@johnpalazzo I believe that she (SF) was, actually, 35 yrs old , as the cameras rolled on this production(looked to be, even- a bit more "mature" than that, I must admit- though sophisticated and still very bangible
@pulitzer8 That suddenly coveted yet ever so elusive, contemporaneous 'cell phone' to which you refer(circa '74)- would, > likely have been found in the possession of a one, Marty Cooper- as he traipsed about NYC's busy streets; all-the-while; garnering curious looks from fellow Big Apple denizens.
When Motorola's man placed that 1st cell phone call, a year & a half prior to this film's release;he was exactly the same age(44 yrs) as Robert Wagoner stood during this scene's unfolding
When Lorrie (Susan Flannery) throws the chair out of the window, follow the chair with your eyes. It clearly bounces off protective padding, which Susan herself is about to jump onto. This is a suggestion that Susan's fall is about 2 feet.
OMG. This is really gruesome! That was the thing with 70s films - the special effects and directing weren't so slick, so everything actually looked like it might if it really happened. Which makes it much more disturbing.
"The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure" are my favorite scores by John Williams. "Jaws", "Close Encounters", "E.T.", "Star Wars", etc. are the most well-known and iconic, but his scores for disaster movies were the most beautiful. My third and fourth favorites are his scores for "The Fury" (horror) and "The Accidental Tourist" (drama).
I felt sorry for Susan when she fell out of the window. Everybody else laughed. When I got home, I thought it was funny and I was so preoccupied with it, it's all I ever thought about. I even wrote a song about it - Here's one verse:
Well, the man went out to call the fire department
She smelled something burning, and started to cough
When he caught on fire, she got so crazy
THAT SHE FELL DOWN OUT THE WINDOW AND HER PANTY HOSE FELL OFF!
This video has almost all her scenes, but there was one near the beginning where Paul Newman passed by when she was in the office (only about 1 minute of her). That doesn't appear in this video.
Good comments! ;) The earlier scene with her with Paul Newman passing by just appears in the TV version which also shows her @ work with Bigelow's team. Based on "The Glass Inferno" it was probably his executive suite they were in which had a small apartment attached (when they were trapped). This death scene is truncated on TV where it cuts off right after she screams "DAN!" & drops to the floor - then they immediately show the firefighters on that floor - sad.
@alexisdiva9 Yes, I was aware the scene was cut after she fell on the floor. On Lifetime, the scene wasn't cut out. The scene was probably omitted from the movie and included on TV. I don't think she went back and filmed the scene when it was first on TV - I think it was first on TV in about 1980 - she wouldn't have looked the same.
@alexisdiva9 Correct, yes. The scene is never shown in full, only VHS, DVD, and now Blu ray, reveal what really happens to them. Some channels spoil things by cutting too much out.
It was really funny! She fell down out the window and her pantyhose fell off! This was 1974 before cellphones. If it happened now, they would've been able to call out! Could they have escaped at the beginning of the scene? It was horribly smoky and hot as hell in there - that's why he had to close the door. Another lady falls to her death later in the film but I won't tell you who in case you don't want me to spoil it for you.
I've just realized...Dan didn't fall out the building then, just to the floor...but why was there a glass partition there? That's why the firefighters found his watch.
@bowler8 Because there is a 4-5 foot drop. The glass from the base of the platform is only about 3 foot high, so if it hadn't shattered the way it did, Dan would have probably fallen over it in the form of a dive.
If you study the layout of that area ealy in the movie, you will notice the way it's layed out.
@bowler8 The problem is,the size of the fire doubles every four minutes and waiting for the fireman was their biggest mistake.For example, you have an area of 1000 square feet,if a quarter of that area is on fire then half the area will be in four minutes and fouir minutes the entire area will be on fire. So the best chance of survival is try to escape as soon as possible upon seeing the fire.
@MrVassago45 pretty much sad to say. there's never any prepared emergencies. when people panic there's tragedy. r. wagner made a costly mistake when he requests that the telephone lines be disconnected. phone lines should never be disconnected. ****
@d4seasons Oh, I know! Especially before cellphones. He could have just unplugged the phones. Then he could have plugged them back in if he needed to make a call. I saw it in the movie theater, and everybody laughed when she fell out of the window and her pantyhose fell off!
@aatb7 after s. flannery jumped out of the window the firemen arrived @ the scene. the only funny part of the movie is when w. holden said to his son-in-law was "I'M GOING TO HANG YOU UP TO DRY & THEN I'M GOING TO HANG YOU". it was a great movie. movies like these should be made again. TITANIC was very successful in all generations. the producers were considering making a towering inferno 2 @ that time & offered p. newman to do it & he refused. sequels usually aren't as great as the original.**
@d4seasons - Well, she didn't run out of the window on purpose. She was in such a panic that she ran and fell out the window. I remember seeing firefighters right after she died. I remember the "hang you out to dry" line, but I didn't think it was funny. William Holden was very angry when he said that to the creep who was responsible for the fire and all those deaths. It was a clever line, although it wasn't funny.
Without doubt, one of THE most horrifically realistic scenes ever committed to film! All the more so because it is so close to reality. How many times have we seen stories of people trapped in high rise fires, dying tragically because there was no way of escaping the conflagration? The film is almost 40 years old, but this scene in particular still has the power to scare the hell out of you!
Best sequence in the movie ! Although a little bit spoiled by the stuntwoman holding a flannel over her mouth and nose as she dives out the window so blatantly obvious ! Nonetheless brilliant film !
I wear glasses; I have to have them on to see. It irks me that in Hollywood, a secretary will take off her uber ugly glasses and suddenly turn into a sexpot with 20/20 vision. Unless I'm going to sleep, the glasses go right back on after the festivities. I can't concentrate without them on - much less trying to fight for my life and get out of a burning building!
@catrheaper Well she probably only needed her glasses for reading (reading the letters to type while she was at work). Once she got out of work and wasn't reading, she didn't need them anymore.
@catrheaper It is pretty much a film and Tv stereotype isn't it: a secretary, otherwise immaculately dressed, stunningly beautiful, perfect hairstyle, expert make-up, will be hidden behind glasses, a pad and a pencil. Then off come the glasses and she's a total sexy knockout.
