It’s a fire mister, and all fires are bad.

In this episode, Luke, Westy, and Matt tell the fascinating story behind Irwin Allen’s 1974 blockbuster, the film that redefined what Hollywood could do with a big budget, a bigger cast, and an almost reckless amount of fire.

The Towering Inferno is one of Hollywood’s great logistical achievements as much as it is a film. Two competing studios, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros, brokered a deal over a tennis match and co-produced a single film from two separate source novels, something that had never been done before at that level. The result was the largest budget ever committed to a single production at the time, four camera crews, two directors splitting duties on the same shoot, and a cast list that reads like a roll call of the greatest names the industry had ever produced.

Paul Newman and Steve McQueen at the height of their powers, and at each other’s throats over billing, line counts, and who got the last word. William Holden, quietly magnificent in a burgundy velvet dinner jacket, outperforming both of them. Fred Astaire receiving the first and only Oscar nomination of a career that had started in the 1930s. And a pre-legend John Williams delivering a score he’d later call a turning point.

Whether you’re here for the star power, the spectacle, or the story of how a film this chaotic came together at all, this one delivers. The express elevator to the 135th floor is ready. Hope the wiring’s up to code.

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