The Towering inferno

United States, 1974

Film
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A skyscraper and am all-star cast go up in flames in this classic 70s disaster movie. To celebrate the construction of the Glass Tower, the world’s tallest building, architect Doug Roberts and builder James Duncan hold a gala event on the highest floors. The trouble is that Duncan’s son-in-law and electrical subcontractor, Roger Simmons, installed faulty wiring throughout the 138-story tower to save money. While the town VIPs enjoy the party, a security guard wonders why his equipment is malfunctioning, only to discover that a burnt-out circuit breaker has ignited some rubbish on the 85th floor, which is swiftly turning the skyscraper into a “towering inferno”. It is then up to Roberts and Fire Chief O’Hallorhan to find a way to stop the blaze. Cast includes Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner and more…

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Collection

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Credits

director

John Guillermin

producer

Irwin Allen

production company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Warner Bros Pictures

Duration

02:45:00:00

Production places
United States
Production dates
1974

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

311239

Language

English

Audience classification

PG

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Wikidata

Q372959

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/88651--the-towering-inferno/ |title=The Towering inferno |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=15 December 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}