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City on Fire (1979 film)
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City on Fire is a 1979 disaster film directed by Alvin Rakoff and featuring an “all-star cast,” as was the custom for that time. The film’s plot revolves around a disgruntled civil servant who sets fire to an oil refinery, setting off a blaze which engulfs an entire city. Various people try to either fight or flee the fire as it spreads throughout the city. Some elements of the disaster depicted reflect the infamous Texas City Disaster of 1947.
The film was partially financed by the government agency Telefilm Canada and filmed on a relatively confined budget.
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Encyclopedia
City on Fire is a 1979 disaster film directed by Alvin Rakoff and featuring an “all-star cast,” as was the custom for that time. The film’s plot revolves around a disgruntled civil servant who sets fire to an oil refinery, setting off a blaze which engulfs an entire city. Various people try to either fight or flee the fire as it spreads throughout the city. Some elements of the disaster depicted reflect the infamous Texas City Disaster of 1947.
The film was partially financed by the government agency Telefilm Canada and filmed on a relatively confined budget. Some of the fire sequences utilized stock footage from both existing movies and news footage. City on Fire was ultimately a failed venture for the company and had a limited run at the American box office. The film was resurrected from obscurity by Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1989, and has since been known as an example of campy disaster B-movies.
Plot
William Dudley (Leslie Nielson) is a corrupt mayor of a nameless Midwestern U.S. city who has allowed a chemical refinery to be built right in the center of town, far from any river, lake or reservoir. On one typical hot summer day, Herman Stover (Johnathan Welsh), a dangerously disturbed employee at the works has been denied an expected promotion and in addition, finds himself fired. He then decides to take his revenge against the works by opening the valves to the storage vats and their interconnecting pipes, flooding the area and sewers with gasoline and chemicals. It doesn't take long for this act of petty vandalism to start a fire, which starts a chain reaction that causes massive explosions at the refinery, destroying it and spreading a mushroom-cloud of flame that soon engulfs the entire metropolis. The drama focuses on a newly built hospital which, like the refinery and all civic buildings that went up during the mayor's crooked administration, is shoddily built and poorly equipped where the head doctor, Frank Whitman (Barry Newman), and his staff treat thousands of casualties from the fire while the city fire chief Risley (Henry Fonda) keeps in constant contact with the fire companies fighting a losing battle against the fires, and Maggie Grayson (Ava Gardner), an alcoholic reporter, sees it as her chance to make it nationwide with her coverage of the story of the "city on fire".
Cast
Trivia
- The city used for this movie was Montreal.
- This was Canada's only disaster movie.
- It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and was one of the first episodes.
- Only two more 70's disaster movies came out after this one. By then, the genre had already passed its prime.
- Many french signs can be seen around this "American" city.
- Many of the fire scenes were stock footage.
- This is the only 70's disaster movie to use the "F" word.
- It is the only 70's disaster movie not to be released on DVD.
Translations
- French : Cité en feu
- Italian : Città in fiamme
See also
External links
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