The Towering Inferno (1974)

Miss Dunaway's tussled hair and dress flapping in the breeze in the elevator scene and the utter beauty of her face....wow she was a work of art. She never looked better.

Supposedly Jennifer Jones got really mad that Miss Dunaway was in her trailer and made them wait to film this scene. I say let her have the extra time. Whatever makeup and stuff she was putting on was just flawless.

Jones hitting the building is odd. It was just a small scale model. Why did they have her hit it like that? It looks sort of cheap like the special effect went wrong. The fireman btw in the elevator is the guy who asks Pamela Sue Martin to dance in Poseidon and plunges into the glass ceiling.

I saw on AMC Behind the scenes that Jones thought this would be a real attention getting role for her like Helen Hayes had in Airport and Shelley Winters in Poseidon. But it just didn't work out. Audiences didn't connect with her. She was set up to be such a saint saving the children and all but somehow she just didn't have the impact the other two women had.

the elevator scene.

Jennifer Jones' fall always bothers me. Too awkward the way she hands the kid to the fireman. They really wanted to make her a savior but it didn't work.

Steve McQueen seems depressed throughout the film. The AMC thing said that was because he had his choice of the Newman role or his and as they were shooting it became apparent to him that he picked the wrong role and Newman was coming off as the real star.

And the billing in the poster!! Drama their too.

McQueen first and then Newman slightly higher. Then William Holden got in on it and demanded his own line so Miss Dunaway had to be a step down from him.

I love the opening sequence in the helicopter, especially as San Francisco comes into view. The music is so grand and glorious, like the theme to Dynasty. (I know, Mary!)

Meredith Baxter Birney turned down Susan Blakely's part. I wish she hadn't. Would have given the movie more DL cred.

Here's that opening sequence.

Miss Dunaway made sure she was on top of Holden in "Network", in bed at least...

I forgot to mention that the music is by none other than John Williams.

The mayor's wife is Mrs. Irwin Allen. She was also the nurse in The Poseidon Adventure who awkwardly tries to explain how Stella Stevens can take her pill.

(I wonder how she felt when her husband put Shirley Jones in her role for Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.)

R3, McQueen counted the number of lines and discovered that Newman had 12 more lines, so he demanded an equal amount, which he got. When McQueen's character first appears 42 minutes into the film, Newman had already used up half his lines, so he felt that McQueen ultimately walked away with the picture.

Holden demanded top billing, but 35 years into his career, he was no longer a top star. McQueen and Newman got the odd staggered "equal" billing, Holden got pushed to 3rd, dropping Dunaway to 4th.

Dunaway's tardiness pissed off Bill Holden. After waiting for her for 2 hours, she finally shows up on set. Holden shoved her against the wall and warned that if she does that again, he's going to push her through the wall. They ended up together again for "Network."

I was only eight, but my strongest memory is Susan Flannery having the affair with Robert Wagner and after they have sex she puts on his shirt, and I thought that was very sexy and a couldn’t wait to have a boyfriend of my own so I could wear his shirt and feel special.

Wouldn't Newman have been the bigger star than McQueen at that time? He had a lot of classic films under his belt. McQueen not so much.

[quote]McQueen and Newman got the odd staggered "equal" billing,

The Towering Inferno was the first time the staggered equal billing was used in a film.

Judging from the special effects shot in the opening, that fictional building looks like it would be at Market & 5th-ish.

Bobby Brady!!

R14 They used the BofA building for the exteriors of the tower, which is on California and Kearny.

I don’t care if it won the Oscar for best song, it was slim pickings that year already, it deserved a better song and a better musical star to up the ante from the Poseidon Adventure.

R17 Irwin Allen was really fond of Maureen McGovern, so he actually let her appear in the movie and sing the theme song, unlike in the Poseidon Adventure when someone else sang the theme in the movie.

This movie was essentially The Poseidon Adventure, with fire taking the place of water.

- Old classic Hollywood actors in the cast? Check.

- Rich people in ball gowns and tuxedos dancing at a big event? Check

- Theme song that alludes to the plot? Check.

- Small children in distress? Check.

- Veteran beloved actress meets a tragic death? Check.

same here OP I re watched it during lockdown last year.fabulous. The two unhinged whores you break off the line and chrash the helicopter on the roof are a hoot. I lost it and laughed for 10 minutes

Natalie Wood thinking "....mmmm don't thnk it'll work, script is a bit cheesy, METEOR is a safer bet"

As a kid, I loved The Poseidon Adventure, so I was really excited when The Towering Inferno came out. But unlike the Poseidon Adventure, this movie really freaked me out and made me afraid of fire and burning to death. The scenes with Robert Wagner getting engulfed in flames, Susan Flannery's fiery body falling out the window, and Jennifer Jones bouncing off the side of the building gave me nightmares.

as a kid I was heartbroken when the kind lady fell. McQueen was such a mega, megastar then. he was IT

Nevermind the faulty wiring, do you know where I really cut corners? The budget for the ballroom decor. I used the same guy who designs them for suburban Holiday Inns. Tacky AF!

Dick chamberlain was such a slime ball in this. Still better than Petulia though

R25 You knew from his first scene that he would die a horrible death before the movie was over.

Years of litigation would have followed that fire. Duncan Enterprises would have gone kaput.

Richard Chamberlain came across as the stereotypical evil queen in this movie.

Would a million gallons of water coming down from the roof of the building really have been able to put out all the fires on all the lower floors? Yes, I can see it putting out fires on floors just below the roof. But would enough water have gotten down 75 floors below the roof to put out all those fires?

Faye Dunaway was indeed stunning in that beige evening gown.

I got a chuckle when Susan Flannery won the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in 1975 based on her Towering Inferno role.

Best New Star?!? Sound like she got just got off the bus and walked onto a movie set and got the role. In reality, Susan Flannery had been playing Laura Horton on Days of Our Lives for eight years before landing the part in Towering Inferno. Her role on Days was a central one. Much of the show was built around her character. She was one of the show's main stars. So, getting Best New Star for Towering Inferno seemed bizarre.

I’m bored, maybe I’ll go watch this….

Jennifer Jones came across as special needs in this movie.

R32 Here, and I’m watching, I may or may not live blog as I do, but I have some questions and comments already:

1) it’s only on Amazon Prime for only nine more days, so those interested in watching should plan accordingly. 2) the staggered billing was in the opening credits as well, which reminded me of Laverne and Shirley where even as I child I noted it when they open the doors and stand there awkwardly. 3) I assumed Jennifer Jones would get the “And” treatment and do a little Barrie Youngfellow turn, but I was sorely disappointed. 4) WTF Irwin Allen only directed the “action sequences,” what he was too lazy to do the whole film?

Ugh, I usually remember the weird formatting of lists on DL and double soace, but I guess I was too excited sorry….

So is burnt orange Paul Newman’s signature color in this movie?

R30 It was designed by three-time Oscar nominee Paul Zustapnevich, who did all of those Irwin Allen films, creates the looks for the t.v. series "Lost In Space", and did a bunch of other sci-fi, & disaster movies in addition.

I also think Jennifer Jones was gorgeous in this film. The hair, the gown...stunning.

Strange, R37, he wasn't nominated for the glorious designs for The Towering Inferno, but he was for The Swarm and When Time Ran Out...? Bizarre.

The towels in this movie are so richly luxurious.

[quote]Jennifer Jones came across as special needs in this movie.

Good observation. r33 And yes, now that you mention it, she does.

r34. Everything you mention in your post were things that stood out to me when I watched Towering Inferno a few nights ago.

Keep sharing the things that stand out as you watch it.

OJ comes across as even more Special Needs than Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones supplied the heavy silk fabric for her dress because she knew they’d cheap out and use something tacky.

A star’s gotta do what a star’s gotta do - -

Miss Susan Blakely is a former fashion model and Vogue cover girl, but in this movie, she pales in comparison to screen goddess Faye.

I don't think I can rewatch this now after Grenfell Tower.

[quote] Faye Dunaway was indeed stunning in that beige evening gown.

Pauline Kael referred in her review to Dunaway "lloking goddessy-beautiful wandering through the chaos in her puce see-through chiffon."

They didn't mean to show Jones's character bouncing off the cornice, but apparently it was a very tricky special effects shot for the time and they didn't think they could afford to re-shoot it when the tiny Jones dummy bounced off against the cornice. I read Irwin Allen saying he regretted not insisting it be re-shot anyway because it traumatized people so much (especially since she played the most likeable character in the movie).

Yes, the parallels are uncanny, R45.

Oddly, the thing that really struck me was how the tower was not ADA compliant. I know this was before ADA laws came into effect in 1974, but still all the steps in the building really stood out to me -- steps leading up from the street to the plaza outside the building, steps in the Duncan Enterprises corporate offices, steps in the grand ballroom on the top.

If the building were built now, it would be built differently

Faye Dunaway = why plastc surgery should be forbidden (if not life saving ). Whoever touched that face should be in jail

What horrid and appalling screenwriter decided that Jennifer Jones should fly out the window? That ruined the movie!

[quote] If the building were built now, it would be built differently

It wasn't really built. It was just a model and a matte painting.

Never saw the movie, but what did Fred Astaire do that was so good? Did he have a Shelley Winters swimming like moment? He was actually predicted to win the oscar but I guess voters had second thoughts.

I think Olivia De Havilland should have been nominated for The Swarm.

Astaire plays a con man who is trying to swindle Jennifer Jones, but falls in love with her. His best moment is at the end when he’s searching for Jones among the survivors, only to have his world shattered by OJ Simpson and a cat.

[quote] Paul Newman and Steve McQueen!

Their combined hotness is what set the tower ablaze

The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are two of my favourite films of the '70s. They still hold up to films with cheesy CGI and in many ways, both films are superior to any film with CGI.

I think TPA is the stronger film but both are endlessly watchable. Both have great scripts with characters you care about, and both have shocking deaths late in the running time. I like that in both films anybody could die. It really raised the stakes.

I miss the disaster film.

I agree R56. I also love Airport ‘75.

She falls out of the elevator, r51. I can't remember which book her character is in or if she dies in it. Flannery's character did get blasted out the window and impaled on some pointy sculpture in the plaza below.

"I miss the disaster film."

*

If you hadn't noticed, r56, we've been living through one.

In case you hadn't noticed, r59, I was talking about film, not real life.

I took my little granny, who loved movies, to an afternoon matinee to see this. About a third of the way into she clutched at my arm and said, "Where IS this?? Where is this HAPPENING?!"

She had never seen a disaster film before and and thought it was really happening, poor sweetie.

I found the subplot of the Mayor and his Wife Sheila Matthews and what was in the family safe to be compelling. A shame we never found out what was in there. Sheila Matthews gives a diva performance in her small role and steals the picture from everyone else.

I was never a Richard Chamberlain fan, but I thought he absolutely stole the film. When he was in that makeshift escape chair, and he starts kicking off people trying to hold on, it was camp heaven.

The staggered billing was intriguing. I view Newman as a much bigger star than McQueen, so the co-equal billing is a mystery to me. Also, when the credits ran at the end , McQueen got top billing, which was ridiculous.

I can remember seeing this in the theater as a teenager. Yes, yes I know, I’m old. I watched it again a few years ago and it held up. It was pretty terrifying.

There were a lot of good looking people in this movie, but I thought Robert Wagner was just gorgeous. I was so sad when he died. And his girlfriend, too. She seemed alright. If only they hadn’t turned off the phones, maybe they would have survived.

One part that had me laughing out loud was Steve McQueen’s ‘Oh shit’ after the other fireman told him there’d be no way back down from setting the explosives. And then when he’s talking to Newman on the phone and Newman asks him who is going to set the charges and McQueen responds that they’ll find some dumb sob to do it.

It’s here around 2:40. Classic.

R53 Astaire looks absolutely terrified when the bombs that release the water tanks explode, but in fact in the making of, they sort of explain that there was a malfunction and all hell broke loose, and he WAS terrifed but they kept the camera rolling and the takes were good IIRC. See for yourself

R63 did you see PETULIA ? he's actually great in that, and hotter than the sun. Another gifted actor who never had the career he deserved because of powers that homophobia. See also, Hunter Tab

R44, Blakely is beautiful, but Faye's bone structure is absolutely exquisite. Wow, just wow!

^ Disaster film royalty.

[quote] she puts on his shirt, and I thought that was very sexy

r11 that's true. She looked incredibly erotic though more covered than most of the women in their party gowns. That being said if it was me I and a fire raging that near by, I would have gotten dressed

They had to die, r65, they were sinners. And in the book as I noted upthread, the Flannery character not only gets fireballed out the window, she gets impaled on a pointy sculpture in the plaza. r68, Blakeley had the pretty, fresh-scrubbed blonde American girl look that was in for models. Cheryl Tiegs and Cybill being two other examples.

