Fire (1977)

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Producer Irwin Allen continued his string of successful disaster films (The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure) with this TV movie that aired the month Star Wars was unleashed upon the world. Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine (Marty) headlines the ensemble this time around, trying to rescue his girlfriend (Psycho‘s Vera Miles) and a bunch of children trapped at a mountain lodge during a rapidly growing forest fire. Among the other characters are Oscar winner Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker) and Alex Cord (TV’s Airwolf) as married doctors who set their pending divorce aside to aid the wounded, and Erik Estrada (TV’s CHiPs) as a convict who volunteers to help with the firefighting.

Fire aired just six months after another Irwin Allen TV effort, Flood!, but it’s a significantly better movie. Both use stock footage to convey much of the disaster, and both rely on a roster of star talent as well. But Fire hits the ground running and narrows the number of characters to a handful that you care about more than any from Flood!. By limiting the number of subplots and scenarios, it’s able to accomplish each one better.

It’s not a great movie by any means. It’s still limited by TV budgetary constraints and the limitations of practical and visual effects at the time. What’s less excusable is some occasionally cheesy writing, especially around a teacher character played by Donna Mills who becomes deathly ill for no good reason, and a stupid child who becomes so afraid of the fire that they hide under a bed and make adults risk their lives to save them. (The world’s over-populated. Let the kid burn.) All in all, though, Fire is moderately entertaining if you’re in the mood for a flick out of the ’70s TV time capsule.

With Neville Brand as the douchebag who starts the fire.