@Bolzmann13 "No sense", why?. I talken about my job and meet Susan, just that. My english is poor and i know that. But i think also if is possible undestanding what i whant say. Unfortunally on you-tube, all us, should speack in english. But remember: your country made just 500 years a go, the history of my indeed, have thausen years, for that reason all that having a very small important. You are an arrogant, just that man..
@BRUCEFOREVER1 I'm not american. I just pay attention in english class. I'm from Sweden. And in all honesty, I really didn't understand your previous comment.
@Bolzmann13 If you're Swedish, why imitate the American way of expressing: 'what fuck'?. I working on contact evry day, whit people who come from any angle of the world, and using my limits whithout problems. Whent i don't try to do that, using gestures, expression and exspecially "education". In that way all people understanding evrything... That's all.
@BRUCEFOREVER1 So if I'm swedish, I'm not allowed to use "what THE fuck"? Stop being jealous just because you can't use any expressions or that no one understands what you're saying.
@Bolzmann13 Din arrogans ar trakigt, aven outhardlig. Du har forstatt, eller problem kvarstar?. Anvander den, vilket jag aldriggor, oversattaren, ran jag saga pa alla sprak (accenter ingar ej). Goodbye och ta hand...
@BRUCEFOREVER1 I'm not arrogant. It's funny that this google translated text makes more sense than your crappy english. Mi guardi, io posso utilizzare anche Google Translate. ciao!
Unforgettable scene; one of the most drammatic in this movie. A greathest movie. I wright here also beacouse yesterday, in Florence, at the Uffizi museum (i'm a guard, if working at the metal detector), see Susan!. Many years half past, and i remember she just for Beautyful. After, on Wikipedia, i rid if she's work in 'The inferno tower'. A that point, i have remember istanctly who she's in this movie. Steel now a beauty woman, but principal she's a very semply woman....
@supercreamysperm You have reason, but shore is better than your italian. I try to speak english whithout the help of transleter-language. And for me is'nt important what you think about me. Try you to speack italian, dear professor.. after will talking about.
@MiloDC Right - what was he thinking. You can't successfully run through a fire with just a wet towel over your head. Horses can sometimes run through a fire - they can gallop 40 miles an hour and it creates a wind resistance that blows the fire away from them. That's how a car that drives through a ring of fire doesn't catch on fire. But no person is fast enough to run through a fire without protective equipment. You're the first person I know that thought it was funny that he got burned
@aatb7 Yes, I agree with you, but he beat on something( it was probably table-I think) and when he began fire. Even he had got a suit and a suit is flammable. Maybe he should pour the water his suit maybe it would be better. The scenes with Lorie and Bingelow in the end are scary and sad . They didn t have an exit. It was too late to run. I can t imagine it .
The shot when they first kiss has Flannery placed in an unfortunate parallel match with theflesh-colored wall mounting behind her, which for most of the scene makes her look like she has a dropping double chin. Being part of the looks-obsessed soap opera machinery, she couldn't have been pleased.
Then again, posterity has shown that she's not been one to follow the accepted soap "looks standards."
No matter what people say, this movie made Susan Flannery. The success of this movie was perhaps the reason she left daytime television in 1975. Didn't return to daytime until 1987.
clearly, the two of them would have been dead from smoke and fume inhalation and oxygen deprivation long before the flames got near where they were. still a great scene from the film; one that doesn't get old
She had a small part but I remember as a child being moved by their scenes. Watching her again now all these years later I can see it was her ability as an actress; conveying so much with the smallest, easiest of gestures. That's the mark of talent, I guess. I loved this film when I saw it. Even though some critics dismissed it at the time, it stacks up better than many modern disaster films, because it focused on the human interactions so effectively. You can feel for the characters.
Most dramatic scenes in the movie, as far as human drama goes. You get to know them, and when you first realize they are screwed...very dramatic. Then they both die awful deaths.
Considering the context of the film, this was really well done.
"The Bold and the Beautiful" should buy these scenes and use in some episode as Stephanie's reminiscence from past. They can tell that she finally survived :)
"Bold and the beautiful" should buy this scene and use in some episode showing it as Stephanie's reminiscence from youth. They can tell that she finally survived the fall
"Bold and the beautiful" should buy this scene and use in some episode showing it as Stephanie's reminiscence from youth. They can tell that she finally survived the fall
I was 9 when I saw this on brand new HBO. The death scene of these two characters creeps me out. Still does. The same night this premiered on the 8 pm showing, one of the houses my parents owned @ the time burned because one of the kids was playing you guessed it: "Towering inferno" in the basement with candles and rags. Everyone came out safe thank goodness but talk about a brainstamp!
This movie is one of the most tragic movies i ever see...Because a lot of the people who die in the movie was very know actors...that's why this movie was so great!!! They dont make movies like that!!!!
@obsidiansdawn, actually, I don't think Lorrie (or Lisolette for that matter) landed on the streets, if you have seen the base of the Tower, she probably landed in the lobby.
this movie really makes me laugh; it claims to be dedicated to 'firefighters around the world' & then spends over two & a half hours demonstrating how people can die in fires for entertainment value...
At least she 'went out' on the way down and the wind would have given her a fighting chance....She still could have survived if they had a net ready for her 75 floors down...
this was a very good movie from 1974. r. wagner made a terrible mistake by requsting the phone lines to be disconnected. he could of just taken the receiver off the hook. ****
i was 9 and i realized it - and j jones body was pretty huge compared to the scale of the building when she fell out of the elevator - yet and still its the best disaster movie of all time!
note the floor level when richard chamberlain comes out of the lift(level 65)the fire started on level 81 and steve mcqueen was working safely 2 floors below on 79.mmm.wonder if producers ever realized i did over 25 years ago.just got round to noting it now.
@redsamson70 the fire didnt necessarily swamp each floor entirely before moving on, based on the design it could've traveled vertically thru parts of the floors faster than it moved vertically across them (the idea being that fire would be shafted into one area of the building, giving people on each floor time to escape)
Dan Bigelow and Lorrie's characters were from The Glass Inferno...with Dan being named John and Lorrie being Deirdre Elmon. Unlike the movie, the literary characters were unsympathetic and their demise were their comeuppance for irresponsible behavior (adultery and boozing). Bigelow, in the novel was some married businessman while Deirdre/Lorrie was a two bit actress sleeping on her way to the top.
aqui en España se titulo El Coloso en LLamas y esta escena en concreto de Susan Flannery esta catalogada como una de las mas agobiantes de la historia del cine, es fantastica esta actriz.