Love this film! It was actually nominated for Best Picture but lost to Godfather II, despite having NUMEROUS mistakes, bloopers, and continuity issues (check link for them). I, too, miss the disaster films of the 70s. Earthquake is another film from that era--in Sensurround!!

[quote]R68 Faye's bone structure is absolutely exquisite. Wow, just wow!

[quote]R69 Disaster film royalty.

I agree she looks breathtaking in this.

Newman is also probably the best partner she ever had (type wise) because she’s so high strung she’s almost prissy… while he’s so realistic and capable he’s almost laid back. I wish they had more scenes together.

Without Sensurround, r72, Earthquake doesn't hold up...at all. It was *totally* about the Sensurround.

Faye really is stunning in this. So beautiful

You kind of got the idea that as an architect, Newman loved Faye because that bone structure was so architectural, she was like the living embodiment of a good building.

There was a rumor I heard here that McQueen was fucking Newman during the making of this picture. McQueen was hung up on him, but Newman dropped him after filming was through.

I always had a thing for Dabney Coleman.

[quote]Jennifer Jones came across as special needs in this movie.

Jennifer Jones' wig came across as special needs in this movie.

r77 I heard the same.

Faye was on a 1971 Dick Cavett this week. Frank Perry was also on. It was 1971 so no discussion of Mommie Dearest. She was wearing a caftan.

[quote]The towels in this movie are so richly luxurious.

This is not a Helmsley Hotel, Leona

They gave Sheilah Allen -- who was basically a glorified extra -- an entirely pointless little monologue about her daughter and backed it with swelling music. I can just imagine her screaming, "IR-WIN! I WANT SOME LINES!"

They also gave her a gauzy pink caftan that could be seen in the scenic elevator long shots.

R81 Apparently I’m not the only one who thought so, in googling for an image there’s a whole 2013 thread dedicated to Paul Newman’s towel in Tower Inferno!

I remember the mayor's wife having some significant bit in whichever book she's in. I don't remember what it was but I remember when I saw the movie thinking that Mrs. Allen wasn't how I pictured the mayor's wife.

R58, Lisolette was from The Glass Inferno. She lived in that one, if I remember right. Dan and Laurey (Wagner & Flannery) are a hybrid of an unsympathetic pair from Inferno (a guy who makes trophies and a failed model) and a sympathetic pair in The Tower (a couple who run out of time and are forced to face their doom, along with others, still at the top of the building). The pair in The Tower includes a male senator, like Robert Vaughn played. It's kinda amazing how the screenwriters just picked and chose whatever elements they felt like.

Fred Astaire won the Golden Globe and was predicted to get a career Oscar.

He really doesn't have the material though. Both he and Jennifer Jones were in there as the two old time stars making a return.

Their storyline and performances really didn't steal the film like Shelley Winters did in Poseidon and Helen Hayes did in Airport.

Plus Robert De Niro was really great in Godfather 2 and had missed out on an expected nomination the year before for Bang the Drum Slowly. He was a hot new star so he beat the sentimental favorite. (unusual for the seventies most of the old timers Hayes, Art Carney, George Burns won.)

DeNiro wasn't even there to get the award though.

I was so scared I cried

The ending of Earthquake is kind of lame with Charleton Heston having to decide whether to save his wife or climb up to his girlfriend. There was no way he could save the wife. Wasted his life. (and she falls because a guy steps on her hand? I mean yes that might hurt but not enough to let go and plunge into the water.)

Heston insisted on dying at the end.

All 3 John Williams scores for the disaster films, “Poseidon Adventure,” “Towering Inferno,” and “Earthquake” have been released together on a 4-CD set. Available online.

(Not that everyone is terribly interested…)

McQueen was perpetually self-centered and moody. My older brother, who was a minor film critic in New York from the 70’s to the 90’s, interviewed Robert Preston, who described McQueen’s behavior during the shooting of “Junior Bonner.” Preston, as McQueen’s father, had a longish, moving speech with McQueen. But, when it came time to film reaction shots from McQueen, he refused, thus letting a supporting player have the moment.

Odd, because he let his ego become his own enemy.

McQueen/Ibsen

R9, Sheila Allen only appeared in A-list films. And Beyond the Poseidon Adventure was a B-list film from the word go.

A bit of lesser-known Richard Chamberlain trivia: Chamberlain graduated from Pomona College, which has a mythology and mystique around the number 47. When the men in the ballroom are drawing lots, there is a pointless bit where he compares numbers with other guys and declares he has 47. A nod to his fellow Sagehens.

R94 ...he dies.

One of my favorites. I love disaster movies.

There are some extra scenes on the Blu-Ray.

One extra scene startled me: When Newman, Jones and the kids are stopped by the blown out stairway, they shot it where Newman calls up to Jones, telling her that SHE has to climb down while carrying the little girl down!

R96 Jen would have won the Oscar if she had just carried the fucking child!

What does that have to do with anything, R95?

R98 The number with huge resonance for his alma mater gets him killed.

He was gonna die, per the script, no matter what number he stated. He chose to add that number in for fun.

After the architectural company secretaries took off their pantyhose to make a rope there was a deleted scene of the men below trying to get some upskirt views.

R96 mentions my favorite scene. I purposely messed up a couple times so Mr. Newman could fondle me some more.

SPOILER ALERT, R95!!! Jesus!

People die in a disaster movie?!?! Who would imagine that.

Irwin kept sticking his fat wife in all of his movies too. She played the mayor's wife in this - in that hideous pink gown and big-ass bun on top of her head.

I remember thinking how daring she was to go sleeveless, r105...

DL people didn't Sheila appear in some episodes of Bewitched a few years earlier as the wife of a client of McMann and Tate's

The Control Room scenes are hilarious.

I saw this in a movie theatre in 1974. I was 8 years old. NOT an appropriate movie for an eight year old with all the violence. But I recall enjoying the spectacle of it all.

Was Sheila Megan McCain's birth mother?

I just watched this for the first time. It was fantastic. Thanks for the recommendation.

Does the mayor die? I can't remember.

R62, did she eat the picture after she stole it?

One of my favorite parts is the fact that the building is perpetually exploding due to backdraft (which I believe had been mapped out as a phenomenon only fairly recently). Glass and debris is perpetually be launched into space.

Yet the vast plaza below remains completely clear and we never see any difficulty in how the firemen exit or enter the building.

Fun bonus! All the stairwells are blocked and the elevator system is destroyed, but the survivors are at the ground level the same night of the catastrophe.

The address of the building is that of the famed Palace Hotel, suggesting that the landmark was demolished for this piece of flimsy shit.

Sheila Matthews is good in Poseidon too. I love how she says "we're following the doctor" and "come with us Reverend." Such contained panic in her voice.

The mayor does die, R112. I have so many questions, but I’m still processing it. After reading the recentish Station Nightclub fire thread it just reinforced my intention to leave any building with a fire of whatever size immediately by any means possible.

Do you think any of the actors took their roles for the craft or just for the money?

Oh, sure r117. They were paid handsomely. All three leads were know for their acting prowess; These roles didn’t require them to dig deep. And the producers wanted A list names on the marquee to attract audiences. So they compensated Faye, Paul and Steve with big checks.

Newman and McQueen each made $1 million on the film.

It's harder to watch now after 9/11 though at least the building stayed standing.

In one of the extras on the Blu-Ray, I think they covered the consultations with fire department officials (with one on the set, I believe).

Apparently the firemen they consulted at the time told them that THEY never stayed in a room above the 3rd floor. And that they were very careful where they sat in restaurants, wanting to be near the exits and the sprinklers.

Supposedly there were complaints from builders after the movie was released because they thought it was too alarmist. Not long after the movie, though, there were some high rise fires that reinforced what was shown in the movie. Some people believe the movie helped to convince people that sprinklers and other safety measures should be incorporated into new buildings.

One story they told had the film people trying to work out how they could shoot fire scenes without causing the studio alarms to go off. A movie person suggested that they just turn off the fire alarm when they were going to shoot a scene with fire. To which the consulting fireman responded, "Turning off the fire alarm and then starting a fire is called ARSON."

The 9/11 disaster movie will be Airport '75 and Towering Inferno all in one, r120.

9/11- was The Towering INFERNOS

So many hilarious lines in this campfest. A sweaty frantic Newman looking down a stairwell then exclaiming "Its blocked with ceMENT !

As I've said before, another thing that set it apart from Earthquake and Airport '75 was that you didn't have to sit through almost an hour of soapy exposition before the disaster hits. The fire/suspense starts small but early.

[quote]R118 they compensated Faye, Paul and Steve with big checks.

Dunaway wrote in her autobiography that her agent explained that this was the kind of commercial venture an actor should do from time to time, for visibility.

Many of her films were more on the arty/serious side so this pop dreck was a departure for her.

Irwin Allen...the king of the 'Rats in a trap' films......Let's watch to see if they all make it out alive..........yuck

It’s so fucking hot outside I feel like an extra from that movie

"Pop dreck" and "yuck"? It's a genre and Inferno is one of the better crafted.

[quote]R129 “Pop dreck" and "yuck"? It's a genre and Inferno is one of the better crafted.

Torture Porn is a genre, too.

This movie is about watching characters die violent deaths, one by one. No one mistook it for art - it’s more like the thrill our forefathers got from watching public deaths in the Colosseum.

Well, stick to westerns and mob movies, r130.

Shut up, killjoy.

[quote]On a darker note, this film, like most disaster films, says a lot about human nature, not all of it roses and sunshine. I love the many impressive scenes of people scurrying like rats to save themselves. I sit and wonder if I would wait my turn in the helicopter basket or, like Richard Chamberlin, push everyone out of my way (he even throws a U.S. Senator to his death) just to save my own skin. I burn easily. I wear a medical alert bracelet inscribed FLAMMABLE.

[quote]R131 Well, stick to westerns and mob movies, [R130].

Because those are the height of artistry?

[italic]I throw piss in your faces!

Holden looked 100 years old in this film. Did he make $1 M, too.

No. But he got to throw La Dunaway against a wall.

I wonder if he had second thoughts about then hearing they’d be in NETWORK together.

Now that I have digested this, here are some random thoughts. If McQueen thought Newman was running away with the movie, to me it didn’t have anything to do with the way the characters were written. McQueen just seemed flat compared to Newman. You could see Newman’s character thinking, seeking proactive. McQueen just seemed reactionary, even though that’s not how the character is necessarily written.

Was Robert Wagner going through a rough time in Hollywood? His character’s story line was … abrupt.

I know OJ got away with murder, and that’s what we think of first now. I forgot how much goodwill and generic likability he had built up in appearances like this before anyone knew of his violent tendencies.

How did the people in the control room get out? How did everyone on the top floor get down after the water tanks were detonated? Did the building have a sprinkler that malfunctioned?

[quote]r137 Now that I have digested this, here are some random thoughts. If McQueen thought Newman was running away with the movie - -

Those are NEGATIVE and I notice that you have NOTHING in about Marlon Brandon, you have NOTHING in about Johnny Depp who I did two films with, which I was BRILLIANT in and they were not well SOLD in this COUNTRY. You can't put in that I worked with the wonderful Marlon Brando?! It’s very upsetting to me. It's just, like, you know, an obsession. WHY can't you be obsessed about positive things? About Marlon Brando? About the Kusturica movie that was the hit of all of Europe and Cannes?

How has no one mentioned the insane glory of 70s art direction and set design? The orange and yellow hues everywhere, the greens in the upper deck! It’s fantastic.

The wall to wall! The paneling! Phones you can completely disconnect from even outbound emergency calls!

The Duncan Enterprises set with its offices on mutiple levels was so fabulously 70s. All those steps leading up to various levels. Short shag carpeting, The burnt orange color scheme. That set could only have been done in the 70s! .

And in real life, an office like that would only have existed in the 70s. Wonder if they did base it on a real life office.

A mock newspaper report treating the fire in the Glass Tower as if it was a real event.

Beware R142's link, it's being blocked as containing a trojan.

Yikes! r143. My Norton didn't block it or give me any warning.

Sorry to give out an infected link.

The most exciting part of the movie to me didn't involve a big name. It was when that fireman was trying to save the people in the loose elevator. I was sure he was dead meat, but he lived.

R137

Re Sprinklers: --- When the fire chief arrives (about the 43:00 minute mark) he speaks to the architect and asks about the sprinklers. Newman tells him the sprinklers are not working on floor 81 (where the fire is) and when McQueen stops and asks "Why?", Newman says "I don't know".

