The Towering Inferno (1974)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
An architect's design for a record-breaking skyscraper becomes a deadly trap when a massive fire breaks out during its grand opening.
The story
Architect Doug Roberts returns to San Francisco for the dedication of The Glass Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper that 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 in a storage room on the 81st floor 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. Roberts confronts Simmons, who feigns innocence. During the dedication ceremony, chief of public relations Dan Bigelow turns on all the tower's lights, but Roberts orders them shut off to reduce the load on the electrical system.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Architect Doug Roberts returns to San Francisco for the dedication of The Glass Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper that 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 in a storage room on the 81st floor. Roberts suspects that Roger Simmons, the electrical subcontractor, cut corners. During the dedication ceremony, a fire is detected. While developer James Duncan refuses to order an evacuation to protect his interests, SFFD Chief Michael O'Hallorhan forces an evacuation of the Promenade Room. The fire spreads, destroying elevators and trapping guests. Various characters, including Lisolette Mueller and her companion Harlee Claiborne, struggle to escape through smoke and debris. A series of explosions and structural failures further complicate the rescue efforts. A Navy team and a helicopter attempt to evacuate survivors from the upper floors. In a final desperate move, O'Hallorhan and Roberts blow up water tanks atop the tower to extinguish the flames. While several people, including Mayor Bob Ramsay, perish, most of the remaining guests are saved as water floods the building. In the aftermath, Duncan comforts his daughter Patty, and Roberts accepts advice on building fire-safe skyscrapers.
- First release year
- 1974
- Runtime (minutes)
- 165
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Guillermin
- Writers
- Stirling Silliphant · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Steve McQueen · Michael O'Hallorhan; Paul Newman · Doug Roberts; William Holden · James Duncan; Faye Dunaway; Fred Astaire · Harlee Claiborne; Susan Blakely; Richard Chamberlain · Roger Simmons; Jennifer Jones · Lisolette Mueller; O. J. Simpson; Robert Vaughn; Robert Wagner
- Genres
- disaster; action drama
- Themes
- survival; corporate negligence
- Tone and mood
- tense; spectacle
- Setting
- A 138-story skyscraper in San Francisco during its dedication ceremony.
- Premise and plot tags
- disaster; high-rise; fire
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, being praised as a visual spectacle and a successful disaster film, though some critics criticized the script and character development.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 69% · scale: percentage · review count: 91; Metacritic · score: 69 · scale: score · review count: 11
- Awards and nominations
- Best Song · Academy Award · win; Best Cinematography · Academy Award · win; Best Editing · Academy Award · win; Academy Award nomination · Best Picture · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was the highest-grossing film of 1974.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…