Director: Alvin Rakoff
Starring: Barry Newman, Susan Clark, Shelley Winters, Leslie Nielsen, Ava Gardner, Henry Fonda, James Franciscus
Running Time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: A disgruntled ex-employee sabotages an oil refinery, causing a massive firestorm that consumes the adjacent city. Mass casualties ensue, and among those caught in the flames are a heroic doctor (Barry Newman), the corrupt Mayor (Leslie Neilsen), a wealthy benefactor (Susan Clark) who has a relationship with both, a dedicated nurse (Shelley Winters), an alcoholic television news personality (Ava Gardner), her producer (James Franciscus), and the city's Fire Chief (Henry Fonda). Evacuating the main hospital becomes a focal point of rescue efforts.
What Works Well: The opening scenes are standard and inoffensive in attempting to set the context, and the set-on-fire stunt performers are excellent.
What Does Not Work As Well: This Canadian production is a dreadful attempt to join the tail end of the 1970s disaster movie parade. Almost hilariously bad but often just painful, the writing and acting are atrocious, with numerous lines of dialogue quotable as tone-deaf treasures. Leslie Neilsen unintentionally practices for his impending niche, but Henry Fonda (reciting his lines with a dead-eyed lack of conviction) and Ava Gardner (overplaying the drunken schtick) jointly win the most embarrassing prize. The production values and special effects betray a limited budget, while the final hospital evacuation sequence takes forever, and mostly features extras.
Key Quote:
Fire Chief: All it takes is one man, could be anybody... your neighbor, my neighbor... one man to destroy a city.
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