Re Control Room --- I don't recall they ever specified where the Control Room was. I assumed it was at or below the ground floor. The only reference is when OJ says there was an indication of a fire in the "Main Utility Room" which he refers to as "down there". It looks as if the main utility room is in a basement

Re: Robert Wagner's part --- The Blu-Ray has extended or deleted scenes. One of those was showing Dan (Robert Wagner) in his office on 65 (across from and on the same floor as Duncan's). Wagner is presiding over a meeting of 8 or 9 other people as they are going over the details for the grand opening. The jeweler is announced and brings in the gold scissors and everyone ooohs and aaahs. The scene was positioned right after Newman finds the bad wiring in the Utility Room and before the scene where Newman and Will Giddings get off the elevator and head into Duncan's office to tell him about the "almost" fire. The implication is the Wagner has a significant position in the company, someone who can handle a complicated task with ease.. Without this scene, Wagner's character comes off as someone much lower in the organization.

Youtube has the extended scene with Duncan and Dan about cancelling the party. This scene would have fitted in right after Newman and Will leave Duncan's office. It shows Dan reminding Duncan of how cancelling the party could cause problems.

^^ oh dear.

That was in response to:

[quote]r143 Beware [R142]'s link, it's being blocked as containing a trojan.

[quote] r142/r144 Yikes! My Norton didn't block it or give me any warning. Sorry to give out an infected link.

Love this movie!!!

SF Bay residents: does the helicopter’s flight path in the opening credits make any fucking sense?

First it appears to be skimming just above the waves, heading south.

Next it’s flying much higher in what appears to be the interior.

Then south again along the coast, and into fog and when it emerges is facing toward SF and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then I (think) it again skims above the surface going north (?) along the marina district, before the pilot makes a Mohammed Atta-style low pass between buildings downtown before finally circling and climbing to land on the roof of the tower.

The FAA would have his license in seconds if a pilot tried that in real life.

For reference at R150:

Also, NYC’s new Central Park Tower looks very similar to the Glass Tower, although the CP is shorter at 471m and 98 storeys, and the Glass Tower was supposed to be 515m and 138 floors.

Every time a fire wagon tears in the direction of the Glass Tower sirens blaring I chuckle a bit because didn't the Three Stooges have a cameo as firemen in a horror flick?

^^ disaster film

R155, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Holden was only in his mid-50s when he made this movie but he looks at least 70.

WoW. Faye Dunaway had the most beautiful refined face and features of any woman I've ever seen on film. She's just a bit worn looking too - she was never an ingenue. The arch of her brows, the bow mouth, those rattlesnake cheekbones, her fucking beautiful forehead and chin and jaw structure. Such a self consciously beautiful and sensuous looking woman. Faye was unbelievable looking in still shots and motion. I've never seen this goofy movie - but I'm a gonna.

I love setting things on fire. A little of Faye Dunaway goes a long way, so all the other posts are of interest too. Who was the fat old movie star with the helmet hair? Jennifer January? Does she hit her head at the start of the film?

He was a heavy smoker and major alcoholic, R158. He was such a beautiful young man.

Severe alcoholism plus heavy smoking plus sun.

What a face to just throw away.

Sun? More like jaundice. On the Tonight Show shortly before his death. Drunk.

[quote]Was Robert Wagner going through a rough time in Hollywood? His character’s story line was … abrupt.

I suspect RJ did this movie as a favor to his bestie, Paul Newman.

In 1978s Damien: Omen II, Holden's pallor is green. He looks ill. And Dunaway is gorgeous playing a fashion model in 1971s Puzzle of a Downfall Child.

Is this the line for the breeches buoy?

[quote]R159 Faye Dunaway had the most beautiful, refined face and features of any woman I've ever seen on film.

Fun cast

[quote]R159 Who was the fat old movie star with the helmet hair? Jennifer January? Does she hit her head at the start of the film?

Jennifer Jones. Unfortunately she doesn’t die right away, because she’s usually boring as shit.

She broke up one of Hollywood’s most powerful marriages in her youth and married the producer husband. He then over managed her career to the point where she appeared mostly in boring projects when not tied to his overblown bombs. She still won an Oscar, but her career would have really been better if not shackled to him.

In later life (after marrying another multi millionaire) she had a hairdresser and makeup man drop by the house every morning and do her up. Because she didn’t trust a mortuary to make her look good for an open casket should she drop dead.

Jennifer goes blonde...

It was Faye's gorgeous bone structure that saved that tower!!!

Thank you R149. It seems as if the sprinklers were malfunctioning for no explainable reason while the fire theoretically was in control, that that have been a better use of the time he spent wending around the building.

RJ was good friends with producer Irwin Allen. He appeared in several Allen projects.

I miss movies like this. The STAR POWER. Who could even star in a movie like this nowadays? Which "stars?

It would be a CGI mess like Poseidon from 2006.

Well that silly Dwayne Johnson Skyscraper movie is in some ways an unofficial remake. This is one is far better.

Jennifer Jones when she was younger:

Jennifer Jones held the rights to Terms of Endearment for years to make her big return to films in. She never could get it made though.

She never would have come close to what Shirl did.

There are more hair pieces and toupees in this film than in all previous Hollywood films combined.

See JJ in her last starring role the 1969 cult classic Angel, Angel Down we Go aka Cult of the Damned.

[quote] There are more hair pieces and toupees in this film than in all previous Hollywood films combined.

They, and all the hairspray, fed the fire.

I wonder if the cast Bobby Brady so kids would enjoy the film.

Somehow I missed it, what happened to the deaf mom?

O.J. takes her out of the building r181.

I forget why she gets separated from the kids though. I think O.J. takes her down and then move fire bursts out and Newman, Jennifer Jones and the kids are stuck and have to climb up.

The faux sign language gesturing is another hilarity.

Does Susan Blakely get to do much in this?

Paul Newman's son, Scott, played a small role as a young and nervous fireman.

He died from an overdose in 1978.

That's a shame, R186. Hot kid.

I watched as kid. I was only worrying about the fat lady in pink making it alive by the end of the movie

[quote]I saw on AMC Behind the scenes that Jones thought this would be a real attention getting role for her like Helen Hayes had in Airport and Shelley Winters in Poseidon. But it just didn't work out. Audiences didn't connect with her.

Audiences didn't connect with her? What are you talking about, because she wasn't nominated for the Oscar? She was nominated for The Golden Globe. I can tell you first hand audiences were very upset when she went out of the elevator. It opened in very few theaters because exclusive engagements were a good thing in those days. I was a kid and saw it opening weekend to a packed house and I went back many times to my Mother's frustration. Having a big beautiful 70MM theater in the neighborhood was a movie fanatic kid's best friend. You could hear the whole audience gasp when she went out and then groan when she hit. The scene worked perfectly.

I think I've seen the same kind of staggered billing Newman and McQueen got before: for George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward on They Might Be Giants (1971).

Well, this thread has been anything, but a disaster!

having the word Inferno in red on the tltle credits is a bit much.

did they make faye's hair gray?

R185 What she ever trusted to do much in a film? She appeared with Robert Wagner in the incredible The Concorde . . .Airport '79

Blakely had a better career in television, earning Emmy nominations for Rich Man, Poor Man and its sequel.

Odd thing about Blakely. She did the open labia scene years before "Basic Instinct" in a movie called "Capone" (1975). The world shrugged.

Angel, Angel, Down We Go

Will the breaches buoy be seated according to class?

Forgot how fast this movie escalated into pure hell.. Spectacular movie.

I’ve read references of this film with the events of 9/11. The same kind of anguish could be felt.

It really did have you gripping your seat in the theater, r199.

[quote] Forgot how fast this movie escalated into pure hell.

Duncan tells the guest not to use the "express" elevators, but only the scenic elevator. Guests ignore his warning and jam into the elevator.

When the elevator returns on fire and the burning man emerges and stumbles out, drops and dies, the silence in the room and the look on faces tells that they understand how serious things really are.

r201, the scene where the elevator doors open and the fire gets sucked in has terrified me to this day. This, Omen II, Speed and Final Destination 2 make me terrified of riding elevators!

R120 IKR..That scene was compelling because only a few moments prior everyone was in complete bliss enjoying themselves without a care in the world and then BOOM… Complete and utter madness ensues.

The looks on their faces had me looking the same way.

Sheer Terror….

I also like the maze of fire traps that Newman and Jones go through as they try and get to safety with the kids.

I believe Paul definitely had a more involved role in this film than McQueen did for sure.

The whole elevator sequence was great, No CGI, the actors were hanging there. I met Mike Lookinland and asked him about the scene and he had nothing but nice things to say about Dunaway.

We need to talk more about Faye.

Faye was a dynamo in her day. I just wish she’d took on more quality roles in Hollywood. She seemed to be in mostly television though.

She turned down a lot of roles. Coke got in the way. And as time wore on, directors, producers and costars were reluctant to work with her.

Coke is a hellava drug.

That guy Steve was holding onto outside the basket cage was hot.

Told this story before here....

Met Leslie Nielsen and Richard Chamberlain at the Chiller autograph show in Jersey. I handed Mr Nielsen, the Poseidon Special Edition DVD and said..."This is all your fault, if you weren't flirting with the blonde"...and he laughed and said "Oh No, I take no responsibility for this!"

When I met Chamberlain I handed him the Inferno Special Edition DVD and said..."This is all your fault" to which he laughed and said "Yes, I guess it is!"

Dunaway would do great at the autograph circuit, Kathleen Turner is headlining now, but Faye probably would'nt appreciate the line of queens wanting "Mommy Dearest" signed.

This article and cover story (Dangerous Dunaway) alludes to a lot of what Faye was going through as middle age set in. It was released around the time of Barfly, before Faye had any surgery. Just a lot of delusions, addictions, men and career problems.

She's a fucking MOVIE STAR.

Who doesn't love Leslie Nielsen, r211? The only thing I would have quizzed Chamberlain on would have been Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"That guy Steve was holding onto outside the basket cage was hot."

Actor/stuntman Ernie Orsatti. He's the guy who did the spectacular fall in The Poseidon Adventure.

R214 Ahh ok.. Thanks

Ernie...

There's elevator scenes, r205, and there's elevator scenes...

[quote] I view Newman as a much bigger star than McQueen, so the co-equal billing is a mystery to me.

You don't (nor did you then) get to be the one who decides, honey.

The man on fire staggering out of the elevator before dropping dead in front of the party guests comes from The Tower. I don't remember if he took the elevator, but in the book, he's actually the Duncan analog, "Grover Frazee." (In The Glass Inferno, the building owner is more of a reptilian, J. Paul Getty/Rupert Murdoch type. I remember Frazee as being more naive.)

I still can't think of this film without thinking of the girl in FAME re-enacting OJ waiting for the elevator for her audition.

At that point, McQueen was equal to Newman, star power-wise.

It’s such a borefest. Endless scenes of characters making their way down metal passageways.

r222 is the reason the word ennui was invented.

Everybody loved OJ.

OJ wasn’t that bad of an actor tbh. Shame he let his ego and fame turn him into a Psycho…oh wait.

Why does OJ seem so bitchy in so many of his scenes?

So, are we to believe that despite OJ’s position and the things he should be doing, for a good half of the movie he’s just hanging out comforting that lady’s cat until he can hand it over to Fred Astaire?

[quote]The towels in this movie are so richly luxurious.

Guess who ran the building....

[quote] Disaster blockbuster, with each scene of someone horribly in flames presented as a feat for the audience's delectation. The picture practically stops for us to say, "Yummy, that's a good one!" These incendiary deaths and the falls from high up in the 138-floor tallest skyscraper in the world are the film's only feats. Paul Mewman and Steve McQueen mutter heroic sentiments, and Faye Dunaway manages to look goddessy-beautiful through it all, wandering through the chaos in puce see-through chiffon. [...] The picture asks us to believe that the tallest building in the world--a golden glass tower that's a miracle of flimsiness, as it turns out--would have been set down in San Francisco, of all places.

Newman, Holden and Sheila Allen reunited for Irwin Allen's last disaster film When time Ran out.

Pauline sounds so bitter and hateful.

Pauline actually had a brain. And taste.

R213 you do realize Chamberlain isn’t in BAT?

Richard was in the musical adaptation opposite Mary Tyler Moore, which never officially opened on Broadway.

Pauline did have a brain and taste. She was also bitter and hateful. And she got giddy over some pretty silly moments and people on film. Disaster films were considered pretty low brow exploitation. The Towering Inferno is no better - but it is more gruesome and the cast is gorgeous. What's not to love, Pauline?

Funny that people would argue over whether Steve Mcqueen or Paul Newman was the bigger star. Only one of them was slumming it. And he is the lasting star.

I would like to watch OJ fuck Richard Chamberlain. Then.

I'd agree Newman over time has remained the bigger star, but given the choice I'd prefer to watch a McQueen film

Newman is probably the bigger star with gay men while McQueen is the bigger star with straight men.

Paul Newman is one of the top male film stars of all time by any measure, and most especially by his resume. He's an AFI Legend, a method actor who remained a movie star for his whole life. McQueen was not much of an actor or a looker. Though he as very BO popular for a decade, he leaves behind no palpable screen memories. He had two expressions. I'm gonna kill you or fuck you. He's the Paul Newman of Charles Bronson's.

