50 Years of The Towering Inferno
Promo image from IMDb
Epic action thriller The Towering Inferno, which clocks in at two and three-quarter hours of viewing, celebrates its 50th birthday this year.
Starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and many other huge names in the industry — such as William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Wagner and Richard Chamberlain — it was the biggest-grossing film of 1974 and remains a stunning, influential piece of work in the vast media landscape.
The film, which premiered on December 8, was directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and had its share of drama both on-screen and behind the scenes.
The film tells the story of Doug Roberts (Newman), an architect who designs the world’s tallest building in San Francisco and calls it ‘“The Glass Tower.” All 138 floors are connected with a cheap wiring system contrary to his specifications, which — to everyone’s horror — causes a fire to break out on the 81st floor during the opening celebrations.
The whole film is an adrenalin-fueled saga of the spread of a devastating fire, featuring many subplots highlighting all kinds of relationships and personalities. In fact, we also see the relationship develop between the two seemingly very different protagonists and how they start to respect each other as they unite in their mutual goal to save lives.
Inevitably, with such a huge cast, there were issues between actors. William Holden wanted to be named as star of the film but was refused, as his popularity was beginning to wane. He did not get paid the same $1 million that Newman and McQueen did, but ended up with a higher income overall due to his contract winning him a higher percentage of box office earnings.
Meanwhile, Faye Dunaway was condemned for always being late and leaving everyone waiting. Sometimes, she didn’t turn up at all. It is said that Holden and Jones were especially put out by this and that one day Holden pushed Dunaway against a wall and threatened her. She was always on time after that.
McQueen was known to be very competitive and there were reportedly many arguments between his team and Newman’s regarding who got the most stunts, screen time and word counts. But off-screen, they were often found playing poker together in one of their caravans.
Both McQueen and Newman did their own stunts, including one that had Newman climbing on a treacherous swinging stair rail. One that McQueen nearly didn’t do was the scene where he jumps from a helicopter onto the burning roof. Producer Irwin Allen tried his hardest to talk him out of that one!
Another story is that Allen was so determined to get a shocked reaction from his actors that he fired a live handgun at the ceiling. It worked and he got his shot.
Over 1,000 real firefighters were hired as extras for the film. McQueen coincidentally got caught up in a small drama on the set when a real fire broke out and he helped to put it out. A firefighter reportedly said to him, “My wife is not going to believe this!” and McQueen replied, “Neither is mine!”
Due to the massive destruction necessary for the action story, only eight of the original 57 sets built for the film were left standing at the end. The largest set was of the promenade deck on the 135th floor, where the main party and celebrations took place.
Because it was a circular deck, the scenery from the windows overlooking the San Francisco skyline was painted on 340 feet of cloth and wrapped around the whole platform. It was also raised ten feet off the ground so it could drain the water off during the soaking scene near the end and allow actors to actually drop from it when they were scripted to fall from the building.
Other parts of the set were borrowed from previous films and went on to be used again, such as the massive blinkenlights computer which ran the Glass Tower. Some components had been used in the film “The Time Tunnel” (1966) and “Earth II” (1971) and then were seen again in “Independence Day” (1996).
Ultimately,The Towering Inferno won three Academy Awards and was nominated for four others. The awards were Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Song. “We May Never Love Like This Again,” written and performed by Maureen McGovern, was showcased in the film during the party before the disastrous fire started and thereafter became its theme tune.
Among the nominations was Best Music: John William’s dramatic score kept the adrenaline high throughout the whole film. Astaire as an aging but charismatic con man was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. It was the only nomination he ever got and, ironically, it wasn’t for a musical.
The film is based on two books: The Glass Inferno, by Frank M. Robinson and Thomas N. Scortia, and The Tower, by Richard Martin Stern. They look at the consequences of mankind building at such an unprecedented height and the vulnerability of the people inside the building. The dangers of economising and the substandard electrical wiring in the tower are highlighted.
Viewers experience a high level of energy from beginning to end, a lot of impressive drama and action and a huge cast of well-loved Hollywood stars. What’s not to love?
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Perri Dodgson
Perri Dodgson was born into an RAF family, which meant travelling extensively and receiving a disjointed education. Her first job was a layout designer for a publishing house, then for twenty years she worked in the care sector, looking after the elderly and mentally ill. Now retired and living in Wellingborough, England, and after joining a writing group, she discovered the joy of writing. She has had features published in magazines and online literary magazines and been ‘highly recommended’ in a national competition. She also explores interior design and embroidery. Currently she is researching for her book which will be a biography.