This is very interesting scene , they had one of the most horrible deaths. I wonder if they were symbolically punished for being adulterers by the writiers
@Morgainell I have another take on this: they were RICH adulterers who happened to die a horrible death despite the luxury. Can you imagine this particular scene in a cheap motel or a ghetto? They could have gone out just in time for a neighborhood barbecue. But i have to admit there may be some truth in what you're saying...Hollywood can be childishly moral sometimes...In any case, shutting the phones down was so romantic...and dumb.
@Morgainell Probably they were. She said, "Well - one thing - at least they'll never find out about us, will they?" (If they were saved, people would know what they were doing from how she was dressed). The books upon which Towering Inferno was based were probably written in the early '70's. It didn't take as much to shock people back then. Today, if a guy and gal (both adults) are found out to having sexual relations and aren't married or engaged, so what?
@aatb7 It would be pretty unprofessional for a secretary (executive assistant) to be sleeping with the guy she worked for, even today. Like, you would not mention that at an interview for your next job!
@zaniac100 - Well, a job interview isn't the time to say unflattering things about herself - it can cost her the job. It may be unprofessional for a secretary to sleep with her boss even today, but it certainly isn't as shocking as it once was. Besides, it didn't seem like they were promiscuous and slept around. They really fell in love and truly cared for each other. If they had eventually gotten married, it wouldn't have made any difference anyway.
when Robert Wagner dies in this movie it is so sad. The fact that he tried to lie to her and say they were going to be rescued was sweet. Though maybe they should have run for it.
i saw this movie when I was 12 and it was the first movie where characters I liked actually died. You just had no clue what was going to happen next and who was going to die.
In the book, it was the World Tower's debut and the only people in the building were the 100 people in the party at the top of the building. The movie version has the building occupied like the WTC was on 9/11, except its the evening instead of morning.
Which book? There were two very similar novels, "The Glass Inferno" and "The Tower," one of which had been acquired as a property by 20th Century Fox and the other by Warner Bros. Rather than release two competing films with the same story, Irwin Allen persuaded the two studios to pool their resources on one blockbuster film that combined elements of both books.
I read the book "The Tower" several months ago, and that as the one that had the resuce zipline from the Tower to the North Tower of the WTC plotline. Vry sad/ironic idea now though. :(
Oh yeah in the book "The Tower" the events that occurred on that infamous opening 'day' all occurred from approximately 9:00 am on, on a perfectly clear sunny day....?! Unlike this film...but exactly like...?!
i remember this movie as a young girl, but i can't recall susan flannery playing in this movie was this movie remade from the previous one that feature Paul Newman. (RIP Paul Newman)
I think you'll find that post 9/11 (and I think all our thoughts are with those who are no longer with us at this time) the more graphic scenes in this film were edited and quite rightly.
IF i am not mistaken Irwin Allen could only film 20 seconds at a time on the original 57 sets, cuz after 20 seconds, the fire would become harder to control, and after the film was finished only 3 or 4 sets were left, Irwin burned them all.
I've noticed that also - the scene with Susan Flannery and Wagner is probably the most disturbing scene of all - it always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up - from then on the rest of the drama / tension scene are much lighter by comparison - it's almost as if the production team felt the need to "lighten things up a little" ... I think two many macabre scenes like this might have had an awful impact on the mood of the cinema audience ... maybe?
Towering Inferno rescreens on TV in th UK a few times and is always shown through the day and the scene when Susan Flannery is trapped in the burning room and eventually goes out of the window in a backdraft is always edited out ! I guess they figure it is a bit much for day time audiences ???
it was a mixture of kerosene, gasoline, whiskey, hot liquid wax, and a lil bit diesel petro. IF that was not enuff, Irwin Allen ORDERED that Robert Wagner catch fire!!!
That's correct; Ms. Flannery won a Golden Globe for best newcomer. @ that time she was on Days of Our Lives; B&B didn't debut until 1987. Too bad they didn't have cell phones back then to call for help (when Bigelow shut the phones off) but the fire was so intense I doubt it would change the outcome :(
i watched this movie many times, but pls can someone of you explane how the hell a fire started from 81 floor could have reached the 65 floor, where Susan and Rob are?
The whole movie is full of plot holes. For example, it's never explained why the sprinklers aren't working. Blowing the water tanks would only flood the Promenade Room below; the water would then pour out the windows and fall to the ground without touching the fires on the lower floors. Hey, it's an Irwin Allen movie -- enjoy it for the implausible nonsense that it is.
Well, they did cut corners with the faulty wires which caused the inferno in the first place...maybe they just put in bad sprinklers which were also faulty.
i think that was the point ,though. Wagner's performance until that point was like a cliche dashing hero in some cheesy romance flick , and what does he do 2 seconds after he gives flannery that dumb hero smile? runs into a flaming chair and becomes toast meat. I guess the producers wanted this fire to appear all-conquering
man this was sad scene though. usually disaster and thriller movies aren't moving like this. he is so caring for her. you just felt for these two people who are trapped in a burning building. and he was a badass!!
I often think about what I what do in this situation - I think I would smash the mains pipe in the bathroom under the sink so that there would be water pissing out all over the place - it may or may not help ... what do you think, U-tube viewers?
@booth2710 That wouldn't have helped,that would only create steam and make it hotter and if anything that would dry out all the combustible materials and make them more flammable,using water is practical only if you have enough of a steady flow.That's the reason why the fire got out of control the way it did because on 81 they didn't have enough water to put the fire out with.All the water was doing was turning to steam.
Or why didn't they drench the walls and floor in the room between them and the fire, that would have slowed the fire down. They also should have left all the taps running till the water overflows.
The sad part is that in the next scene we see the firemen arrive in the same area where Dan tried to dodge the flames.
Great film, powerful scene, probably the most scary, suspensful part of the movie.
In situations like that it's probably hard to think logically but i always wondered why they didn't try and make a run for it as soon as they discovered the fire, it didn't look so bad at that point.
