The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels The Tower (1973) by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno (1974) by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. In addition to McQueen and Newman, the cast includes William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Gregory Sierra, Dabney Coleman, and Jennifer Jones in her final role.
Plot
Architect Doug Roberts returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper which he designed for developer James Duncan. The tower, tall and 138 stories, is the world's tallest building. During testing, an electrical short-circuit starts a fire on the 81st floor just after another short occurs in the main utility room. While examining the latter short, Roberts sees the wiring is inadequate and suspects that Roger Simmons, the electrical subcontractor and Duncan's son-in-law, cut corners. Simmons, however, feigns innocence.
Awards
Cast
- Dabney Coleman
- Don Gordon
- Faye Dunaway
- Felton Perry
- Fred Astaire
- George D. Wallace
- Gregory Sierra
- Jack Collins
- Jennifer Jones
- Jennifer Rhodes
- John Crawford
- Mike Lookinland
- Norman Burton
- O. J. Simpson
- Paul Newman
- Richard Chamberlain
- Robert Vaughn
- Robert Wagner
- Ross Elliott
- Sheila Allen
- Steve McQueen
- Susan Blakely
- Susan Flannery
- William Bassett
- William Holden
- William Traylor