It's a shame Faye cannot have some humour about herself because she would be a HUGE draw at conventions. She could charge hundreds and I'm sure people would pay. I'm sure Mommie memorabilia would be the leader but I'm sure she would see plenty of Barfly, Supergirl, Eyes of Laura Mars, Network, Chinatown, and Bonnie & Clyde.

McQuuen always left me kind of cold too. Always looked way older due to all the boozing and smoking. A few decent films, but nowhere close to Newman.

McQueen

Although I do think Newman is unquestionably the bigger star and better actor, I think my view is slanted by those book excerpts DL was posting several months ago. It made McQueen seem like a terrible asshole.

Faye at the premiere:

R239 I think Faye feels if she had fun with it, people would feel less about her as an actress, or it would somehow defile her work. Patty Duke had more major award hardware, and still learned to laugh at VOTD. Dunaway simply can’t laugh at herself, even though she could make a ton of money off it.

True. It's just not in Faye's nature.

But she would have a massive second act if she embraced it.

I find it interesting though that Mommie Dearest and especially her performance are starting to be reassessed. The Blu-Ray release has revived interest in the film and her performance.

R229 I love Pauline Kael's cynical, hilarious reviews. Although that last part about the implausibility of a giant skyscraper being built in San Francisco? Well, now we have the Salesforce Tower - the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

r229 At least it's not sinking. The Millennium Tower, less than a block away, has sunk 18 inches and is tilting 14 inches. They have a $100 million plan to stabilize it but it sounds scary to me.

I'd want her to sign a bottle of Thrill, r239. I was having Julia Meade sign my program after a performance. I told her I wished I'd brought a Chinet plate for her to sign. I'm lucky to be writing this now after the look she gave me. Faye doesn't scare me.

[quote] I think Olivia De Havilland should have been nominated for The Swarm.

Miss Olivia does not cotton to sarcasm.

I love how they emphasize the wedding ring in the last shot of the R248 commercial.

This isn’t just any chick endorsing dishwashing detergent… this is a trustworthy WIFE and MOTHER!

And *what* a MOTHER!

No more dish pan hands .... EVER!!

Ernie Orsatti, mentioned up thread, died September 12, 2020 from a hemorrhagic stroke. He was 80.

How fortuitous that Susan Shelby had a matching pair of hot pants under her long skirt.

Separates=versatile, r254.

R222 I agree. The characters are uninteresting, the dialog is flat and the action is so repetitive and predictable that this 2 hour and 40 minute human barbeque seems interminable. It could easily be an hour shorter.

R255, do you mean that was an actual style in 1972? I figured it was just suspension of disbelief. Girls wore hot pants under floor length skirts?

It's a two-hour-and-40-minute CLASSIC.

The skirts were slit, r257.

R257, in The Poseidon Adventure, it was really hot pants with a skirt slit up to the waist. Without the hot pants, the skirt would be open. It was a young ingenue’s modern style party “gown,” but for a young teen or early twenties woman.

Hot pants was a brief fashion in the 1970s and sometimes women wore them with nylons and heels as a party or club look. That fashion was really hot for a short time, then it faded.

Here’s an interesting article about the making of The Poseidon Adventure. One of the considerations in designing the costumes was that they had to be designed to shred and tear, but the women would still be decently covered. Pamela Sue Martin’s hot pants “dress” was made of velvet from the waist down, which wouldn’t tear easily, but would look soiled and ragged pretty easily. Carol Lynley was also wearing velvet hot pants.

Now it seems pretty unlikely that two women would be wearing hot pants on a cruise, but it was such a fad, it came and went, but was really popular for a while.

Here’s the drawing for Pamela Sue Martin’s hot pants dress. This was a really modern look, the shoes were modern too. It would be more common then for an adult woman to be wearing more formal shoes with a formal dress. Maybe satin to match or rhinestones or metallic. These are almost like casual daytime shoes. She’s wearing red velvet and white lace for a New Years Eve party in December, and sandals. It was a young girl’s Christmas holiday outfit, but a little bit edgy.

Hot pants never really went away. They just evolved into short shorts.

Hot pants have come back a number of times. I wasn't around in the 70s or 80s (much) but JLo and Aniston and others have worn these short dressy high end fabric short looks since. They're never gone if you have the legs for them.

Remember when Lucy wore those weird cigarette pants with a flared skirt in the same fabric? That's the look.

"SF Bay residents: does the helicopter’s flight path in the opening credits make any fucking sense?"

No! The opening is a masterpiece of bad editing, and one of my favorite things about the film!

Seeing the helicopter fly south, then north, then south, then inland, then on the coast, and approaching the Golden Gate Bridge from one angle and then another... really sets the tone for the cheesiness to come.

Kael is right. It's insane to build tall buildings in San Francisco. The whole poinbt of building the Transamerica Building as a pyramid was because it would be much less likely to collapse in an earthquake. The Salesforce Tower and the Millennium Tower will come right down when the Big One finally hits.

Great fucking thread. Do we have one for any other (campy) disaster movies? I am looking but I suck at discovering.

[quote] Hot pants never really went away. They just evolved into short shorts.

Excuse me but you have that backwards. Hot pants evolved from short shorts.

So sad to read that Ernie Orsatti has passed away, R253, but thank you for sharing the news. I would have totally missed it.

Poseidon...

The P Adventure is smelly. A totally inferior and silly movie.

Calm down r189. Yes the elevator scene is probably the most memorable part of the film.

I'm just quoting what the AMC documentary said. They had producers and people involved with the film and they said Jones was disappointed that she didn't create the buzz and get the career rejuvenation that she wanted from the film.

I just looked up her credits. She never worked again. As I said above she owned Terms of Endearment for a while and probably hoped Inferno would give her enough of a boost to get that made.

I think people remember her falling but the rest of the film she didn't make much of an impact.

To the person who asked about Susan Blakely, nah she doesn't have much to do in the film. She's in a bad marriage and is mostly seen being consoled by her father, William Holden. She does get to ride in the rescue thing they attached to the building. The only star who did that (successfully.)

The complete saga

Ernie Orsatti

Jennifer Jones in Towering Inferno was no Shelly Winters in Poseidon Adventure.

R261, that's interesting, thanks. But as for that second mock-up... I don't recall Eleanor Roosevelt being in the Poseidon Adventure.

[quote] Seeing the helicopter fly south, then north, then south, then inland, then on the coast, and approaching the Golden Gate Bridge from one angle and then another... really sets the tone for the cheesiness to come.

I always assumed it was William Holden, four scotches into his morning, who was flying the helicopter

[quote] Jennifer Jones in Towering Inferno was no Shelly Winters in Poseidon Adventure.

Jones wasn't half the woman Winters was. Literally.

Titanic has its flaws, among them the idea that Billy Zane could try to improve upon Richard Chamberlain's performance as "asshole with hubris."

R264, the helicopter flight path isn't that off. It comes in over the Marin Headlands, through the Golden Gate Bridge, then as heading east over the Bay turns right over Aquatic Park, heads south roughly over the Van Ness corridor and then turns left heading east again over City Hall, which would point it Downtown. Where it gets a little wonky is that it seems to head south over the Union Square area. To do that, if coming from Civic Center area, it would have had to made a hard right, then a hard left to get to the top of the building if it were where the Palace Hotel is on New Montgomery.

R280 - What happened to Old Montgomery? Oh right, it burned. It burned!

Let’s just say that Jennifer Beals’ bike riding through Pittsburgh in the opening credits of Flashdance are the equal of the flight path of the Tower Inferno helicopter. More amazing is that now a days we all have something in our own pockets that is powerful enough to handle any navigational need better then the most highly sophisticated navigational instruments back in those days.

Behind the scenes with more footage of the stuntmen.

Behind the scenes with more footage of the actors.

Another example of editing misdirection is the car chase in McQueen's Bullitt (1968), which makes no sense whatsoever.

So, why were the gaylings so attracted by these cinematic disaster epics?

Spectacle, melodrama, and camp, r286.

Amusing that it was too windy to land the helicopter on the roof but not too windy to linger feet from the building to rescue guests one by one in some flimsy contraption.

They never showed anything about what happened to the people who fell to their deaths.

They died, R289.

R290 What don't you understand about 'fell to their deaths'? What the film shows are dummies falling but nothing about what's happening on the ground below. A boring film. Nothing happens for an hour except setting up the relationships of the cardboard characters.

It would have been interesting to have one of those falling bodies knock out and kill someone below, but they didn’t go there surprisingly.

Nor are there any POV shots of what the falling victims see or the look on their faces as they plunge to certain death. Is there a credit on the film for 'dummy tosser'? It's a singularly unimaginative film. The director John Guillerman does not have an impressive resume. His best film is 1978s Death on the Nile. Other directorial credits include Skyjacked (1972) King Kong (1976) Shaft in Africa (1973) .

the lack of POV shots make it more haunting for me, less stylised, more like something the viewer could be watching for real.

Guillermin wasn't much of a filmmaker. He was barely a craftsman. He basically assembled films. That Towering Inferno works is due primarily to Irwin Allen, not Guillermin.

His best film is probably The Blue Max (1966).

Its cheesy love song won an Oscar, two years after "The Poseidon Adventure" got the same award.

Both songs were performed by the same strumpet, too!

When Susan Flannery’s character falls through the window to her death, you can tell that it’s a stuntman. I mean, they didn’t even try to camouflage it.

Why wasn’t Melissa Manchester given the chance to sing this tour de force disaster ballad?

R297 The stuntman had much firmer thighs and really filled out those panties.

R298

Because the duet between Debby Boone and George Kennedy got slightly higher marks from the talent scouts.

I used to always confuse Seals & Crofts "We May Never Pass This Way Again" with Maureen McGovern's "We May Never Love Like This Again."

One thing that’s a downer about this movie is it has 11 featured performers, and only 3 of them are women. It may as well be an army movie. It (and many major films , especially of that era) just has a vibe of “If you’re not a straight male, get OUT! You’re not welcome, and you’re certainly not important.”

It’s simply a depressing atmosphere from the get go.

Newman was a star who became an actor and, as an actor, he got better over time, with more challenging roles. I liked him better in his mature parts---he was so much better in "Nobody's Fool" than in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and was able to make a cliched part worth watching in "the Verdict". McQueen was a star who tried to become a more serious actor over time--it didn't happen. I'm sure that Newman was aware of who had better parts, bigger box office, but he wasn't petty and insecure like McQueen. Both were really entering a time in their career when they had to be more than just "stars". Newman was ready and on his way. McQueen was not and never would be.

Kael's review is one of her better ones. As she got older, they became more incoherent, with more purple prose. Her writing was probably less important than her overall approach. She had the mantel of NYer and made it ok to like daring often violent films from new filmmakers and to hate prestige pics and dull films you were supposed to like because they were foreign.

[quote] [R264], the helicopter flight path isn't that off. It comes in over the Marin Headlands, through the Golden Gate Bridge, then as heading east over the Bay turns right over Aquatic Park, heads south roughly over the Van Ness corridor and then turns left heading east again over City Hall, which would point it Downtown. Where it gets a little wonky is that it seems to head south over the Union Square area. To do that, if coming from Civic Center area, it would have had to made a hard right, then a hard left to get to the top of the building if it were where the Palace Hotel is on New Montgomery.

Next, on "The Californians"...

"Nothing happens for an hour except setting up the relationships of the cardboard characters."

As has been explained upthread, r291, that's the structure of the disaster film. Also stated was that Inferno does get an earlier start than the others. Maybe the disaster film is not the genre for you. Inferno's character's were drawn from two books making an easier job for Stirling Silliphant. Also, you had a villain you could actually blame the disaster on. When all is said and done, what people go to disaster movies for are the special effects. Nobody can fully appreciate Inferno on their TV sets. See it like some of us did originally, on a 70mm screen....

[quote]r303 [Kael's] writing was probably less important than her overall approach. She had the mantel of NYer and made it ok to like daring often violent films from new filmmakers and to hate prestige pics and dull films you were supposed to like because they were foreign.

She also acknowledged that it was alright to enjoy trash or campy fun. There was a wide spectrum of movies and performers she enjoyed. Like, for her review of MADAM X she wrote something along the lines of, “We’re supposed to be awed by the lavish budget, the exotic locations. Which would be fine if - say - you had someone like Capucine in a series breathtaking clothes. It may not be art, but it’s entertainment of a sort.”