That, and when Jennifer Jones got tossed out of the scenic elevator at about a 1000'. But this was the worst, because my worst nightmare is being burned alive.
This video is in Brooke Logan and Sheila Carter's favorites. :-)
Messylin 1 month ago
@johnpalazzo I believe that she (SF) was, actually, 35 yrs old , as the cameras rolled on this production(looked to be, even- a bit more "mature" than that, I must admit- though sophisticated and still very bangible
kiiifute1 1 month ago
@pulitzer8 That suddenly coveted yet ever so elusive, contemporaneous 'cell phone' to which you refer(circa '74)- would, > likely have been found in the possession of a one, Marty Cooper- as he traipsed about NYC's busy streets; all-the-while; garnering curious looks from fellow Big Apple denizens.
When Motorola's man placed that 1st cell phone call, a year & a half prior to this film's release;he was exactly the same age(44 yrs) as Robert Wagoner stood during this scene's unfolding
kiiifute1 1 month ago
It's hard to believe that Lorrie is the great and powerful "Stephanie Forrester"........LOL
bornyesterday21 1 month ago
When Lorrie (Susan Flannery) throws the chair out of the window, follow the chair with your eyes. It clearly bounces off protective padding, which Susan herself is about to jump onto. This is a suggestion that Susan's fall is about 2 feet.
31cify 2 months ago
OMG. This is really gruesome! That was the thing with 70s films - the special effects and directing weren't so slick, so everything actually looked like it might if it really happened. Which makes it much more disturbing.
SueSnell 3 months ago
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DickieAnginson 6 months ago
"The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure" are my favorite scores by John Williams. "Jaws", "Close Encounters", "E.T.", "Star Wars", etc. are the most well-known and iconic, but his scores for disaster movies were the most beautiful. My third and fourth favorites are his scores for "The Fury" (horror) and "The Accidental Tourist" (drama).
DickieAnginson 6 months ago
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DickieAnginson 6 months ago
Comment removed
DickieAnginson 6 months ago
I felt sorry for Susan when she fell out of the window. Everybody else laughed. When I got home, I thought it was funny and I was so preoccupied with it, it's all I ever thought about. I even wrote a song about it - Here's one verse:
Well, the man went out to call the fire department
She smelled something burning, and started to cough
When he caught on fire, she got so crazy
THAT SHE FELL DOWN OUT THE WINDOW AND HER PANTY HOSE FELL OFF!
aatb7 7 months ago
This video has almost all her scenes, but there was one near the beginning where Paul Newman passed by when she was in the office (only about 1 minute of her). That doesn't appear in this video.
aatb7 8 months ago
@aatb7
Good comments! ;) The earlier scene with her with Paul Newman passing by just appears in the TV version which also shows her @ work with Bigelow's team. Based on "The Glass Inferno" it was probably his executive suite they were in which had a small apartment attached (when they were trapped). This death scene is truncated on TV where it cuts off right after she screams "DAN!" & drops to the floor - then they immediately show the firefighters on that floor - sad.
alexisdiva9 5 months ago
@alexisdiva9 Yes, I was aware the scene was cut after she fell on the floor. On Lifetime, the scene wasn't cut out. The scene was probably omitted from the movie and included on TV. I don't think she went back and filmed the scene when it was first on TV - I think it was first on TV in about 1980 - she wouldn't have looked the same.
aatb7 4 months ago
@alexisdiva9 Correct, yes. The scene is never shown in full, only VHS, DVD, and now Blu ray, reveal what really happens to them. Some channels spoil things by cutting too much out.
31cify 2 months ago
It was really funny! She fell down out the window and her pantyhose fell off! This was 1974 before cellphones. If it happened now, they would've been able to call out! Could they have escaped at the beginning of the scene? It was horribly smoky and hot as hell in there - that's why he had to close the door. Another lady falls to her death later in the film but I won't tell you who in case you don't want me to spoil it for you.
aatb7 8 months ago
susan flannery: I can't believe this is "stephanie forrester" on the bold and the beautiful.....LOL
bornyesterday21 8 months ago
I've just realized...Dan didn't fall out the building then, just to the floor...but why was there a glass partition there? That's why the firefighters found his watch.
bowler8 8 months ago
@bowler8 Because there is a 4-5 foot drop. The glass from the base of the platform is only about 3 foot high, so if it hadn't shattered the way it did, Dan would have probably fallen over it in the form of a dive.
If you study the layout of that area ealy in the movie, you will notice the way it's layed out.
helicoptersrkool 8 months ago
@helicoptersrkool They could have made it as soon as they discovered the fire, cos if you look, that room is still not fully on fire.
bowler8 8 months ago
@bowler8 Yep they probably would have survived. Panic can make people do strange things.
helicoptersrkool 8 months ago
@bowler8 The problem is,the size of the fire doubles every four minutes and waiting for the fireman was their biggest mistake.For example, you have an area of 1000 square feet,if a quarter of that area is on fire then half the area will be in four minutes and fouir minutes the entire area will be on fire. So the best chance of survival is try to escape as soon as possible upon seeing the fire.
Truckguy1970 4 months ago
@helicoptersrkool Were Susan Flannery and Robert Wagner in an apartment or one of the offices?
aatb7 8 months ago
Didn't this same thing happen in the twin towers during 9/11?
MrVassago45 9 months ago
@MrVassago45 pretty much sad to say. there's never any prepared emergencies. when people panic there's tragedy. r. wagner made a costly mistake when he requests that the telephone lines be disconnected. phone lines should never be disconnected. ****
d4seasons 8 months ago
@d4seasons Oh, I know! Especially before cellphones. He could have just unplugged the phones. Then he could have plugged them back in if he needed to make a call. I saw it in the movie theater, and everybody laughed when she fell out of the window and her pantyhose fell off!
aatb7 8 months ago
@aatb7 after s. flannery jumped out of the window the firemen arrived @ the scene. the only funny part of the movie is when w. holden said to his son-in-law was "I'M GOING TO HANG YOU UP TO DRY & THEN I'M GOING TO HANG YOU". it was a great movie. movies like these should be made again. TITANIC was very successful in all generations. the producers were considering making a towering inferno 2 @ that time & offered p. newman to do it & he refused. sequels usually aren't as great as the original.**
d4seasons 8 months ago
@d4seasons - Well, she didn't run out of the window on purpose. She was in such a panic that she ran and fell out the window. I remember seeing firefighters right after she died. I remember the "hang you out to dry" line, but I didn't think it was funny. William Holden was very angry when he said that to the creep who was responsible for the fire and all those deaths. It was a clever line, although it wasn't funny.
aatb7 8 months ago
Everyone's greatest fear..
