tower")
Thomas N. Scortia		(novel "The Glass Inferno") and
Frank M. Robinson		(novel "The Glass Inferno")
Stirling Silliphant		(screenplay)

Produced by
Irwin Allen	....	producer
Sidney Marshall	....	associate producer

Original Music by
John Williams

Cinematography by
Fred J. Koenekamp		(director of photography) (as Fred Koenekamp)

Film Editing by
Carl Kress
Harold F. Kress

Casting by
Jack Baur

Production Design by
William J. Creber		(as William Creber)

Art Direction by
Ward Preston

Set Decoration by
Raphael Bretton

Costume Design by
Paul Zastupnevich

Makeup Department
Naomi Cavin	....	hair stylist
Susan Germaine	....	hair stylist
Emile LaVigne	....	makeup artist (as Emil La Vigne)
Jean Burt Reilly	....	hair stylist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Monte Westmore)

Production Management
Norman A. Cook	....	unit production manager
Jere Henshaw	....	production supervisor: Twentieth Century-Fox
Hal Herman	....	executive production manager
Richard Shepherd	....	production supervisor: Warner Bros.

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	assistant director (as Newton Arnold)
Phil Ball	....	second assistant director
Bob Bender	....	second assistant director
Michael Grillo	....	trainee assistant director (as Michael F. Grillo)
Malcolm R. Harding	....	assistant director: action sequences (as Malcolm Harding)
Wesley J. McAfee	....	assistant director (as Wes McAfee)
Donald White	....	second assistant director (as Don White)
Don White	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Tom Cranham	....	production illustrator
Dan Goozee	....	production illustrator
Nikita Knatz	....	production illustrator
Jerry Kobold	....	property master: action sequences
Robert McLaughlin	....	property master
Joseph Musso	....	production illustrator
Steven P. Sardanis	....	assistant art director (as Steve Sardanis)
William Cruse	....	set designer (uncredited)
Ron Greenwood	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Edward T. McAvoy	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
John A. Bonner	....	sound supervisor (as John Bonner)
Don Hall	....	supervising sound editor
Herman Lewis	....	production sound mixer
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Speak	....	sound mixer: second unit (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A.D. Flowers	....	mechanical effects
Logan Frazee	....	mechanical effects
Gerald Endler	....	mechanical effects (uncredited)
Jay King	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Frank Van der Veer	....	optical cinematography (uncredited)
Matthew Yuricich	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Stader	....	stunt coordinator
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buff Brady	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Brubaker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard E. Butler	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Caruso	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Erik Cord	....	stunts (uncredited)
Everett Creach	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roger Creed	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paula Crist	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Howard Curtis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paula Dell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Dial	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Larry Duran	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bud Ekins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stephanie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lila Finn	....	stunts (uncredited)
James W. Gavin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts (uncredited)
Orwin C. Harvey	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (uncredited)
Larry Holt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mike Johnson	....	stunt double: Robert Wagner (uncredited)
Mike Johnson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kevin N. Johnston	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Julius LeFlore	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Lerner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lars Lundgren	....	stunts (uncredited)
Denver Mattson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Moio	....	stunts (uncredited)
Minor Mustain	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
John Nowak	....	stunts (uncredited)
Doug O'Dell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regina Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Victor Paul	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Peter Peterson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bobby Porter	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dar Robinson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Robles	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Robotham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Thomas Rosales Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wally Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glynn Rubin	....	stunt performer (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Scheiwiller	....	stunts (uncredited)
Felix Silla	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Marilyn Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
Peter Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Steele	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Terhune	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Verbois	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Washington	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred M. Waugh	....	stunts (uncredited)
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts (uncredited)
James Winburn	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Yerkes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph F. Biroc	....	director of photography: action sequences (as Joseph Biroc)
Kathy Fields	....	still photographer
Orville Hallberg	....	camera operator: action sequences
Bill Hannah	....	gaffer: action sequences
Thomas Laughridge	....	camera operator
John Murray	....	key grip
Lou Pazelli	....	key grip: action sequences
Frank Redmond	....	assistant camera
Gene Stout	....	gaffer
Orlando Suero	....	still photographer
Ron Anderson	....	electrician (uncredited)
Curtis Foster	....	rigging gaffer: second unit (uncredited)
Jim Freeman	....	cinematographer: San Francisco (uncredited)
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator: "b" camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
William DeNicholas	....	assistant editor
Jack Hooper	....	negative cutter
George E. Swink	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	supervising music editor (as Len Engel)
Ted Keep	....	score mixer
Herbert W. Spencer	....	orchestrator (as Herbert Spencer)

