The Towering Inferno

The Towering Inferno

The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. It was directed by John Guillermin, with Allen himself directing the action sequences. A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros. , it was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from a pair of novels, The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. The film was a critical success, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and was the highest grossing film released in...
more

quick facts
Release date:December 10, 1974
Directed by:John Guillermin, Irwin Allen
Rated:PG (USA)
Runtime:165 Minutes
Producer:Irwin Allen
Editor:Carl Kress, Harold F. Kress
Music by:John Williams
Cinematography:Fred J. Koenekamp, Jim Freeman, Joseph F. Biroc
Screenplay by:Stirling Silliphant, Richard Martin Stern, Frank M. Robinson, Thomas N. Scortia
Estimated budget:$14,000,000
Genre:Disaster, Action

Award-winners from The Towering Inferno

Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Character:Harlee Claiborne
Born:May 10, 1899
Died:June 22, 1987

Cast of The Towering Inferno

Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Born:January 14, 1941
Age:71
Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Born:November 22, 1932
Age:79
Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Doug Roberts
Born:Jan. 26, 1925
Died:Sept. 26, 2008
Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Bigelow
Born:February 10, 1930
Age:82
William Holden
William Holden
Jim Duncan
Born:Apr. 17, 1918
Died:Nov. 16, 1981
Dabney Coleman
Dabney Coleman
Born:January 3, 1932
Age:80

Honors and Awards

YearAward Won
1974 Academy Award for Film Editing, Harold F. Kress
1974 Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Fred J. Koenekamp
1975 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Fred Astaire
1975 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Film, Fred Astaire
1975 David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film, Irwin Allen
« Prev  Next »
YearAward Nomination
1974 Academy Award for Best Picture, Irwin Allen
1974 Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role, Fred Astaire
1975 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Fred Astaire
1975 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Film, Fred Astaire
1975 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Film, Jennifer Jones
1974 Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Joseph F. Biroc
1974 BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography, Fred J. Koenekamp
1975 Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, Stirling Silliphant
1975 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, John Williams
1975 BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography, Fred J. Koenekamp
1975 BAFTA Award for Best Production Design/Art Direction, William J. Creber
1975 David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film, Irwin Allen
1974 Academy Award for Best Art Direction, William J. Creber
« Prev  Next »

Film director of The Towering Inferno

John Guillermin
John Guillermin
Born: November 11, 1925
Age: 86

John Guillermin is a British film director, writer, and producer who was most active in big budget, action adventure movies throughout his lengthy career. He was born in London and attended Cambridge University. His more famous films include I Was Monty's Double , Tarzan's Greatest Adventure ,...
more

TitleReleasedRatedGenre
The Tracker 1988 Western
King Kong Lives 1986 PG-13 (USA) Adventure
Sheena 1984 PG (USA) Adventure
Mr. Patman 1981
Death on the Nile 1978 PG (USA) Thriller
King Kong 1976 PG (USA) Adventure
The Towering Inferno 1974 PG (USA) Disaster
Shaft in Africa 1973 R (USA) Thriller
Skyjacked 1972 PG (USA) Disaster
Condor, El 1970 R (USA) Western
The Bridge at Remagen 1969 PG (USA) Action
House of Cards 1968 Thriller
P.J. 1968
The Blue Max 1966
Rapture 1965
Guns at Batasi 1964 Adventure
Tarzan Goes to India 1962 Adventure
Waltz of the Toreadors 1962 Comedy
Never Let Go 1960 Thriller
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England 1960
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure 1959 Adventure
I Was Monty's Double 1958
The Whole Truth 1958
Thunderstorm 1956
Tormenta 1955
Adventure in the Hopfields 1954
Operation Diplomat 1953
Song of Paris 1953
Miss Robin Hood 1952 Fantasy
Four Days 1951
Two on the Tiles 1951
The Smart Aleck 1951
Torment 1950
The Crowded Day 1950
« Prev  Next »
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Born: June 12, 1916
Died: November 2, 1991

Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series. Allen was born in New York City. His film credits include the 3-D film Dangerous Mission , The...
more

TitleReleasedRatedGenre
Aliens from Another Planet 1982 Science Fiction
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure 1979 PG (USA) Disaster
The Swarm 1978 PG (USA) Disaster
The Towering Inferno 1974 PG (USA) Disaster
The Poseidon Adventure 1972 PG (USA) Disaster
City Beneath the Sea 1971 Action
The Man from the 25th Century 1968 Short Film
Five Weeks in a Balloon 1962 PG (USA) Adventure
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 1961 PG (USA) Disaster
The Lost World 1960 Adventure
The Big Circus 1959 Action
The Story of Mankind 1957 Fantasy
The Animal World 1956
Dangerous Mission 1954 Thriller
The Sea Around Us 1953
« Prev  Next »

Music contributors for The Towering Inferno

John Williams
John Williams

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most...
more

Filming locations for The Towering Inferno

San Francisco
San Francisco

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.6 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland. The only consolidated city-county in California, it encompasses a land area...
more

Bank of America Center
Bank of America Center

555 California Street, formerly Bank of America Center, is a 52-story, 779 ft skyscraper in San Francisco, California, and is also known locally as Triple Nickel. It is the second tallest building in the city and a focal point of the Financial District. Completed in 1969, the tower served as...
more

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge is a pair of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay of California, in the United States. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road route between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries approximately 270,000 vehicles per day on its two decks. It has...
more

20th Century Fox Movie Ranch
20th Century Fox Movie Ranch

Now a part of Malibu Creek State Park, the Century Movie Ranch was purchased in 1946 by 20th Century Fox for outdoor shooting. Sold to the state of California in 1974, it was opened as a recreational area in 1976 feature films, such as Pleasantville continue to be filmed here. Fox bought the park,...
more

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q:
    When did the film "The Towering Inferno" premier?
  • A:
    The movie premiered in December, 1974.
  • Q:
    Who were the stars of the movie "The Towering Inferno"?
  • A:
    Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, Felton Perry, Dabney Coleman and Richard Chamberlain played leading roles.
  • Q:
    Who is credited for writing the film The Towering Inferno?
  • A:
    Stirling Silliphant, Richard Martin Stern, Frank M. Robinson and Thomas N. Scortia wrote the script for the film.
  • Q:
    Who was the distributor of the movie, "The Towering Inferno"?
  • A:
    20th Century Fox was the movie's distributor.
  • Q:
    What locations were used to film scenes in the movie The Towering Inferno?
  • A:
    Locations used in the movie's production include San Francisco, Bank of America Center and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
  • Q:
    Which awards did the motion picture "The Towering Inferno" win?
  • A:
    The film received the Academy Award for Film Editing and Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
  • Q:
    Who was the director of the film "The Towering Inferno"?
  • A:
    John Guillermin and Irwin Allen directed the motion picture.
  • Q:
    Who wrote the music for the motion picture The Towering Inferno?
  • A:
    John Williams composed sheet music for the movie's soundtrack.
  • Q:
    How long is the runtime of the motion picture "The Towering Inferno"?
  • A:
    The approxomite runtime is 165 minutes.
  • Q:
    Who was the producer of the movie, "The Towering Inferno"?
  • A:
    Irwin Allen was the film's producer.
The Towering Inferno
Top of Page © 2012 Juggle, LLC
All Rights Reserved
Encyclopedia & Reference Resource
Some of the content on this page was provided by other sites, including
Freebase Icon (The Towering Inferno) or others licensed under Creative Commons