LBraunhaus 9 months ago
Without doubt, one of THE most horrifically realistic scenes ever committed to film! All the more so because it is so close to reality. How many times have we seen stories of people trapped in high rise fires, dying tragically because there was no way of escaping the conflagration? The film is almost 40 years old, but this scene in particular still has the power to scare the hell out of you!
ready4u184 10 months ago 2
Best sequence in the movie ! Although a little bit spoiled by the stuntwoman holding a flannel over her mouth and nose as she dives out the window so blatantly obvious ! Nonetheless brilliant film !
Ianandsyd 10 months ago
I wear glasses; I have to have them on to see. It irks me that in Hollywood, a secretary will take off her uber ugly glasses and suddenly turn into a sexpot with 20/20 vision. Unless I'm going to sleep, the glasses go right back on after the festivities. I can't concentrate without them on - much less trying to fight for my life and get out of a burning building!
catrheaper 1 year ago 2
@catrheaper Well she probably only needed her glasses for reading (reading the letters to type while she was at work). Once she got out of work and wasn't reading, she didn't need them anymore.
aatb7 8 months ago
@catrheaper It is pretty much a film and Tv stereotype isn't it: a secretary, otherwise immaculately dressed, stunningly beautiful, perfect hairstyle, expert make-up, will be hidden behind glasses, a pad and a pencil. Then off come the glasses and she's a total sexy knockout.
zaniac100 4 months ago
love the music for this scene, specifically when Wagner runs out and starts blazing, so dramatic and a tad heroic sounding.
Bondek1996 1 year ago
I wish they showed them "splat"!
kingofmilwaukee 1 year ago
¡¡ O_O !! They paid a HIGH price for make love.
FlyingMondongo 1 year ago
Almost forget... how many of yours see a yang and unknow (a that time), Maril Streep?. Is the other axistent, if going, before Susan open the door...
BRUCEFOREVER1 1 year ago
@BRUCEFOREVER1 what the fuck? your comment made no sense what so ever
Bolzmann13 11 months ago
@Bolzmann13 "No sense", why?. I talken about my job and meet Susan, just that. My english is poor and i know that. But i think also if is possible undestanding what i whant say. Unfortunally on you-tube, all us, should speack in english. But remember: your country made just 500 years a go, the history of my indeed, have thausen years, for that reason all that having a very small important. You are an arrogant, just that man..
BRUCEFOREVER1 11 months ago
@BRUCEFOREVER1 I'm not american. I just pay attention in english class. I'm from Sweden. And in all honesty, I really didn't understand your previous comment.
Bolzmann13 11 months ago
@Bolzmann13 If you're Swedish, why imitate the American way of expressing: 'what fuck'?. I working on contact evry day, whit people who come from any angle of the world, and using my limits whithout problems. Whent i don't try to do that, using gestures, expression and exspecially "education". In that way all people understanding evrything... That's all.
BRUCEFOREVER1 11 months ago
@BRUCEFOREVER1 So if I'm swedish, I'm not allowed to use "what THE fuck"? Stop being jealous just because you can't use any expressions or that no one understands what you're saying.
Bolzmann13 11 months ago
@Bolzmann13 Din arrogans ar trakigt, aven outhardlig. Du har forstatt, eller problem kvarstar?. Anvander den, vilket jag aldriggor, oversattaren, ran jag saga pa alla sprak (accenter ingar ej). Goodbye och ta hand...
BRUCEFOREVER1 11 months ago
@BRUCEFOREVER1 I'm not arrogant. It's funny that this google translated text makes more sense than your crappy english. Mi guardi, io posso utilizzare anche Google Translate. ciao!
Bolzmann13 11 months ago
Unforgettable scene; one of the most drammatic in this movie. A greathest movie. I wright here also beacouse yesterday, in Florence, at the Uffizi museum (i'm a guard, if working at the metal detector), see Susan!. Many years half past, and i remember she just for Beautyful. After, on Wikipedia, i rid if she's work in 'The inferno tower'. A that point, i have remember istanctly who she's in this movie. Steel now a beauty woman, but principal she's a very semply woman....
BRUCEFOREVER1 1 year ago 2
@BRUCEFOREVER1 Mama Mia, you're English is just beautiful.......not.
supercreamysperm 1 year ago
@supercreamysperm You have reason, but shore is better than your italian. I try to speak english whithout the help of transleter-language. And for me is'nt important what you think about me. Try you to speack italian, dear professor.. after will talking about.
BRUCEFOREVER1 11 months ago
I love how the dude runs out heroically and IMMEDIATELY starts burning like gunpowder. LOL!
MiloDC 1 year ago
@MiloDC Right - what was he thinking. You can't successfully run through a fire with just a wet towel over your head. Horses can sometimes run through a fire - they can gallop 40 miles an hour and it creates a wind resistance that blows the fire away from them. That's how a car that drives through a ring of fire doesn't catch on fire. But no person is fast enough to run through a fire without protective equipment. You're the first person I know that thought it was funny that he got burned
aatb7 8 months ago
@aatb7 Yes, I agree with you, but he beat on something( it was probably table-I think) and when he began fire. Even he had got a suit and a suit is flammable. Maybe he should pour the water his suit maybe it would be better. The scenes with Lorie and Bingelow in the end are scary and sad . They didn t have an exit. It was too late to run. I can t imagine it .
thepiotr6688 7 months ago
The shot when they first kiss has Flannery placed in an unfortunate parallel match with theflesh-colored wall mounting behind her, which for most of the scene makes her look like she has a dropping double chin. Being part of the looks-obsessed soap opera machinery, she couldn't have been pleased.
