The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros. (this was the first film to be a joint venture from two major Hollywood studios), it was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from a pair of novels, The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson, and was directed by John Guillermin, with Allen himself directing the action sequences. Jennifer Jones made her final screen appearance in this film. Architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, which he designed for owner Jim Duncan (William Holden). At 138 stories (1,800 ft), it is the world's tallest building. During a routine systems check before the ceremonies, an electrical short in the upper floors starts a small fire in a storage room on the 81st floor which goes undetected....