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (uncredited)
Jim Martell	....	transportation coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Elizabeth Atkinson	....	production assistant
Jack Cavallero	....	technical advisor: battalion chief S.F.F.D.
Albert Gail	....	executive assistant to producer
Marie Kenney	....	script supervisor
George Leslie	....	production controller
Pete Lucarelli	....	technical advisor: battalion chief L.A.F.D.
Steven Marlo	....	dialogue coach
Don Morgan	....	unit publicist
Esther Stephenson	....	script supervisor: action sequences
Art Volpert	....	production coordinator
William Welch	....	executive assistant to producer
Lewis Wolff	....	real estate consultant
Ed Conlon	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Tony Habeeb	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Edward Summer	....	marketing consultant (uncredited)
Sharon Thurgood	....	studio teacher (uncredited)

Thanks
Keith P. Calden	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: chief of The San Francisco Fire Department
Raymond M. Hill	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of: chief of The Los Angeles Fire Department

Production Companies

• Irwin Allen Productions
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (present) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (present) (as Warner Bros.)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1974) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1975) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1975) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1975) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (double feature with "Volcano")
• Warner Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Magnetic Video (video)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Van der Veer Photo Effects (opticals)

Other Companies

• San Francisco Fire Department  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The San Francisco Fire Department)
• San Francisco Board of Fire Commissioners  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The San Francisco Board of Fire Commissioners)
• Los Angeles City Fire Department, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Los Angeles City Board of Fire Commissioners  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Los Angeles City Board of Fire Commissioners)
• MacGillivray Freeman Films  aerial photography
• Pacific Title  titles
• Department of the Navy  the cooperation of, is gratefully acknowledged (as The Department of the Navy)
• Department of Defense, The  the cooperation of, is gratefully acknowledged

Runtime:

165 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

France:U | Hungary:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1975) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | UK:A

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Irwin Allen Productions

Trivia:

Steve McQueen did most of his stunts for the film, including having 7,000 gallons of water dumped on him in the climactic final attempt to put out the fire.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A helicopter lowers O'Hallorhan onto the damaged scenic elevator. In order to set him directly and vertically onto the elevator car (he did not swing to it), the helicopter blades would have to be no more than a foot wide to get that close to the building - or the cable would have to reach to the top of the building to accommodate the width of the helicopter blades, which would be impossible.

Quotes:

Roger Simmons: [tears breeches buoy ticket] The women are gone, we are next.
James Duncan: [punches him] You've all got numbers, and you're going to take them. And if it's any consolation, I'm going to be the last one out of here, along with my son-in-law.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

Soundtrack:

The More I See You

One of my all-time favorites

I've seen a lot of great films during my life. However, somehow, The Towering Inferno holds its place near the top of my list of great films, and is at the top of my list of favorite films.

While Irwin Allen's films often have many flaws, they're always entertaining. You won't feel cheated by an Irwin Allen film. This holds true especially for The Towering Inferno. There is something for almost everyone in this film, drama, romance, disaster, and good vs. evil are all present in this epic film.

The plot of the film is pretty well known to anyone who has at least heard of the film. During opening night ceremonies at the Glass Tower, the 138 story skyscraper located in the heart of San Francisco catches fire. What starts as a small electrical fire soon turns into "a night of blazing suspense", with fires breaking out all over the building.

The hard work put into this film is obvious. While the script is rather melodramatic at times, this does not take away from the feeling of peril in the film. The cast may be the best cast ever assembled in Hollywood history. The special effects, for the most part, stand the test of time.

Don't ask me why this film has gotten such a bad rep over the years. The film was nominated for best picture, and won Oscars for best cinematography, best special effects, and best song. The film grossed over 116 million dollars, and with adjusted totals, that is still more than films such as The Passion of the Christ, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

I recommend that this film be seen. It is well worth renting, or if you can find it, buying.