The Towering Inferno (film)

The Towering Inferno is a 1974 disaster movie adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson.

Plot

In the film, a new but poorly-constructed office / residential skyscraper — at 138 stories, the world's tallest — catches fire. Fire fighters battle the flames and make many daring attempts to rescue people trapped in the building. This includes a party of 300 dignitaries who were celebrating the building's opening and become trapped in a restaurant on the top floor.

Related Topics:
Skyscraper - Fire fighter

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Stirling Silliphant was hired to combine both novels, taking seven main characters from each book. Features from the storyline of each book were used as well. In The Tower, a bomb in the main utility room causes a power surge, which sets a janitor's closet on fire; the escape from the top floor is by breeches buoy, and is only partially successful (more than a hundred partygoers die when fire overtakes the restaurant). In The Glass Inferno, a carelessly-discarded cigarette sets the janitor's closet on fire; the escape from the top floor is by helicopter and is more successful (everyone left in the restaurant escapes by helicopter). In The Towering Inferno, a short-circuit during routine pre-dedication testing causes a power surge which sets a janitor's closet on fire (a scenario closer to that of The Tower); escape by helicopter fails due to high winds, but escapes by breeches buoy to a neighboring 100-floor skyscraper, and an exterior "Scenic Elevator" are more successful.

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Initially, the fire chief's role was relatively minor; the architect was the lead and hero. Also, Ernest Borgnine (Detective Rogo in Allen's The Poseidon Adventure) was planned to be Fire Chief Mario Infantino to Steve McQueen's architect Doug Roberts. However, when McQueen signed on, he requested the fire chief's role, providing that the roles were made equal (including an equal number of lines and equal pay) and an actor of high caliber was signed to take the architect's role. Enter Paul Newman, who became Doug Roberts as McQueen became Fire Chief Michael O'Hallorhan.

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