Then again, posterity has shown that she's not been one to follow the accepted soap "looks standards."
bobbymoya 1 year ago
No matter what people say, this movie made Susan Flannery. The success of this movie was perhaps the reason she left daytime television in 1975. Didn't return to daytime until 1987.
AMEwrestling 1 year ago
clearly, the two of them would have been dead from smoke and fume inhalation and oxygen deprivation long before the flames got near where they were. still a great scene from the film; one that doesn't get old
davidpar2 1 year ago
I was only 10 when I watched this movie and I got really scared. In the same year (1974), the was a dreadful fire on Joelma Building, in Sao Paulo.
robertopinarizzo 1 year ago
She had a small part but I remember as a child being moved by their scenes. Watching her again now all these years later I can see it was her ability as an actress; conveying so much with the smallest, easiest of gestures. That's the mark of talent, I guess. I loved this film when I saw it. Even though some critics dismissed it at the time, it stacks up better than many modern disaster films, because it focused on the human interactions so effectively. You can feel for the characters.
deepspace33 1 year ago
WTF he puts a dry FLAMMABLE towel on his head LOL
leodefine86 1 year ago
@leodefine86 He made it wet;-) not that that helps ;-)
Choefoe 1 year ago
Most dramatic scenes in the movie, as far as human drama goes. You get to know them, and when you first realize they are screwed...very dramatic. Then they both die awful deaths.
Considering the context of the film, this was really well done.
zenmachinefilms 1 year ago
"The Bold and the Beautiful" should buy these scenes and use in some episode as Stephanie's reminiscence from past. They can tell that she finally survived :)
1991kubak1991 1 year ago
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"Bold and the beautiful" should buy this scene and use in some episode showing it as Stephanie's reminiscence from youth. They can tell that she finally survived the fall
1991kubak1991 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
"Bold and the beautiful" should buy this scene and use in some episode showing it as Stephanie's reminiscence from youth. They can tell that she finally survived the fall
1991kubak1991 1 year ago
Comment removed
1991kubak1991 1 year ago
what happened to her hairstyle after she changed into the pink shirt?
VTMCompany 1 year ago 2
@VTMCompany Got mussed in some vigorous activity
zaniac100 7 months ago
"Just sit tight and wait 'til they get here..." Words scarily similar to things said in the Towers on that fateful day...
VTMCompany 1 year ago
This is why I love stunt work!
ForkliftJoe 1 year ago
In the TV version, don't they cut out Susan Flannery's death by ending it right after the "We Build For Life" sign is burned down and she screams
SonnyJamesJefferson 1 year ago
2:40 - Scariest music cue I've ever heard!
SonnyJamesJefferson 1 year ago
I was 9 when I saw this on brand new HBO. The death scene of these two characters creeps me out. Still does. The same night this premiered on the 8 pm showing, one of the houses my parents owned @ the time burned because one of the kids was playing you guessed it: "Towering inferno" in the basement with candles and rags. Everyone came out safe thank goodness but talk about a brainstamp!
vulcansdaughter 1 year ago
This movie is one of the most tragic movies i ever see...Because a lot of the people who die in the movie was very know actors...that's why this movie was so great!!! They dont make movies like that!!!!
romeonarcizo 1 year ago
AT 8:12, there goes the Human Torch.
gilbertgeorgegiles 1 year ago
@SuperDisasterMovie Yes Flannery's scenes are the film's highlight. She is a great actress. I also like Jennifer Jones' scenes and story.
zaniac100 1 year ago
@obsidiansdawn, actually, I don't think Lorrie (or Lisolette for that matter) landed on the streets, if you have seen the base of the Tower, she probably landed in the lobby.
PungiFungi 2 years ago
"you look like you could be going to church..."
"in this outfit?!"
but who could forget theimmortal:
"i use to run the hundred in 10 flat!"
this movie really makes me laugh; it claims to be dedicated to 'firefighters around the world' & then spends over two & a half hours demonstrating how people can die in fires for entertainment value...
:o(
jazzlers 2 years ago
@jazzlers "Did you leave a cigarette burning?" "That's not a cigarette!"
But Susan makes it work!
zaniac100 1 year ago
At least she 'went out' on the way down and the wind would have given her a fighting chance....She still could have survived if they had a net ready for her 75 floors down...
kangaroosbraun 2 years ago
You fuck, you die! didn't those Halloween movies teach us anything.
angmhalp 2 years ago
starring SUSAN FLAMMABLY as Lorri!
Messylin 2 years ago
Flammable Flannery!!!
Messylin 2 years ago
this was a very good movie from 1974. r. wagner made a terrible mistake by requsting the phone lines to be disconnected. he could of just taken the receiver off the hook. ****
d4seasons 2 years ago
Why didn't she put more clothes on??
TubularBelle 2 years ago
i was 9 and i realized it - and j jones body was pretty huge compared to the scale of the building when she fell out of the elevator - yet and still its the best disaster movie of all time!
bolton2121 2 years ago
note the floor level when richard chamberlain comes out of the lift(level 65)the fire started on level 81 and steve mcqueen was working safely 2 floors below on 79.mmm.wonder if producers ever realized i did over 25 years ago.just got round to noting it now.
redsamson70 2 years ago
@redsamson70 the fire didnt necessarily swamp each floor entirely before moving on, based on the design it could've traveled vertically thru parts of the floors faster than it moved vertically across them (the idea being that fire would be shafted into one area of the building, giving people on each floor time to escape)
heddalee 1 year ago
its nice to see that Cunt Stephanie Forrester get burned up
boxer301977 2 years ago
where's da OJ???
irish89055 2 years ago
Dan Bigelow and Lorrie's characters were from The Glass Inferno...with Dan being named John and Lorrie being Deirdre Elmon. Unlike the movie, the literary characters were unsympathetic and their demise were their comeuppance for irresponsible behavior (adultery and boozing). Bigelow, in the novel was some married businessman while Deirdre/Lorrie was a two bit actress sleeping on her way to the top.
PungiFungi 2 years ago 2
hoy la dan, en españa en la 1
1skiper 2 years ago
When he opens up the door -- before the front room was burning, they could've at least made it the stairs ... if they ran for it.
coneyraven 2 years ago 7
There is a great new bio (Paul Newman: the Dream has ended!) at amazon.
