In the 1970s, disaster movies were the superhero cinema of their day. In other words, these were the films that brought movie fans into theaters, which led to blockbusters like Earthquake, Airport, and The Poseidon Adventure. But the genre reached its zenith 50 years ago this month with the release of The Towering Inferno.
Ironically, The Towering Inferno‘s influence can be felt in the disaster films of the ’90s, including Titanic and Independence Day, both of which featured large ensemble casts and special effects extravaganzas. During and after its release, The Towering Inferno was recognized for its achievements (the film nabbed eight Oscar nominations including Best Picture). It ended up winning Best Original Song, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. Yet, the bigger prize for the studios behind the film is that The Towering Inferno made $203.3 million against a $14 million budget. Even now, those are the kind of results that get film executives celebrating with cartwheels and champagne.
But five decades later, this film isn’t readily available to stream or rent online, which means audiences have either forgotten about it or they never knew it existed in the first place. Rather than let the 50th anniversary of The Towering Inferno pass unnoticed, it’s time to share the reasons why it came to define the disaster genre.
The Master of Disaster
The primary architect of The Towering Inferno‘s success was producer Irwin Allen, who made his name in the ’60s with science fiction TV shows like Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. By 1972, Allen had reinvented himself as a disaster film producer on The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno was his chance to make an even bigger splash at the box office.
Perhaps the smartest thing that Allen did in the preproduction of this movie is that he convinced 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures to team up for The Towering Inferno. Each studio had optioned similar novels for the big screen — Fox had the rights to Richard Martin Stern’s The Tower, while Warner Bros. secured The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. Allen realized that competing movies would have cannibalized the audience. Once both studios were on board, The Towering Inferno was able to pull characters and stories from both books, which probably went a long way toward the film’s nearly three-hour runtime. But it also gave Allen the best of both stories to choose from.
In an unusual move — which he also did for The Poseidon Adventure — Allen directed the action scenes and made sure that he had a special credit for that. John Guillermin directed the rest of the film. Allen also reunited with composer John Williams — who had scored several of Allen’s previous projects including Lost in Space and The Poseidon Adventure — before Williams’ career reached an even higher level with Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many others. Williams’ music for The Towering Inferno may not be among his most iconic scores, but it does give the film a timeless quality.
It has an all-star cast
Reportedly, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman both wanted top billing in The Towering Inferno, and the studios found a way to give it to both of them. This is one of the first films to feature “staggered but equal” billing, where the names of both stars appear diagonally on the screen at the same time during the opening credits. McQueen was arguably a bigger star, but this film belongs to Newman, who appears far more frequently as Doug Roberts, the architect of the Glass Tower who heroically tries to save as many people as possible after a fire breaks out in the high-rise building. McQueen’s character, San Francisco Fire Department 5th Battalion Chief Michael O’Hallorhan, doesn’t show up until the blaze is well under way, but his character is the last person featured on-screen in the film.
Silver-screen icons Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones have an affecting subplot that plays throughout most of the film. Astaire portrays a con artist, Harlee Claiborne, who tries to romance Lisolette Mueller (Jones), a woman who still cares for him even after he reveals who he really is. This was Jones’ final role before her retirement from the industry, and she made the most of it, as does Astaire. Their arc ends at the conclusion of the story, which we won’t spoil here.
The rest of the cast was also very impressive, and includes William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, and others. And because of the nature of this story, many of the main characters don’t make it out alive.
The practical effects still hold up
The Towering Inferno takes the better part of an hour before the plot literally heats up, but the disaster was the prime attraction for this movie. People came to the theater to watch the building burn, and they weren’t disappointed. While the design choices of the ’70s offices seem laughable in 2024, the fire effects still look really good 50 years later.
This film was made in an era long before the advent of CGI, and its practical effects still look pretty convincing. When characters and parts of the building catch on fire, chances are good that real — and controlled — flames were used in the process.
The stakes keep getting higher
Modern audiences may be put off by the fact that The Towering Inferno doesn’t jump right into the disaster. Instead, it follows Roberts as he realizes that the building’s wiring is faulty and potentially dangerous. The fact that he was proven right in less than 24 hours doesn’t make him feel any better. During the first 45 minutes, the film also takes the time to establish the burgeoning relationship between Claiborne and Lisolette, as well as an illicit affair between Dan Bigelow (Wagner) and his secretary, Lorrie (Susan Flannery).
Among the major characters, Dan and Lorrie are some of the first to meet their tragic ends during the fire. And the movie doesn’t show much sympathy for the lovers as they’re separately engulfed in flames. It’s a horrible way to die, and they aren’t the only ones who meet untimely ends before the conclusion of the film. The stakes feel very personal for Roberts, as he puts his own life on the line to help a mother and her children escape. But O’Hallorhan’s heroics are also important in the film, as he’s also risking his life on the frontlines of the fire. This film does a great job of putting the characters into increasingly dire straits. Even after things have already gone horribly wrong, they can and will get worse.
The Towering Inferno does have a satisfactory conclusion, and the death toll from the fire leads to some emotional moments near the end. Guillermin and Irwin didn’t forget to give this movie some heart, and that may be why it still makes an impact 50 years later.
Buy The Towering Inferno on Prime Video.
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