Gotta speak up about the misrepresentation of Maureen McGovern (which is all over the internet, including IMDB which should know better). McGovern did NOT sing "The Morning After" in the film of The Poseidon Adventure. The voice heard in the film is an uncredited session singer named Renee Armond. McGovern later did a cover single that became a hit, but she was never in any way a part of the film. It was because of her hit single that she was offered "We May Never Love Like This Again" for The Towering Inferno. Just to confuse matters, 20th Century Fox never released a soundtrack album for Poseidon, and when it was finally done as a 1995 bootleg (on a label called Johnny Boy -presumably in honor of John Williams) the McGovern cover was included as the final track -with Armond's original from the film only appearing in 2010 in a limited-edition soundtrack release.

For those that don't know her (beyond those two songs) McGovern is tremendously versatile -able to sing pop, jazz, and classical styles. She sang the role of the mother in the workshop of Carrie The Musical which was later performed by Barbara Cook and Betty Buckley. She recorded some classical vocals with Leonard Bernstein, and her Christmas album is one of my all-time favorites. Her best album, Academy Award Performance, was only released on CD in Australia, but the LP can be had on Amazon and eBay as well as all the usual places.

[italic]Madame X[/italic] was a hoot. Especially when Lana Turner was supposed to be a twenty something blushing bride when she was forty-five! It definitely requires a total suspension of disbelief.

Christ! Irwin's fat wife was even shoehorned into the video at R284 as a talking head-don't get us McQueen, Dunaway or Newman-we need to hear from THAT GIRL!

R305 The Last Voyage (1960) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) are a good hour shorter than The Towering Inferno and get to the main event in about 15 minutes. I didn't really care about any of the characters and as far as I was concerned they can all fry and that goes for those kids and the cat! The extras are an inept bunch who seem bored except when running to an elevator. I also find Titanic an epic bore. I tried watching The Towering Inferno several times and always lose interest. It's free with my Prime subscription.

r305, you're just not going to convince anyone this film is any good, even to the practiced eye of connoisseurs of the genre like yourself.

Smell you, R310! It's free right now with everyone's Prime subscription.

Juggernaut (1974) The title refers to a terrorist who claims to have planted a bomb on an luxury ocean liner. The film is both a thriller and a disaster picture as the race against time to locate the bomb and dismantle it. Directed by Richard Lester. tense and involving

Which disaster film do you like, r311?

Before AIRPORT....

[quote]r308 Madame X was a hoot. Especially when Lana Turner was supposed to be a twenty something blushing bride when she was forty-five! It definitely requires a total suspension of disbelief.

So as not to stir up a riot, I did not include how Kael’s statement (roughly) goes:

“Which would be fine if - say - you had someone like Capucine in a series of breathtaking clothes. It may not be art, but it’s entertainment of a sort. [italic]But the middle aged Lana Turner does not wear clothes well. She wears them like matronly women in Palm Springs do.”

Well I never in all my life, r316!

Kael went on to call Turner “marshmallowy” and said, “She’s not Madam X, she’s Brand X.”

The lines were drawn.

[quote]For those that don't know her (beyond those two songs) McGovern is tremendously versatile -able to sing pop, jazz, and classical styles.

Excuse me? EXCUSE ME? You don't mention her most Datalounge-renowned accomplishment, "Different Worlds (Theme from 'Angie')"????

Actually the fire started quite early into this film. On the 81st floor, bitches.

But it was dull dull dull: the first casualties( Robert Wagner and Susan Flannery) occurred after the first rambling hour.

R276, that was Shelly Winters! She looks like a matron that watches over stewardesses in the 1960s, or a woman manager in Airport. It’s like a matronly uniform. It was probably smart for Shelley to gain the weight, because she looked more pillowy and matronly. That drawing looks like an old battleaxe.

About the shoes, I saw another picture of Stella Stevens’ shoes. She was wearing silver leather platform ankle straps. That was a style then, but for younger girls out clubbing. Between that and the braless lace top evening gown, she looked like an overage hooker, which is what she was. Good costuming.

Pamela Sue Martin was wearing red leather sandals. I was right, they were daywear, not evening wear. They were implying she was an unsophisticated kid who didn’t have anything really appropriate. She just picked whatever red shoes she had. I felt sorry for the actress, wearing backless heeled sandals through all the climbing they did must have been miserable. Even Stella Stevens’ shoes had ankle straps holding them on. They climbed ladders and all kinds of stuff.

There’s another photo from the filming on IMDb showing another take of the scene below. She’s wearing white sneakers (not her costume) that slipped into the edge of the frame. They probably cropped it later.

Quick, get me a list of all tenants who deal with silk or wool... or who manufacture tennis balls.

How many takes for McQueen to deliver his lines without falling out?

R322 Isn’t that Stella in that picture not Carol?

R324, pink shirt is Stella. Red shorts is Pamela Sue Martin. Carol is white shorts and turtleneck with a long vest.

Both Pamela and Carol are wearing velvet shorts. Different colors so they’ll look different on screen. They wanted to use fabrics that wouldn’t tear easily because of all the action. I guess velvet tested the best.

Lady. Hey, lady. This is The Towering Inferno thread.

R325 There are only four people in the picture I’m looking at two women and two men.

R312 Well you do pay for Prime don't you? So I guess it's included with your paid Prime membership is more accurate.

By chance, r321, did you find the movie dull?

[quote] When Susan Flannery’s character falls through the window to her death, you can tell that it’s a stuntman. I mean, they didn’t even try to camouflage it.

Seriously. Couldn't they find a stuntman with same burly girth and strong shoulders as Miss Flannery?

[quote] It may as well be an army movie. It (and many major films , especially of that era) just has a vibe of “If you’re not a straight male, get OUT! You’re not welcome, and you’re certainly not important.”

Dear. The cast included Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Richard Chamberlain. You didn't need to be straight.

[quote] Seriously. Couldn't they find a stuntman with same burly girth and strong shoulders as Miss Flannery?

They got one that ate pussy, wasn't that enough of a match?

R329 Deadly, unspeakably and shockingly dull!

R319 Excuse me! You're all forgetting my most memorable screen performance!

I love how Fred Astaire walks into the BofA building on California Street at the beginning, then is suddenly inside the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in the Embarcadero.

R331 - Are you really so damaged you can’t watch a disaster movie classic without putting it through SJW lenses?!

Apologies, R331. I meant to reply to the guy you were quoting

^^ Let me guess. White male?

No more dying in a grease fire. I wanna die in a towering inferno!

You'll be the first one off the scenic elevator, r339.

Ok, now I was to watch The Poseidon Adventure. It looks like nowhere free to stream, though. I don’t ever remember to cancel subscriptions so hate to start a “free” trial. Is it as entertaining as this one?

Rent it for $3 you cheap cunt.

"Excuse me? EXCUSE ME? You don't mention her most Datalounge-renowned accomplishment, "Different Worlds (Theme from 'Angie')"????"

R319, I could lie and say that some things are just too obvious to need to say them on Datalounge, but the truth is (and I hang my head in shame) that it didn't even cross my mind. I shall construct a very tall grease fire and jump into it dressed like Susan Flannery.

WTF, 341? It's on Netflix.

And for the record, it is far more entertaining (and shorter) than Towering Inferno.

Don't lie to the man. It is not on Netflix.

Huh? Who the fuck was Maureen McGovern anyway? And no, the Poseidon adventure is not worth watching R341. Who wants to watch ugly people climb metal stairs for 2 hours? In velvet hotpants. They come out at the bottom, after the old fat whore and blonde whore die. Cuz the ship is upside down, see? Gene Hackman is a wonderful actor. But not in that POS movie. The falling Christmas tree is nowhere near as scary as something your cat did one year to the tree.

The only other disaster movie worth watching, also stars Faye Dunaway.

Eh, Steve McQueen is an icon to straight guys only. He's what they'd like to be in their heart of hearts, the stunt driver turned rich movie star, who got all the chicks and broke up marriages and treated everyone in his life life shit, because he could.

To the rest of us, he's, well, jolie-laid at best.

Forgive me, R345 -I did a search and Netflix's site said the film was on it. It's on Amazon Prime, too. May be free or rental depending on your subscription.

According to justwatch.com, The Poseidon Adventure (1972) is available on the following subscription sites: Cinemax on Amazon Prime, Max Go, and OnDemand.

It's available for rental on all the other sites.

So much fabulous about the Poseidon Adventure including Pamela Sue Martin (our first exposure to her) and her hot pants; climbing the Christmas tree, falling into the ceiling, Shelley Winters swimming, Gene Hackman turning the valve and more.

YES, Watch it. Worth paying for the rental.

Keep in mind, Towering Inferno came out in 1974, but Poseidon Adventure came out in 1972 and set the standards for the disaster films that came after it.

[quote] Its cheesy love song won an Oscar, two years after "The Poseidon Adventure" got the same award.

And now these two movies are owned by the same studio the songwriters went to where they got a third Oscar nomination that they lost.

Ok, I’m going in (Poseidon Adventure). It does annoy me we have to pay for every streaming service and then tons of content is excluded, but what can you do.

Let us know what you think, R352.

Steve McQueen had an affair with Sharon Farrell in the 60s and they remained friends and he helped her out financially many times. I heard that when Faye was with Peter Wolf of J Geils Band that they were both into heroin. My first NYC job was in the kitchen/household supplies section of Bloomingdale's and I once sold a coffeemaker to Richard Chamberlain and he was charming.

Spoiler Alert

They did The Reivers together, r354.

Hope you enjoy Poseidon Adventure r341. It's fabulous, as is The Towering Inferno. Why does everything have to be a competition ???

One more favorite tidbit from the books: While the fire is going on, there's an investigation that quickly uncovers the builders' corruption. An inspector who looked the other way, knowing he's screwed, laments to his wife, "Just remember that you got to go to Hawaii."

R357, Americans are very competitive - I find it ridiculous.

r38 I think he was head of the costume division of the academy or something like that. He was well known and liked by other costumers hence is two odd nominations.

Bobby Brady didn't even get his name in the opening credits while people with much smaller roles and less known did.

That's odd.

[quote] Americans are very competitive - I find it ridiculous.

More competitive than you, loser!

R292 You see one you've seen 'em all! Yawn! The repeated POV Yawn!. Forget stylization. How about variation. Were all the scenes with dummies dropping filmed on the same day?

R331 is this how you view everything in life?

Can you imagine Dataloungers in a towering inferno???

The biggest problem with Towering Inferno, which I don't hate, is that it is by nature a stagnant film. The bulk of the cast is stuck on the top floor waiting and waiting and waiting for the fire to get to them. Meanwhile, in Poseidon (or other disaster flicks like Earthquake and even Titanic), the movie is mainly non-stop action and the fight to survive following the disaster.

The Airport movies all have the same problem in that something happens and then for 90 minutes you have the cast sitting around and waiting to die. So do the volcano movies. And Twister is a weird in that you have "survivors" chasing disaster in oddly paced set-piece action scenes but most of the movie is Helen Cunt blathering on.

Those two women who run out and cause the helicopter to crash should have been slapped. Did they lose their low numbers and still get to ride in the elevator?

The scenes with Robert Wagner and Susan Flannery are really terrifying. The fact that nobody knows that they're there and trapped is really unsettling. And the special effects from almost 50 years ago still hold up. You really feel that heat when Wagner runs across the room.

Damn, Flannery was absolutely gorgeous when she was younger.

I never understood that rooftop scene. How did the women cause the accident just by running towards a hovering helicopter? It's like the thing suddenly blew up like a Pinto sitting at a red light.

[quote] [R331] is this how you view everything in life?

Fortunately, I have absolutely no idea what you're even talking about.

Nobody said goodbye to me or anything, and I didn't think they cared. They just burst into flames and died.

R370 R302 actually , not you

[italic]The Brady Bunch[/italic] never ranked above 34th place in its original network run. The reruns kept it alive all these years, but those had barely started. That is probably why this film’s producers thought Mike Lookinland was only good enough for the closing credits.

Credits are decided by agents and producers, and is a part of the actor's hiring fee package.

R369, the helicopter was still in the process of landing, the women rushed into the landing zone, causing the pilot to try to abort the landing, but he struck the railing in the process. Quite realistic, actually.

Oh OK, thanks R375. I must've missed him hitting the railing or forgot about it. All I remembered was two women running towards it and suddenly ka-boom!

I saw it when it was first in theaters. I was ten and not an old ten so I basically sat there bored out of my mind, except during the action sequences, when I was somewhat less bored.

I always like the actress who played the first woman to go across in the breeches buoy (or whatever it was called.)

She did a good job. She's even a little bit funny.

R341 here. I have finished The Poseidon Adventure. I can mainly say that … if you haven’t, you should watch it. It is epic. Shelley Winters of course makes the movie. I love how she keeps handing jewelry to her husband up until the last scene. I have never liked Gene Hackman in any role, ever, and that remains constant here.

However, I started the movie wanting to sacrifice myself to the tsunami just to get away from these banal people and this tacky ship, only to see bodies flying what felt like 5 minutes later and then I was riveted. And then the whole thing with the Christmas Tree??! Which I almost forgot about by the end. Was this a cult cruise, because I still don’t understand why Gene Hackman and various other characters were “reverends”.

