The Towering Inferno Trivia Quiz

Answer: 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros

After producing the box-office smash, "The Poseidon Adventure", Irwin Allen began work at 20th Century Fox on a movie adaptation of "The Glass Inferno", a novel by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. He discovered that Warner Bros was working on a similarly-themed movie, based on Richard Martin Stern's novel "The Tower".

Instead of two movies competing against each other, the two movie giants split the $14 million in production costs. Fox took in the US receipts from the movie, while Warner drew the take from the rest of the world.

It marked the first time in motion-picture history that two studios joined forces to make one movie.

Answer: John Guillermin

John Guillermin directed a number of movies prior to "The Towering Inferno", including two Tarzan features and the crime drama "Shaft in Africa". He directed the cast unit, while Allen handled the action scenes. The other directors listed here also had their hands on some classic disaster movies. Sidney Lumet helmed the Cold War drama "Fail-Safe"; Ronald Neame directed Irwin Allen's production of "The Poseidon Adventure", as well as the movie "Meteor"; and John Sturgis directed the space drama "Marooned".(Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for information on John Guillerman.)

Answer: San Francisco

At the time "The Towering Inferno" was in production, San Francisco was the home to the tallest office building west of the Mississippi, the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid. The Pyramid would lose that title in 1974, when Aon Center--itself the scene of a deadly fire in 1988 (and subject of a made-for-TV movie)--was completed in Los Angeles.

The Glass Tower, the grand 138-story building at the heart of the movie, would have easily dwarfed both those buildings and the nation's two other monster towers--the twin towers of the World Trade Center (1973) and Sears Tower (1974). (Thanks to skyscrapers.com for information on the Transamerica Pyramid and Aon Center.)

Answer: Ernest Borgnine

According to one website dedicated to "The Towering Inferno" (http://members.rott.chello.nl/alely/index.html), Borgnine, who had played New York police officer Mike Rogo in "The Poseidon Adventure", had been asked to play O'Halloran. McQueen successfully argued to play the role of O'Halloran, while Paul Newman was brought in to play Roberts.

The other actors listed here also starred in disaster movies during the 1970s. Joseph Campanella played an air force general in "Meteor"; George Kennedy played an airline mechanic (later executive) in the "Airport" series of movies; and Charlton Heston played an architect in "Earthquake".

Answer: Faulty electrical wiring

Although The Glass Tower appears to be a marvel of engineering, its innards have been compromised by shoddy workmanship and cheap materials. A short in the electrical system sets a small storage room ablaze.

Answer: Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady)

The TV version of "The Towering Inferno" was split into two parts, so that it could be viewed over two nights. The rescue of the Allbright family provided a natural break point. Mike Lookinland played Phillip Allbright; Carlena Gower played his sister, Angela; and Carol McEvoy played their mom. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

Answer: Breeches buoy

Though referred to as a breeches buoy specifically in the movie, the actual rescue device was a bosun's chair, a simple chair used by sailors and others who work aloft. A rope was fired from a navy helicopter and secured by firemen and guests on the Promenade Deck. The chair was sent across the rope and used to ferry as many people as possible to the neighboring Peerless Building.

Answer: False

Alex Karras did work on another Irwin Allen movie, the volcano drama "When Time Ran Out" (1980). Another football star, O.J. Simpson, cut his acting chops by playing a security officer named Jernigan.

Answer: Water tanks above the fire are blown open

To understand how difficult and dangerous a stunt this climatic scene was, you have to watch the making-of featurette on "The Towering Inferno". Over a million gallons of water, dropped from a height of 40 feet, ruined the Promenade Deck set. In order to get the look of surprise on the actors' faces, Irwin Allen fired a starter's pistol while counting from one to ten.

Answer: 3

Earning a total of eight nominations, including Best Picture, "The Towering Inferno" took home Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Song--"We May Never Love Like This Again", sung by Maureen McGovern, who also sang "The Morning After" in the movie "The Poseidon Adventure". Fred Astaire, who played a con man in the movie, lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but did win a similar award at the Golden Globes.

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