The Towering Inferno (1974)

During the opening night dedication party of the world's highest (138 stories) skyscraper in San Francisco, an electrical short starts a small fire in a storage room on the 81st floor which goes undetected. By the time the fire is discovered, the party goers in the penthouse are trapped. Possibly the best of the 1970s cycle of disaster movies, it's in the small details (which push the movie near the three hour mark) that sets it apart from many of its cinematic brethren. The film takes its time in both setting up the exposition, introducing the characters so we know enough about them for us to invest in them, and the minutiae of the fireman's dilemma and specific aspects in their attempts to put out the fire. For the most part, the writing is fairly intelligent though sentiment rears its ugly head. Why do movies like this always have young children in peril? Do they think worrying about the adult population isn't enough? Paul Newman brings what he can to the part of the architect which is more than can be said of Steve McQueen as the fire chief who seems to be walking through his role. Fred Koenekamp's cinematography won an Oscar and the fine score by John Williams. The large cast includes Faye Dunaway (looking all movie goddess-y), William Holden, Fred Astaire (who received his only Oscar nomination for his work here), Jennifer Jones (in her last film role), Robert Wagner, Richard Chamberlain (so over the top as the "villain" that if he had a moustache, he'd twirl them), Robert Vaughn, Susan Blakely, Susan Flannery, Dabney Coleman, Maureen McGovern (who sings the Oscar winning song We May Never Love Like This Again), Don Gordon and O.J. Simpson.