The Towering Inferno

Factual error: The device used near the end of the movie for ferrying people to another building is repeatedly referred to as a "breeches buoy." It is actually a highline transfer chair. A breeches buoy was an earlier, more primitive device that was basically an oversized life preserver with a pair of large canvas trousers (breeches) sewn to it.

Factual error: When the fire department first arrived, they should have had the utility provider shut off the gas lines to avoid just the type of explosions that happened continually throughout the movie.

Revealing mistake: Watch carefully as the statue falls on the bartender. It barely touches his chest and rests on his left thigh. As the bartender slumps dead you can see a wide open gap between his whole upper body and the statue. Even if it crushed his thigh it would not have killed him so quickly. When the bartender slumps down the statue rocks freely as he brushes against it; obviously a styrofoam replica.

BocaDavie

More mistakes in The Towering Inferno

Dan Bigelow: What happened, somebody hang the wallpaper upside down?

More quotes from The Towering Inferno
More trivia for The Towering Inferno

Question: Where does Fred Astaire get his briefcase from, as he did not walk in with it? He walked in only carrying his suit and a bunch of flowers.

Answer: The briefcase arrived the same time the golf clubs did.

Answer: This is most likely a continuity error. The briefcase was accidentally left out of the arrival scene.

raywest

More questions & answers from The Towering Inferno

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.