Affirms my instinct to never go on a cruise, but this was a trip.

Bill Holden's glasses did him no favors.

r379 that is something that is a little odd about Poseidon. Many people are using it for transportation. Shelley is going to Isreael to meet her grandson. Hackman has been banished to Africa. Stella and Borgnine are on their way to a trip around Europe (she at least says at one point "why we didn't fly I'll never know.")

And the kids being there alone is so odd. They're meeting their parents in Europe. Who puts kids alone on a cruise ship during the holidays? (I think they did that because they didn't want to have a family of four as part of the group. It would have become all about them but they wanted to have kids on board so kids would identify with them.)

Trans Atlantic cruises are pretty rare nowadays. They only happen once a year when ships are brought from the Carribbean to Europe for the summer and then back for the winter. There's nothing to do on a transatlantic cruises. It is just days and days of sailing. People like the ports.

I guess when the book was written people still used ships to travel to Europe since flying may have been kind of new? (don't know just a guess.)

^ they helped him see

The guy who dressed Miss Dunaway deserved a nomination. She never looked so good before or since. Even in Chinatown which was made the same year she doesn't look as flawless.

(gee, Miss Dunaway was in two of the 5 Best Picture nominees that year.)

I really wished on the roof with the helicopter they pulled an early E.R. and one of the women lost a limb or became decapitated. Imagine the incredulous reaction shot Faye could have given and then burying her face in the crux of Newman’s neck.

[quote](gee, Miss Dunaway was in two of the 5 Best Picture nominees that year.)

So was John Cazale!

R385 But sadly, only one of them would be alive by the end of the decade.

I'm surprised Robert Vaughn did this movie. His character had no actual storyline and he barely had any lines. I think he died when he tried to keep Richard Chamberlain from getting on the rescue chair, but I'm not sure.

I thought the casting of Susan Flannery in this one was odd. She was unknown to people who didn't watch Days of our Lives and she was no ingenue like Susan Blakely. Did she finger some female executive at Warner Brothers to get the part?

It felt to me like a lot of scenes between Astaire and Jones were left on the cutting room floor. We don't know how they met, and we find out in a short 2-minute segment he's a con artist and she's okay with that. Huh?

Also, who chose that awful tent Jennifer Jones was wearing and who plopped that gawd awful mop on her head? She was only 55 when she made this movie, but she looked about 10 years older.

Ah, the 1970s - where every executive office had a bedroom and a fully stocked bar.

How many facelifts do you think Richard Chamberlain had already had when he did this movie? His face was looking pretty tight and his eyes looked like they were on the sides of his head.

[quote]I thought the casting of Susan Flannery in this one was odd. She was unknown to people who didn't watch Days of our Lives and she was no ingenue like Susan Blakely. Did she finger some female executive at Warner Brothers to get the part?

Don't know the particulars of how or why Susan Flannery got cast. Maybe she just had an aggressive agent. Or maybe she used personal connections.

But Susan Flannery was one of the best known actors on soaps at the time. Days of our Lives was in #1 rated soap in 1973-74 (tied with Another World and As the World Turns). Her character of Laura Horton was one of the most popular on the show (along with Doug and Julie). Perhaps casting her was an attempt to bring in housewives who were soap fans to the movie.

Faye Dunaway's character in the movie was kind of a dud. She starts out as a driven career woman, thirsty to get the "managing editor" job at whatever publication she works at, then once she gets to the party, she turns boring and dutiful, helping people line up for the elevators, hugging kids, and handing out numbers for rescue chair rides. I half expected her to start pouring drinks for all the guests.

R329 When the world starts falling down around you, maintaining your skills as the consummate hostess is and art and artifice few have on the level of Miss Dunaway.

[quote]I'm surprised Robert Vaughn did this movie. His character had no actual storyline and he barely had any lines. I think he died when he tried to keep Richard Chamberlain from getting on the rescue chair, but I'm not sure.

Vaughn is clearly shown losing his grasp of the breeches buoy and falling, but they cut out the scene where he bounced all the way back up.

Spoiler on the Poseidon book..... Robin the kid does go into the bathroom by himself and and see the row of urinals upside down and then the explosion, just like the movie, but that is the last time you see him. He's not saved by the Reverend.

Newman bigger than McQueen always. The Hustler, Harper, Hud just a warm up for him.

Robert Vaughan usually plays a heavy but i guess Richard Chamberlain wanted a change of pace, to show he could be more than just Dr. Kildare.

R397 Instead he became Dr. Killed There.

[quote] Spoiler on the Poseidon book..... Robin the kid does go into the bathroom by himself and and see the row of urinals upside down and then the explosion, just like the movie, but that is the last time you see him. He's not saved by the Reverend.

More spoilers from the book: The Shelby parents are on board with the kids, Rev. Scott is implied to be homosexual, and Susan gets raped by some panicked crew man and we're left to believe she's impregnated. It was a much larger group of survivors in the book, and also I think at the end a big number of other survivors are rescued from the dining room which more or less negates the point of their perilous adventure. I'm sure there's more, but that's all I remember off the top of my head. All in all, I think Allen and Silliphant did a good job paring down the book. For me, one to the aspects of the movie that I love best is the message of do for yourself, rely on yourself, and don't wait for God (or whatever) to come save your sorry ass. The book kind of pisses all over that message and turns the group into panicked, feckless daredevils who would have been better off waiting.

How exactly did the mayor die? It looked like he just kind of took a tumble into the fountain, but William Holden was all, "Oh, my God," like he plunged thousands of feet.

I thought the mayor was one of them men who got washed away by the flood of water and out the windows. People who came untied were mostly washed away. Which always made me wonder what happened at ground level? Millions of gallons of filthy, toxic water are flowing down onto the streets. That's whole other movie!

That building had some of the flimsiest windows I've ever seen.

I wonder how they got all that water up in the tanks on top in the first place?

At the beginning when Jennifer Jones asks the deaf mom if she's going to the party, and the little girl says, "Mommy doesn't go to parties since daddy died," what the hell kind of answer is that? A simple "no" would do! I don't have time for your therapy session, lady.

R401 Irwin Allen’s the Storm Drain!

R403 Who knows, but imagine what great water pressure the showers in that building had!

R404 That was just to establish that there was no daddy who was going to be able to arrive and save them.

I would have liked to have seen "The Towering Inferno II - The Trials."

In this movie, we'd see William Holden, Susan Blakely, and Paul Newman sued by the victims' families for gross negligence and involuntary manslaughter and watch them lose every penny and go to prison.

Paul Newman would serve extra time for making the dumbest decision in the world - activating the outdoor glass elevator and throwing women and children into it as the building exploded and burned around them.

R404

Oh, honey, no. There was never a daddy. That deaf mother was a whore.

R408 Imagine the fabulous outfits Miss Dunaway would wear throughout the trial!

Sure the windows were flimsy, but the towels were luxurious 300 count Egyptian cotton in jewel tones and with Jacquard weave, which would you rather have had?

R411 Those luxurious towels ensured that the last thing that burned on Robert Wagner's body was his head.

The only thing that could have made this better is if it was Halloween and they were all in costume.

R413 Seeing the mayor's wife dressed up as the Easter Bunny, complete with big vertical ears, long white whiskers, and two big buck teeth would've been worth price of admission.

It's funny how O.J. was all over the screen through the first 45 minutes of the movie, then he finds a cat and he's gone until the very end when he hands the thing to Fred Astaire.

Be honest - if O.J. Simpson came pounding on your door shouting, "Security Guard!," would you open it?

R416 Is that what happened on “that” night?

I'm sorry they cut the Latinx street hustler from the book. It could have used some twink booty call

They didn't show how the survivors made it out of the building after the giant deluge. Do we assume they all just walked down 100+ flights of stairs?

R419 No Rose, they took the escalator, which doubled as a waterfall when the water tanks were blown.

How did O.J. know to give Jennifer Jones' cat to Fred Astaire at the end? Was he some kind of stalker in the building, lurking around corners and watching who came and went from Jennifer's apartment?

Oh, wait...

[quote] The Airport movies all have the same problem in that something happens and then for 90 minutes you have the cast sitting around and waiting to die.

The first Airport (1970) isn't really a disaster film in the traditional sense of the 70s type -- it's really just a melodrama about an international airport that has a near-disaster in the last 30 minutes. Airport '77 has the most effective action in the series, though its intermittent.

R408, the title for that movie could have been "Hot Hand Luke."

Personally, I like Airport 1975 the best.

Of course, they had to kill the bartender guy from Barney Miller at the end. The poor guy never stopped doing his job through the movie, pouring drinks and making sundaes for the kids amid the chaos around him. And how does he get rewarded? By being squashed by a giant cement statue.

r399, I've read Paul Gallico's novel several times, and love it, but agree that Allen and Silliphant did an excellent job of streamlining the characters and narrative and reinforcing the theme of rising to your potential and redemption. The movie is quasi religious: Reverend Scott is a Christ figure who leads his disciples -- several of whom are "sinners" -- through a trial and sacrifices himself to save them.

R426 The movie definitely carries on that theme.

r425, it reminds me of the two Hispanic characters in the dreadful Poseidon remake, the only ones in the movie and they both die horrible deaths.

I don't know what the people are dancing to in the scenes where there is dancing/music, because it is not to whatever is being played. The dancer's moves are never with the actual tempo of the songs.

R429 I noticed that, too, and you'll see the same thing in The Poseidon Adventure when everyone's dancing to The Morning After. It was hilarious! When they filmed those scenes, they obviously did it without any music playing, and I'm sure the director said, "Just dance around."

And speaking of dancing, did anybody else notice Jennifer Jones almost tripping over her tent dress when she was dancing with Fred Astaire? He caught her before she fell down.

She's a brassy actress (or something) in the book, r378, later telling people "Don't think I didn't pee my pants, because I did!".

R431 That scene was actually really well done and harrowing to watch, especially as you see her in the chair bouncing around as the building explodes in fireballs behind her.

I watched this film yesterday on Amazon Prime and had a surprisingly good time. Talk about a stacked cast! It’s hard to think of a film that could compete in terms of star power…plus the special effects were pretty decent. I will admit I thought the little boy was Willie Aames because he looked so familiar…can’t believe it was actually Bobby Brady. And Paul Newman…I’ve yet to see a film where he wasn’t the hottest thing in the room (and this one has actual fire in most scenes!)

The scene that really shocked me was when Susan Flannery first appeared and walked up to kiss Robert Wagner. By the time I learned who she was as a soap-watching kid in the 90s, she was overweight and becoming increasingly butch. But in The Towering Inferno she was thin and gorgeous! In profile she looked like a twig.

I like Faye's star entrance into the film in the swivel chair. much better than our first view of Paul Newman.

I was disappointed in Faye’s character when she tried to soothe one of those bitches who rushed the helicopter, causing it to crash and delay their rescue. Just think how much better the scene would’ve been had she grabbed one of them, slapped her across the face, and said something along the lines of, “You goddamn cunt! Now look what you’ve done!” before dragging the poor thing to the edge of the roof and giving her a swift kick.

I'm sure there was an "In case of fire" ax around, r435.

R433 Despite not having a line in the Brady Bunch theme song of “they had dark brown hair, like their father, but were all alone,” it is implied and Mike Lookinland had his hair dyed for the TV show. Looks like they let him have his natural color for the movie.

"I guess when the book was written people still used ships to travel to Europe since flying may have been kind of new? (don't know just a guess.)"

Why do people who "don't know" feel compelled to offer their guesses?? Especially when two minutes on the internet would supply sufficient information to answer intelligently? The original novel of The Poseidon Adventure was published in 1969. In the early 60s 95% of travelers crossed the Atlantic by air. Until airline deregulation in the US, transatlantic flights tended to cost thousands of dollars, so taking the long way aboard a ship made sense for people who had more time than money.

This has been fun, we should pick a movie on a prominent platform, give a week to watch and then start a thread deconstructing it with accolades and rebukes.

That’s a good idea, R349.

I always wrote off The Towering Inferno as some cheesy disaster film from before I was born, and I figured it was a poorly made piece of shit. Even if it was flawed, I was still impressed by the acting, plot, and special effects…to the point it joins Star Wars as an epic older film I would’ve liked to see in the theater. I’m glad this thread was started because it encouraged me to stop skipping the film and make it a point to actually watch it on Amazon Prime (which arbitrarily adds and removes films every other day).

r439, we can use justwatch.com to find the movie on the appropriate streaming service.

I agree, R440. I never would have watched this film without reading this thread, and I loved it.

[quote]R440 I always wrote off The Towering Inferno as some cheesy disaster film from before I was born, and I figured it was a poorly made piece of shit.

Well, the script is poorly made, but the rest of the movie’s professionally produced, anyway. Without the star cast it would be dismal.

