Disaster movies are usually the worst, exploiting natural human anxieties and trading in the most hackneyed, sentimental tropes. The heroes are ever so righteous. The villains are stereotyped, usually rich, weak-chinned fat-cats who think they can buy themselves a spot on the first lifeboat. They love to put children in danger, the cheapest way to create suspense. Despite the fact that it engages in all these sins to some degree, “The Towering Inferno” is actually a disaster movie worth seeing.
Paul Newman plays Doug Roberts, a San Francisco architect finishing up his masterpiece, the tallest building in the world at 138 stories. As his maintenance team starts bringing systems online, they discover some electrical issues. Doug learns that the developer (William Holden) farmed out the electrical contract to his son-in-law (Richard Chamberlain), who cut corners on the specs. While Doug is giving these guys a hard time, little do they know that the cheap wiring has already sparked a fire on the 81st floor. With the sprinkler systems not yet functional, the fire spreads, eventually threatening everyone in the building, including the bigwigs at the premature opening ceremony on the 135th floor. Fire Chief O'Halloran (Steve McQueen) leads an action-packed rescue that includes helicopters, rappelling, and copious explosions.
The cast is a Who's Who of famous faces from the early 70's, including Newman, McQueen, Faye Dunaway, and even O.J.Simpson, back when he was a beloved athlete/actor. There are also a number of famous actors from an earlier era, including Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones. Everyone seems to be having a good time. They all seem to understand that, after all, this is a disaster movie. They ham it up, smile, and let the pyrotechnics do their job.
What keeps the film from being cheap, exploitative action-schlock is the two stars, Newman and McQueen, and the chemistry between them. Both portray no-nonsense men of action, not glib action heroes. While everyone else acts like they are in a Very Special Episode of “The Love Boat,” these two actors keep the movie grounded. Don't get me wrong; this is not a great movie by any stretch. It is pretty entertaining, though, and while it may be hard to watch for a generation who saw the World Trade Center fall, it is probably the best of the 1970's disaster movies.
3 stars out of 5
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