 Many bit players from The Poseidon Adventure (1972) also appear in this film Based on two novels: "The Tower" by Richard Martin Stern, and "The Glass Inferno" by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. After the success of The Poseidon Adventure (1972), disaster was hot property and Warner Brothers bought the rights to film "The Tower" for $390,000. Eight weeks later Irwin Allen (of 20th Century Fox) discovered "The Glass Inferno" and bought the rights for $400,000. To avoid two similar films competing at the box office the two studios joined forces and pooled their resources, each paying half the production costs. In return, 20th Century Fox got the US box office receipts and Warners the receipts from the rest of the world.
Scriptwriter Stirling Silliphant combined the two novels to create one screenplay. The combined three words that make up the titles of the two novels were combined to give the name of the film, and the name of the building that is on fire (The Glass Tower).
Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant took seven main figures from each novel and incorporated them into the screenplay, as well as the major climax of each novel: the lifeline rescue to an adjacent rooftop from "The Tower", and the exploding water tanks from "The Glass Inferno".
At Steve McQueen`s insistence, he and co-star Paul Newman had to have exactly the same number of lines of dialogue in the script
Irwin Allen originally wanted Steve McQueen to play the part of building architect Doug Roberts. McQueen however, fought for and got the role of fire chief O`Halloran. The role of Doug Roberts went to Paul Newman.
Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were both paid the same: $1 million and 7.5% of box office each.
# Paul Newman`s and Steve McQueen`s names are staggered in the opening credits, closing credits, and on the posters so that, depending on which way you read it (top to bottom or left to right), both appear to get top billing. This is known as "diagonal billing", This strategy was being worked on when Newman and McQueen almost co-starred together in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), but McQueen eventually dropped out of the project and was replaced by the lesser known Robert Redford.
Two of the stars, Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway left strict instructions that they should not be approached by visitors to the set. McQueen also refused to give any interviews. Paul Newman asked only that he not be `surprised`.
This film marked the first ever joint production by two big-name movie companies; Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox.
Principal photography was completed on Sept. 11th 1974.
An instrumental version of the song "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure (1972) can be heard in the background in certain scenes.
Desperate to capture a truly surprised reaction from the cast, Irwin Allen actually fired a handgun into the ceiling without warning the actors, who were understandably "surprised". The trick worked and he got his shot.
In an interview given years after the film was released, writer Stirling Silliphant said that he always sat under a sprinkler system head when visiting a building. He said he did that because he learned it from a fireman he interviewed while researching this project.
Both novels were inspired by the construction of the World Trade Center in the early-1970s, and what could happen in fire in a skyscraper. In Richard Martin Stern`s novel, "The Tower", the fictional 140-floor building was set next to the north tower of the World Trade Center. The climax of the novel was centered around a rescue mounted from the north tower of the World Trade Center.
The role of Lisolette Mueller (as played by Jennifer Jones) was originally offered to Olivia de Havilland.
Jennifer Jones`s final film to date (2008).
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# Steve McQueen did most of his stunts for the film, including having 7,000 gallons of water dumped on him in the climactic final attempt to put out the fire.
During filming an actual fire broke out on one of the sets and Steve McQueen found himself briefly helping real firemen put it out. One of the firemen, not recognizing McQueen, said to the actor, "My wife is not going to believe this." To this McQueen replied, "Neither is mine."
The fancy "blinkenlights" computer which runs the Glass Tower is, in fact, composed of parts leftover from an obsolete Air Force system which, in the 1960s and `70s, protected the US from Soviet bomber attack. The computer was named AN/FSQ-7, and about a dozen of them were installed around the US. Based on vacuum tube technology, the `Q-7 in action took up the whole first floor of a "bomb-proof" concrete blockhouse, and generated as much raw heat as five single-family houses. The whole system became obsolete when missiles replaced manned bombers as the main threat. In the film, only the main control and maintenance consoles are used. As an ironic afterthought, the only reliable source today of vacuum tubes is the former Soviet Union.
Paul Newman did most of his own stunts, including climbing up and down the bent stairwell railing.
Of the 57 sets built for the production, only eight remained standing when filming ended.
The building used in the film was a series of miniatures and matte paintings. Only sections of the building were actually constructed for the actors and stunt people to perform their scenes. Exterior shots of the building were of San Francisco`s Hyatt Rejency with an additional 50 stories of matte paintings added.
# In the original script the role of the fire chief (known at the time as Mario Infantino) was considerably smaller. According to director John Guillermin, the role was offered to Ernest Borgnine with Steve McQueen playing the architect. McQueen later said, "If somebody of my caliber can play the architect, I`ll play the fire chief," and Paul Newman was brought onto the project as the architect
According to Esther Williams in her memoirs, she was personally contacted by Irwin Allen and offered roles in both this film and The Poseidon Adventure (1972), but declined both.
Irwin Allen directed all the action sequences in the film, including the climactic final explosions to put the fire out.
The HH-1N helicopters are in the original paint scheme used by NAS Lemoore`s Search and Rescue Flight. Later on, they were painted Red and White. Up until the unit`s disbandment in 2004, the Flight was still pointing out it was their helicopters used in the movie.
For years, during the 80`s and 90`s, this is the movie Swedish TV used to show on New Years Eve, just after midnight.
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# The Towering Inferno`s scenic elevator is actually one of two in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. This elevator was used in numerous movies including Time After Time (1979).
At first `Irwin Allen` did not want to use music at the first 5 minutes of the Helicopter Sequence. John Williams told Allen that he could come up with 5 minutes of music for the beginning. When Allen heard it, he agreed with Williams.
The large sculpture that is part of the bar design in the Promenade Room was originally used in the Harmonia Gardens set in Hello, Dolly! (1969).
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Paul Newman
(as Doug Roberts)
with Faye Dunaway
(as Susan)
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