So it’s more a semi-poorly made piece of shit.

I just looked at Netflix and PTA’s Magnolia is coming starting August 1st and is from 1999, I can’t believe it’s 22 years old!!! It was a favorite of mine so much I’ve been a bit afraid to rewatch incase it doesn’t live up to what I remember. It’s definitely got lots to unpack with it’s large all star cast, surreal moments and weird twists of fate. And the always excellent soundtrack stacked with Aimee Mann songs.

No, r444. No, no, no, no, no.

Nominated for Best Picture, but you do you, r443.

The whole Jaws franchise is coming to Amazon.

Magnolia holds up. Everything else is still wonderful and Julianne Moore is still terrible.

Julianne Moore telling pharmacy guy to suck her dick was classic!

Poseidon Adv and Inferno are the best of the genre in terms of quality. Inferno is a little overlong and can get boring at times, but it has a lot of shocking deaths in it and is deliciously cruel in a way that no other disaster movie ever was.

I've gotten to see TPA on the big screen several times at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, as it is a favorite of the American Cinematheque. (The New Beverly also plays it once a year, but their screen is shit in comparison.) One time I got to see Ronald Neame, the director of TPA, do a Q&A beforehand and he was fantastic, sharp as a tack even in his 90s, and told great stories, including several humdingers about Shelley.

But my fave appearance ever regarding TPA was when Carol Lynley and Stella Stevens came to the Cinematheque. Nothing to do with Poseidon, they were there for a double feature of Bunny Lake is Missing and Too Late Blues. In between the movies they did a Q&A and at the end of it, they asked the audience if we wanted them to reenact their favorite scene. Of course we said yes. So they stood up, faced each other, and Stella grabs Carol by the shoulders, shakes the shit out of her while screaming at her to come to her senses, then (faux) whacks her across the chops. Brought the house down.

R446 Dr. Doolittle (1967), Cleopatra (1963), Airport (1970) were all Best Picture nominees. Nice to have a big studio behind you with block voting. Inferno had 2 major studios behind it and did huge BO, but that doesn't make it Oscar worthy. Inferno wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture and didn't make critics' list for Top Ten Films of the Year!

"Inferno wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture and didn't make critics' list for Top Ten Films of the Year!"

And yet, r451, it "did huge box office". Just think how much money it would have made if it won the GG or made the critics' Top Ten!

Towering Trivia... When the movie opened in exclusive engagements at least in NY area before it went wide across the country, the movie had an intermission. Can anyone guess where it was?

R453 I'm gonna guess after they blast the door so Jennifer Jones and the kids can get rescued.

I found this comment from five years ago in a google search:

When I saw it at the Plaza theatre in Sydney back in 1975 the intermission came right at the spot with the explosions in the stairwell when Paul Newman , Jennifer Jones and the kids are escaping, the curtain started going across the screen when Newman was falling down the shaft and the movie continued after the intermission with Newman hanging onto the twisted metal from the staircase and Jennifer Jones screaming "Oh My God"

I caught it about 18months later at a smaller theatre in the suburbs when the city run was over and the intermission came at a different time, it was later in the movie at a spot with William Holden just looking out the window looking at the reflection of the fire in the building opposite.

R455 I was so close!

R455 Saw Poseidon Adventure in 1972 in New Zealand. Intermission feel when Hackman closed on the big door on the screaming, dying people in the ballroom, and started with them about to enter the kitchens. Was perfect.

I always loved Poseidon more than Inferno.

Didn't have an intermission when I saw it first run. Dumb idea for a suspense film. But the theaters needed to make their money I guess.

[quote]I'm gonna guess after they blast the door so Jennifer Jones and the kids can get rescued.

Bingo, Boom and intermission and the film resumed with them running into the ballroom

in the good old days blockbusters didn't open on eight thousand screens. Exclusives were a good thing and people waited online in anticipation. This is how "The Towering Inferno" opened in NY, two theaters in Manhattan, one on Long Island, Westchester and two in New Jersey. No Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island and would play for weeks or months before opening wider across the area.

^The film was reviewed in the NY Times December 20th, 1974 and 4 months later April 16, 1975 it was still playing at the same 2 Manhattan theaters where it premiered as well as other theaters in the Metro area.

R439 and r440, Movies coming to Amazon Prime in August:

[quote] I wonder how they got all that water up in the tanks on top in the first place?

They used a really long hose, Rose.

R439, R440: movies coming to Netflix in August.

[quote] Those luxurious towels ensured that the last thing that burned on Robert Wagner's body was his head.

That 300 count Egyptian thread dramatically reduced chafing his skin as it fell off his body.

[quote] then he finds a cat and he's gone until the very end when he hands the thing to Fred Astaire.

Sadly the only pussy Fred Astaire got that night.

Thanks r462 and r464.

I love the idea of having an ongoing discussion about a specific movie.

My vote would be for Jaws.

[quote] Airport '77 has the most effective action in the series, though its intermittent.

I can't watch that movie without giggling every time at the end. They seriously used giant balloons to raise the plane from the depths of the Caribbean sea off the coast of Florida. Just cracks me up damn every time.

[quote]The Towering Inferno was the first time the staggered equal billing was used in a film.

Really?

Continuing from above ...

But Lee Grant has to be the best disaster movie bitch since Stella Stevens even if the movie was inferior to Poseidon.

Well, allegedly, the plane was only 100 feet deep. Of course, you have to believe that a plane filled with air would sink in the first place....

[quote] Personally, I like Airport 1975 the best.

The only thing Airport 75 has going for it, really, is Karen Black in that stewardess outfit with the scarf and 70s hair. Fabulous. It became iconic for Halloween drag.

[quote] it reminds me of the two Hispanic characters in the dreadful Poseidon remake, the only ones in the movie and they both die horrible deaths.

But on the bright side, it spared them from being in the rest of the movie. Josh Lucas was green with envy.

[quote] did anybody else notice Jennifer Jones almost tripping over her tent dress when she was dancing with Fred Astaire? He caught her before she fell down.

Well, Jennifer was no Ginger Rogers. She wasn't even Dale Evans-Rogers.

R455

I could be misremembering, but back when HBO played Towering Inferno every other day in the mid 70s, I could swear it ran with an intermission. Same as Gone with the Wind (also in constant rotation).

R414, maybe the mayor's wife could have dressed as one of these:

Excellent suggestion, R444! Superb film! Well worth renting anytime! Watch it! Yes!

[quote] Well, allegedly, the plane was only 100 feet deep. Of course, you have to believe that a plane filled with air would sink in the first place....

Not just the AIR POCKETS! (as Stella Stevens would say), but that the plane would likely be ripped apart in the process. Of course, it probably would have broken into several pieces when it hit the water which is reportedly worse than crashing into land.

Ginger Rogers supposedly was considered for Lisolette. Maybe she'd have thrown in a few dance moves when falling out of the scenic elevator?

Ginger would not have hit her head on the way down, backwards in high heels!

[quote]Airport '77 has the most effective action in the series, though its intermittent.

My fave scene is when Brenda Vaccaro sucker punches Lee Grant when, in her drunken grief, she tries to open the door of the plane. It just came out of nowhere. But Lee's character was so unpleasant that I'm sure the audiences wanted to see that.

I don't think Brenda Vaccaro punching Lee Grant was scripted...

I thought the Lisolette part was first offered to Olivia de Havilland. You can Google it.

I don't think they could remake this movie today, with 9/11 so fresh in everyone's memories, but if they did I'd say get Tarantino to direct and just go batshit insane...

Brad Pitt as O'Halloran Leonardo DiCaprio as Roberts Margot Robbie as Susan Kurt Russell as Jim Duncan Samuel L Jackson as Harlee Emma Stone as Patty Pam Grier as Lisolette

The name Lisolette is just so random and awful.

That was her name in the book, so.....

No love for the Airport movie that finished the series The Concorde . . .Airport 79 with a bizzaro cast including The Towering Inferno's Susan Blakely and Robert Wagner, Charo and Cicely Tyson, Alain Delon and Emmanuelle's Sylvia Kristel, Jimmy 'JJ' Walker, Bibi Anderson, Eddie Albert, John Davidson, Andrea Marcovicci, Sybil Danning, Mercedes McCambridge, Martha Raye as the stowaway and Airport regular George Kennedy as Patroni. Seeing is disbelieving!

I nominate the entire Airport series -in sequence. Jaws would be good -but only the first one.

Martha Raye as the plane loses altitude....

I was a teen when I saw "The Concorde" in the theater and really loved it. I remember being shocked at how evil Robert Wagner's character was, in spite of being so handsome. I'd never see it again, as I'm pretty sure it sucks for anyone over 14. IMDB, which has insanely (and suspiciously) high average ratings for almost everything, only gives it a 4.4, which says a lot...

I think an Airport series should start with The High and the Mighty, r488. Hailey basically followed Gann's format.

Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline, starring Audrey Hepburn, is on YouTube. I nominate it.

Other Side of Midnight would be a better Sheldon choice, r492.

The DL Movie Club will never get off the ground. You guys won't even agree on what movie to discuss!

The OP of this thread should have the final say.

We could do a poll....

Oh for fuck's sake, don't do Bloodline. It's bloodless.

I saw Bloodline for the first time a few months ago. It's abysmally bad.

Audrey Hepburn agreed to do BLOODLINE because her friend Terence Young was directing, it shot in Europe, and they offered a million dollars (plus Givenchy clothes.) She had no idea the book was sleazy trash and was horrified when she read the actual script after signing on.

Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset had already passed, which should have given her a clue.

It's nice to know that, r499. I couldn't fathom why Audrey would make a rare screen return in that vehicle.

Fact...Audrey was first choice for "The Exorcist" and she said yes, as long as they shot in Rome and Warner Bros said no.

Another book she obviously didn't read, r501.

Could Audrey read? She did spend the war buried in a hole...

The Exorcist would be a good choice, especially with the new films in the pipeline.

Did Jennifer Jones get a facelift before filming? She looks shiny.

R505 Yet, not exceptionally happy?

[quote]That deaf mother was a whore.

She used her nimble fingers for more than sign language!

How about Soapdish?

Imagine how much earthquake insurance would cost on a building like that!

Susan Flannery must have had good agents. She won the Golden Globe for New star of the year I just noticed. She beat Helen Reddy in Airport 1975! OMG She's awful in that. Sings well but he acting is so goofy. (she's a nun!)

and Valerie Harper who had already been a star for like 4 years. I guess they didn't count TV so she was a new star in films?

[quote] Martha Raye as the plane loses altitude....

So Martha basically went on national television to mock Judy's clinical depression?

[quote] She [Audrey Hepburn] did spend the war buried in a hole...

And vice versa

R505 She definitely had had a facelift (or two) prior to filming. The funny thing is that she was only 55 when the made the movie, but she looked about 10 years older.

Everyone looked older than they were in that era.

Well, Judy *did* steal her hubby, r511. And Helen gave a gripping and trenchant performance, r510!

R504 THE EXORCIST is a good choice. It's over rated and not scary if indeed it was ever meant to be.

No, r516, it was never meant to be scary. It was always meant to be boring...like you.

I wasn't nominated for Best Picture or had people lined up around the block 24/7 in cities across the country to see me amid reports audiences' reaction to the film that became of phenomenon. That's why I mentioned it. I'm sure your mother was scarier though.

There are two threads about "The Exorcist" here. Google them and they will come up.

^ Thanks

R519 Both of THE EXORCIST threads are closed

The scariest thing about The Exorcist is Burstyn's over-the-top performance. In one scene she's howling like a wolf. The telephone scene where she unsuccessfully tries to contact Regan's father serves no purpose like a number of scenes in the movie.

The Exorcist has the hot, young priest in its favor.

Looking for movies for another analysis thread?

I propose a pair of movies with the same plot and the same director.

"Five Came Back" 1939. With Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, John Carradine, Allen Jenkins, C Aubrey Smith, Kent Taylor and Patric Knowles

and

"Back From Eternity" 1956. With Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger, Phyllis Kirk, Keith Andes, Gene Barry, Fred Clark, Beulah Bondi, Jesse White, Jon Provost and a very brief bit with Barbara Eden at the beginning.

John Farrow directed both films.

I love airplane movies.

How about we do everyone's favorite Liv Ullman musical -Lost Horizon?

Are you questioning me an answer, r525?

*

My answer is...no.

R524 What about Julie (1956) with Doris Day and Louis Jourdan? Rex Reed's review of Airport 75 referenced Karen Black to Julie piloting the plane in a crisis.

For that matter, why not have fun with Lover Come Back or Pillow Talk?

She's certainly vital and daring in it, r527.

Check out her debut film, Romance On the High Seas. Great supporting cast and classic songs. And most of it takes place on an ocean liner, for all of those Poseidon fans. Come to think of it, how much difference is there really between S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Shelley Winters??