Bestmanme08 2 years ago
aqui en España se titulo El Coloso en LLamas y esta escena en concreto de Susan Flannery esta catalogada como una de las mas agobiantes de la historia del cine, es fantastica esta actriz.
balletzoom 2 years ago
This is very interesting scene , they had one of the most horrible deaths. I wonder if they were symbolically punished for being adulterers by the writiers
Morgainell 2 years ago 6
@Morgainell I have another take on this: they were RICH adulterers who happened to die a horrible death despite the luxury. Can you imagine this particular scene in a cheap motel or a ghetto? They could have gone out just in time for a neighborhood barbecue. But i have to admit there may be some truth in what you're saying...Hollywood can be childishly moral sometimes...In any case, shutting the phones down was so romantic...and dumb.
dixxjamm 11 months ago
@Morgainell Well, maybe, but there at least two different married people who didn't hurt anybody and they still got killed in other scenes.
aatb7 8 months ago
Respond to this video... Susan Flannery won a Golden Globe for Newcomer of the Year for this film, and she has less than 10 minutes of screen time!
aatb7 8 months ago
@aatb7 Yep, because she did perhaps the best acting in the entire film. Whatta star.
zaniac100 7 months ago
@Morgainell Probably they were. She said, "Well - one thing - at least they'll never find out about us, will they?" (If they were saved, people would know what they were doing from how she was dressed). The books upon which Towering Inferno was based were probably written in the early '70's. It didn't take as much to shock people back then. Today, if a guy and gal (both adults) are found out to having sexual relations and aren't married or engaged, so what?
aatb7 4 months ago
@aatb7 It would be pretty unprofessional for a secretary (executive assistant) to be sleeping with the guy she worked for, even today. Like, you would not mention that at an interview for your next job!
zaniac100 4 months ago
@zaniac100 - Well, a job interview isn't the time to say unflattering things about herself - it can cost her the job. It may be unprofessional for a secretary to sleep with her boss even today, but it certainly isn't as shocking as it once was. Besides, it didn't seem like they were promiscuous and slept around. They really fell in love and truly cared for each other. If they had eventually gotten married, it wouldn't have made any difference anyway.
aatb7 3 months ago
when Robert Wagner dies in this movie it is so sad. The fact that he tried to lie to her and say they were going to be rescued was sweet. Though maybe they should have run for it.
Morgainell 2 years ago
Susan was terrific in this and won a well deserved Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer>
JerseySurvivor 2 years ago
She was a "poor man's" Stella Stevens (Linda Rogo) in "The Poseidon Adventure"...same out fit...died the same way. ZZZZ...
LBraunhaus 2 years ago
..Ya gotta love that 70's Chinese decor...look at that grasscloth wallpaper...YIKES!
LBraunhaus 2 years ago 2
God, I can see Sheila and Brooke watching this with popcorn and cheering on as she crashes to her fiery demise.
AdArmand 2 years ago 2
That's not a cigarette....IT'S THE TOWERING INFERNO!
turnoutjim 2 years ago 2
i saw this movie when I was 12 and it was the first movie where characters I liked actually died. You just had no clue what was going to happen next and who was going to die.
soulcornflake1 3 years ago
@soulcornflake1 The first movie I saw where people died was The Poseidon Adventure. Pretty shocking for a young kid.
zaniac100 1 year ago
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This movie is HOT!!!
1814Brandan 3 years ago
In the book, it was the World Tower's debut and the only people in the building were the 100 people in the party at the top of the building. The movie version has the building occupied like the WTC was on 9/11, except its the evening instead of morning.
adhfan75 3 years ago
Which book? There were two very similar novels, "The Glass Inferno" and "The Tower," one of which had been acquired as a property by 20th Century Fox and the other by Warner Bros. Rather than release two competing films with the same story, Irwin Allen persuaded the two studios to pool their resources on one blockbuster film that combined elements of both books.
scotpens 2 years ago
I read the book "The Tower" several months ago, and that as the one that had the resuce zipline from the Tower to the North Tower of the WTC plotline. Vry sad/ironic idea now though. :(
adhfan75 2 years ago
Oh yeah in the book "The Tower" the events that occurred on that infamous opening 'day' all occurred from approximately 9:00 am on, on a perfectly clear sunny day....?! Unlike this film...but exactly like...?!
adhfan75 2 years ago
The stunt work in this scene was outstanding!
Escul1960 3 years ago 2
this movie reminds me of junior high school days! thsk for uploading.
focusyellow 3 years ago
What a way to just ruin your whole evening!
LBraunhaus 3 years ago
OMG...I only remember this scene from watching it as a kid and you are right, it really is the best scene! Thank you for posting it!
lovechild6969 3 years ago 2
OMG... i've never been able to find this movie anywhere... but her death was horrible
twilight0c0 3 years ago 2
its creepy how eerily similar this is to 9/11 in fact, the building and part of the story was inspired by the construction of the WTC.
jokekiller13 3 years ago 2
OWNED!
gerbravery07 3 years ago
i remember this movie as a young girl, but i can't recall susan flannery playing in this movie was this movie remade from the previous one that feature Paul Newman. (RIP Paul Newman)
liketohavefun2007 3 years ago
Susan Flannery's the actress in this clip.
RIP Paul Newman.
helicoptersrkool 3 years ago
I think you'll find that post 9/11 (and I think all our thoughts are with those who are no longer with us at this time) the more graphic scenes in this film were edited and quite rightly.
jpk111 3 years ago
IF i am not mistaken Irwin Allen could only film 20 seconds at a time on the original 57 sets, cuz after 20 seconds, the fire would become harder to control, and after the film was finished only 3 or 4 sets were left, Irwin burned them all.
UFOSPACE1999 3 years ago
I've noticed that also - the scene with Susan Flannery and Wagner is probably the most disturbing scene of all - it always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up - from then on the rest of the drama / tension scene are much lighter by comparison - it's almost as if the production team felt the need to "lighten things up a little" ... I think two many macabre scenes like this might have had an awful impact on the mood of the cinema audience ... maybe?
booth2710 3 years ago
I totally agree.
louisiane1864 3 years ago
I agree. When I saw this in the movies in '74 it really creeped me out.
