City on Fire is a 1979 disaster film directed by Alvin Rakoff and featuring an all-star cast. The film’s plot revolves around a disgruntled employee who sets fire to an oil refinery, setting off a blaze which engulfs an entire city. People try to either fight or flee the fire as it spreads throughout the city. Some elements of the disaster depicted reflect the Texas City Disaster of 1947. The film was partially financed by the government agency Telefilm Canada and was thus filmed in Montreal, Canada, although the name of the city is not mentioned in the film. Although American stars... Henry Fonda, James Franciscus, Shelly Winters, and Ava Gardner appear in the film, albeit in relatively supporting or minor roles, the majority of the rest of the cast originate from Canada. Filmed on a confined budget some of the fire sequences utilized stock footage from both existing movies and news footage. City on Fire was an unsuccessful venture for the company and had a limited run at the American box office. The film was resurrected from obscurity by Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1989, and has since been known as an example of campy disaster B-movies.
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| Release date: | 1979 |
| Directed by: | Alvin Rakoff |
| Runtime: | 106 Minutes |
| Music by: | Matthew McCauley |
| Screenplay by: | Jack Hill |
| Estimated budget: | $5,300,000 |
| Genre: | Disaster, Action, Thriller |