Jennifer Jones had lost her husband and daughter as well as having had a suicide attempt and nervous breakdown the few years before signing up to do TTI. I wouldn't expect her to look serenely beautiful. And based on all that I've read about her, she came across as a nervous and high-strung woman. Stress ages people like that.

I still think that her [italic]Madame Bovary[/italic] is stellar. Just the perfect role for her fluttery mannerisms and nervous sensuality.

I’ve never seen it, but the very detailed David O. Selznick bio SHOWMAN says Jennifer Jones’ most affecting (effecting?) performance is in LOVE LETTERS (1945)

How about another melodrama with an overwrought Doris 1960s Midnight Lace? Like Julie it's a hoot and Day provides more laughs than in her comedies.

This thread has meandered away from The Towering Inferno and is now dead to me.

[quote] The telephone scene where she unsuccessfully tries to contact Regan's father serves no purpose like a number of scenes in the movie.

I think it was there because in the book you're supposed to understand that one of the reasons Regan is ripe for possession is that she's troubled--her father pays so little attention to her.

One of the weirdest things about the movie is that even though it is so long (the episode in Iraq at the beginning goes on forever for no clear reason0, so much seems to have been cut out of the movie. It's never made fully clear, for example, that the reason the demon goes after Regan is because she's been playing by herself with an Ouija board and has summoned it through the board as "Cap'n Howdy." It's only implied, but the book clarifies that and much more of the background of Regan and Chris.

^ And Lee J Cobb's detective really serves little purpose for all his scenes as does the priest's Greek mother and the audience is way ahead of the film with all the obligatory scenes of doctors and medical testing . . .

I think they were expectant that most of the audience had read the book, r535.

Maybe, r537, but that's absolutely not a good excuse for weak screenwriting.

Back to the "Towering Inferno".

Did anyone else notice that there are 3 vertical "channels" from the top to the bottom of the building?

There were 3 scenic elevators.

One of the deleted scenes showed Duncan and the guests approaching the elevators. The Mayor says "3 scenic elevators. I'm impressed." Duncan replies "Confidentially, there's only one of them working. The other 2 are inoperable."

R499 "Audrey Hepburn agreed to do BLOODLINE because her friend Terence Young was directing (...)Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset had already passed, which should have given her a clue."

Diane Keaton also turned it down. Gert Fröbe (replaced the already announced Maximillian Schell who instead landed Disney's terrible BLACK HOLE), Omar Sharif, James Mason and Romy Schneider all worked with Terence Young before. Fröbe in GOLDFINGER, Schneider TRIPLE CROSS, Sharif and Mason in MAYERLING.

I've watched THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE probably ten times but THE TOWERING INFERNO only once. Just boring and an amateurish structure (I can't believe Guillermin directed DEATH ON THE NILE only a few years later). Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones - insult to their acting careers. I couldn't care less about Faye Dunaway and wanted Susan Flannery to survive (had no idea who the actress is when I watched it). I'll take Newman over McQueen but one has to credit McQueen for not working a second time with Irvin Allen. And I believe that AIRPORT THE CONCORDE is much more entertaining than INFERNO, at least the cast was selected with some absurd humor in mind. And Robert Wagner seems to be aware where his career was stuck in at that time - right next to Charo and Sybil Danning, one of his best performances nevertheless!

If were making suggestions for the next thread, how about BIRTH OF A NATION? I'm sure at least a few of you bitches saw it at Clune's Auditorium when it premiered.

[quote] Disney's terrible BLACK HOLE),

Terrible? How dare you.

All the really old gays are coming up with really dumb suggestions now. This was a fun thread up till then.

R539 and only 2 interior elevators that reached the top for such a towering building. I worked in a building with 6 floors that had 4 elevators. WTF!!!

I thought Faye looked better in Chinatown, Puzzle of a Downfall Child and Voyage of the Damned.

This film could have used Charo. Too grimly serious for the genre IMHO

The visuals were dull, the sets undistinguished and too much time in boring stairwells.

With all that hairspray, I was waiting for Susan Blakely's hair to catch fire.

Just boring and an amateurish structure (I can't believe Guillermin directed DEATH ON THE NILE only a few years later). Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones - insult to their acting careers. I couldn't care less about Faye Dunaway and wanted Susan Flannery to survive (had no idea who the actress is when I watched it). I'll take Newman over McQueen but one has to credit McQueen for not working a second time with Irvin Allen. And I believe that AIRPORT THE CONCORDE is much more entertaining than INFERNO, at least the cast was selected with some absurd humor in mind. And Robert Wagner seems to be aware where his career was stuck in at that time - right next to Charo and Sybil Danning, one of his best performances nevertheless!

Yawn zzzzzzz...snore....zzzzzzz

I found myself rooting for the fire.

Couldn't they have gotten Eric Shea who was entertaining in Yours. Mine and Ours (1968) Smile (1975) and of course The Poseidon Adventure (1972) instead of that dull lump from the Brady Bunch? At least Eric had energy and screen presence. Eric appeared on an episode of The Brady Bunch.

Get off the opiates, r549.

Did the Mayor's wife think she was attending a coronation?

When William Holden asks his son-in-law Richard Chamberlain where he's been all afternoon most in the audience were probably thinking of a gay bath house in San Francisco.

Hurry! The Towering Inferno is leaving Prime in 31 hours which feels like the running time of the film!

When Susan Flannery breaks the window and jumps her back is covered in flames yet in the long shot taken from above it looks like a piece of white paper floating down and there are no flames. Also when she jumps we hear her scream but her one hand is covering her mouth and it looks like she's holding her nose as if she were jumping into water!

Pauline Kael THE NEW YORKER 12/22/1974

'The movie doesn't stick together in one's head; this thing is like some junky fairground show- a chamber of horrors with skeletons that jump up.'

The Towering Inferno received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike upon its release, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 33 reviews with an average rating of 6.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, The site's consensus states: "Although it is not consistently engaging enough to fully justify its towering runtime, The Towering Inferno is a blustery spectacle that executes its disaster premise with flair." Metacritic gave the film a score of 69 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars and praised it as "the best of the mid-1970s wave of disaster films". Variety praised the film as "one of the greatest disaster pictures made, a personal and professional triumph for producer Irwin Allen. The $14 million cost has yielded a truly magnificent production which complements but does not at all overwhelm a thoughtful personal drama." Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film is "overwrought and silly in its personal drama, but the visual spectacle is first rate. You may not come out of the theater with any important ideas about American architecture or enterprise, but you will have had a vivid, completely safe nightmare." Pauline Kael, writing for The New Yorker, panned the writing and characters as retreads from The Poseidon Adventure, and further wrote "What was left out this time was the hokey fun. When a picture has any kind of entertainment in it, viewers don't much care about credibility, but when it isn't entertaining we do. And when a turkey bores us and insults our intelligence for close to three hours, it shouldn't preen itself on its own morality."

Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "a stunt and not a story. It's a technical achievement more concerned with special effects than with people. That's why our attitude toward the film's cardboard characters is: let 'em burn."

The audience response was "𝐹𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠"

Nathaniel Mitchell-1001 MOVIE REVIEWED BEFORE YOU DIE March 7, 2018

'There was nothing about it I felt was outstanding or even memorable'

'Dunaway is unfortunately placed squarely s a background role'

'There's a lot to this movie that's B quality (That's B with a capital Bad) A lot of it is just down right schlocky'

Boffo at the B.O. wins out every time, naysayers.

The movie was well-sold like Beanie Babies, Chia Pets, Cabbage Patch Kids and Pet Rocks.

I'd love to sculpt my own Duncan Enterprises "We Build for Life" flame-engulfed logo paperweight.

[quote]r561 Boffo at the B.O. wins out every time, naysayers.

Which is why we must consider Marvel Comics movies good?

R563, that slogan would also work for a Weyland-Yutani paperweight in the shape of an egg.

R563, that slogan would also work for a Weyland-Yutani paperweight in the shape of an egg.

No one went broke underestimating the intelligence of American audiences

'I told you we shouldn't have have held the party until the safeguards were installed'

I was a child in that era and I thought the gold standard of disaster movies was Earthquake. The Towering Inferno and Poseidon Adventure were worthy also-rans.

This film will be thought provoking for those that live above the seventh floor.

'You know there's nothing any of us can do to bring back the dead. All I can do now is pray to God that I can stop this from happening again.'

'I dunno, maybe they just ought leave it the way is, kinda shrine to all the bullshit in the world'

Holden could just have easily died by setting his hotel room on fire. A drunk fall and he hit his head. Bloody drunk.

He had every aspect for happiness in life. I don't pity drunks who bleed out or aspirate their sandwich.

'You know there's nothing any of us can do to bring back the dead. All I can do now is pray to God that I can stop this from happening again.'

Cringy but not as bad as the final overlay crawl of the Titanic movie "A Night to Remember".

But this is not the end of the story - -For their sacrifice was not in vain. Today there are lifeboats for all, unceasing radio vigil and, in the North Atlantic, the International Ice Patrol guards the sea lanes, making them safe for the peoples of the world.

'Ya know we were lucky tonight. The body count is less than 200. Ya know one of these days we're going to kill thousand in one of these fire traps. And I'm going to keep eating smoke and bringing out bodies till somebody asks us how to build 'em.

"Which is why we must consider Marvel Comics movies good?"

I've never seen a Marvel Comic movie, r564, because I have no interest in the genre. Those that do would know the criteria for which to judge their quality. They seem to do very well at the box office. Their goal, like disaster films isn't to be art, but to entertain the masses. I would say their quality (within the genre) would be commensurate with the amount of butts they get in the seats. Think of it as winning the popular vote if not the Electoral College.

AIEEEEEEE!

Or burn up in a fire, r573?

R561 Not the naysayers who paid to see this film.

[quote] How about another melodrama with an overwrought Doris 1960s Midnight Lace? Like Julie it's a hoot and Day provides more laughs than in her comedies.

Aunt Bea! Hellllllp! Aaaaaagh!

Newman's ass when he carries the little girl down the exploded staircase is a thing of beauty.

Just watched in on Prime. I really enjoyed the avocado color carpet in the Promenade room. And Richard Chamberlain never looked better.

And nor did Susan Blakely as his wife ever look better.

[quote]I don't pity drunks who bleed out or aspirate their sandwich.

Fuck you, R573!

R545, no, the film where Faye looked her best was The Thomas Crowne Affair, by far.

^ She also looked great in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

And Laura Mars (78).

And don't forget Beverly Hills Madam!!!!!

[quote]When Susan Flannery breaks the window and jumps her back is covered in flames yet in the long shot taken from above it looks like a piece of white paper floating down and there are no flames. Also when she jumps we hear her scream but her one hand is covering her mouth and it looks like she's holding her nose as if she were jumping into water!

She's not covering her mouth, she's covering her eyes as she jumps. You can see the flames going down.

I was upset and surprised that Angela left her Raggedy Anne doll behind to perish all alone in the fire. I was waiting for her to cry that she left Annie behind.

It's the best movie of it's kind because death by fire is the worst and most terrifying. Drowning upside down ain't nothing too painful and a plane crash is pretty quick too. Being buried in rubble is maybe the most horrific thing - but that doesn't make a good film. Oh, I'm stuck. For days. Dehydrated. Starving. Broken bones. It's dark. Later you'll find me dead.

BUT, to be skin peeled engorged by FLAMES while falling fast from a great height is painful and nightmarish. Ouchy scary. Thank God Faye and Paul survived. Gorgeous people should only get smudged or have their dress singed. Let a child survive, but not all of them.

Pauline Kael THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)

'. . . the logistics of getting out of an upside down ship are fairly entertaining . . .Ronald Neame directed with dull efficiency.'

on Shelley Winters- 'It's like having a whale tell you you should love her because she's Jewish'

I didn't think Holden looked bad in this film as others have said even for 55 or 56. He's 7 years older than Newman who's 5 years older than both McQueen and Wagner.

Was ever made clear what the building war? Was it an office building? Why were the kids with the deaf mother staying there? Did it have apartments? Was it a hotel?

Dunaway really had nothing to do in this film!

R595 Hush you! She handed out numbers and comforted the evil runners on the roof!

She added the va-va-voom, r595.

R594, it's explained at one point that it's a mixture of offices and apartments.

Dan (Wagner)-'Nobody knows we're up here'

Lorrie (Flannery)-'Well I always did want to die in bed'

R598 Since the party is to celebrate the grand opening it would seem only a few apartments or offices were occupied. I wasn't aware of people being evacuated from the 80 floors below the fire.

R597 Yes, I got that, but Jennifer Jones had more of a part than Faye did! Faye was like the hostess on the 135th floor and often in the background.

R589 I slowed it down and her hand seems to be covering her nose and mouth and eyes. And yes, I see some flames but it's at such a distance that it looks like a small white object rather than a person.