3bar 3 years ago
Towering Inferno rescreens on TV in th UK a few times and is always shown through the day and the scene when Susan Flannery is trapped in the burning room and eventually goes out of the window in a backdraft is always edited out ! I guess they figure it is a bit much for day time audiences ???
booth2710 3 years ago
Susan Flannery had an impressive pair of yams!
soremongs 3 years ago
Hell yeah..LOL
TWheels94 3 years ago
STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!!
Megatenist 3 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I love watching people burn to death. That's awesome!
HUTINAK 3 years ago
Best disaster movie EVER!!!
pamelapearl 3 years ago
Ouffch! poor thing, now that's a high fall alright!
Oceanproject 3 years ago
Did Robert Wagner's character soak that towel in kerosene?
soremongs 3 years ago
it was a mixture of kerosene, gasoline, whiskey, hot liquid wax, and a lil bit diesel petro. IF that was not enuff, Irwin Allen ORDERED that Robert Wagner catch fire!!!
UFOSPACE1999 3 years ago
I think they did`t have chance to escape.
They had to be into bathroom under the shower.
fito65 4 years ago
Ummmm...not so much. You're pretty much toast there too with all the smoke and the heat is going to be around 600 degrees or so. They're done mate.
TWheels94 3 years ago
Right? She is extremely striking. Too bad her and Wagner take dirtnaps out the window.
TWheels94 4 years ago
What a depressing movie! haha
parkguy505 4 years ago
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die stephanie die!! LOL
jimz78 4 years ago
Yeah, I bet Caroline would have loved to have seen this!
marktwoone 4 years ago
That is not Stephanie.. That is Susan Flannery playing Lorrie.. Not Stephanie...
h06anbjo 4 years ago
lol i know that, its a sorta answer to the "brooke logan started the fire" comment :)
jimz78 4 years ago
before I saw this a guy who dosen't like the film told me about how tacky and fake everything looked in this film and it wasn't scary at all.
After seeing it I have no idea what he was talking about.
MissMael 4 years ago 2
Brooke Logan started the fire! :P
RoyaumePerdu 4 years ago 4
KKL would have been like 13 when this movie was shoot...
h06anbjo 4 years ago
So what? i'm pretty sure she knew how to use a lighter or some matches :P
great acting btw, Susan Flannery has always been superb
RoyaumePerdu 4 years ago
She still wouldn't even be close to the building..
h06anbjo 4 years ago
Susan Flannery won an award for best newcomer in this movie.
pytko3 4 years ago
That's correct; Ms. Flannery won a Golden Globe for best newcomer. @ that time she was on Days of Our Lives; B&B didn't debut until 1987. Too bad they didn't have cell phones back then to call for help (when Bigelow shut the phones off) but the fire was so intense I doubt it would change the outcome :(
alexisdiva9 4 years ago 2
hi u-tuber,
i watched this movie many times, but pls can someone of you explane how the hell a fire started from 81 floor could have reached the 65 floor, where Susan and Rob are?
mimiayuara 4 years ago
The whole building had flukey wireing so maybe fires were starting in different locations, we just weren't shown them.
The fire we see in the storage room was probably the first fire that started in the building.
helicoptersrkool 4 years ago 3
The whole movie is full of plot holes. For example, it's never explained why the sprinklers aren't working. Blowing the water tanks would only flood the Promenade Room below; the water would then pour out the windows and fall to the ground without touching the fires on the lower floors. Hey, it's an Irwin Allen movie -- enjoy it for the implausible nonsense that it is.
scotpens 2 years ago
Well, they did cut corners with the faulty wires which caused the inferno in the first place...maybe they just put in bad sprinklers which were also faulty.
zimchar 2 years ago
i was so upset when wagner dies. he is such a badass in this movie! "i'll be back with the whole fire department".
aznativethug 4 years ago 2
i think that was the point ,though. Wagner's performance until that point was like a cliche dashing hero in some cheesy romance flick , and what does he do 2 seconds after he gives flannery that dumb hero smile? runs into a flaming chair and becomes toast meat. I guess the producers wanted this fire to appear all-conquering
bordaz1 3 years ago 2
man this was sad scene though. usually disaster and thriller movies aren't moving like this. he is so caring for her. you just felt for these two people who are trapped in a burning building. and he was a badass!!
aznativethug 2 years ago
I would love to see this movie remade so that some now celebrities and actors could get fried! Paris Hilton maybe as Susan Flannery
mwbaker1979 4 years ago
Yeah, but cut out her dialogue :D
AlonsoLegend 4 years ago 3
I often think about what I what do in this situation - I think I would smash the mains pipe in the bathroom under the sink so that there would be water pissing out all over the place - it may or may not help ... what do you think, U-tube viewers?
booth2710 4 years ago 2
I don't think there would be enough water pressure to keep the fire under control. So I would rather jump then burn !!
mwbaker1979 4 years ago
Probably be the best thing to do but in that situation, only prolonging the inevitable :/
Such a powerful scene from the film, John Williams did the music perfectly.
AlonsoLegend 4 years ago
How practical would that be?
goalie1guy 4 years ago
@booth2710 That wouldn't have helped,that would only create steam and make it hotter and if anything that would dry out all the combustible materials and make them more flammable,using water is practical only if you have enough of a steady flow.That's the reason why the fire got out of control the way it did because on 81 they didn't have enough water to put the fire out with.All the water was doing was turning to steam.
Truckguy1970 4 months ago
Or why didn't they drench the walls and floor in the room between them and the fire, that would have slowed the fire down. They also should have left all the taps running till the water overflows.
The sad part is that in the next scene we see the firemen arrive in the same area where Dan tried to dodge the flames.
helicoptersrkool 4 years ago
Great film, powerful scene, probably the most scary, suspensful part of the movie.
In situations like that it's probably hard to think logically but i always wondered why they didn't try and make a run for it as soon as they discovered the fire, it didn't look so bad at that point.
helicoptersrkool 4 years ago 3
That, and when Jennifer Jones got tossed out of the scenic elevator at about a 1000'. But this was the worst, because my worst nightmare is being burned alive.
DBarns7 4 years ago 3
shouldn't the guy have at least soaked himself in the shower instead of just wrapping damp towels around himself (not that it would have helped)
1andonlypsit