The Towering Inferno (1974)

The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film directed by John Guillermin and Irwin Allen (action sequences) and starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden and Faye Dunaway. A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros. (this was the first film to be a joint venture from two major Hollywood studios), it was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from a pair of novels, The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson.

Plot: Architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, which he designed for owner Jim Duncan (William Holden). At 138 stories (1,800 ft), it is the world's tallest building. During a routine systems check before the ceremonies, an electrical short in the upper floors starts a small fire in a storage room on the 81st floor which goes undetected. Roberts confronts the building's electrical engineer, Duncan's son-in-law Roger Simmons (Richard Chamberlain), accusing him of cutting corners. Simmons insists the building is up to standards, but Roberts knows the standards are not enough and demands to see the specifications. During the dedication ceremony, public relations chief Dan Bigelow (Robert Wagner) turns on the tower's exterior lights to impress the 294 guests arriving for a party in the Promenade Room on the 135th floor. The lighting overloads the system and Roberts orders it shut off. The building's security guards, led by Harry Jernigan (O.J. Simpson), see the smoke from the fire on the 81st floor and summon the San Francisco Fire Department. Roberts and engineer Will Giddings (Norman Burton) head to the 81st floor, and Giddings pushes a security guard away from the door to the burning room shortly before it explodes, severely burning him. Roberts tells Duncan of the fire, who insists that the party continue, believing a fire on the 81st floor will not affect the party. Firemen begin fighting the fast-growing blaze unbeknownst to the party guests, using Roberts' office on the 79th floor as a command post and the lobby as a mass casualty and staging area.

SFFD 5th Battalion Chief Michael O'Hallorhan (Steve McQueen) takes charge and forces Duncan to evacuate the party guests. Everyone is directed to the express elevators. Party guest and building resident Lisolette Mueller (Jennifer Jones), who was romanced at the party by con man Harlee Claiborne (Fred Astaire), is one of the first to leave. She heads to the 87th floor to check on a family with two children she babysits and their deaf mother. Simmons admits to Duncan that he changed Roberts' specifications, but at Duncan's request to stay under budget. The express elevators are rendered unsafe as the fire spreads to the elevators' main bank. The last occupied elevator opens directly on the 81st floor, in O'Hallorhan's view, killing the occupants. The elevator then returns to the Promenade Room where the doors open and one man runs out engulfed in flames in view of the horrified guests. With his tuxedo jacket, Harlee tries to smother the flames on the man, but he still dies. The stairwells are rendered impassable as one is filled with smoke and the door to the other is jammed shut. Bigelow and his secretary/mistress Lorrie (Susan Flannery) are trapped in his office on the 65th floor and killed by the fire. Jernigan and Roberts are then informed from the building's security station that Lisolette has been seen on a security monitor trying to get into the apartment on 87; the two men head up to assist. Jernigan takes the mother down to safety. Roberts and Lisolette save the two children, but are halted after part of the stairwell explodes due to a ruptured gas line.

–from wikipedia