Horizons en flammes

Earl Bellamy directed this Irwin Allen produced TV movie that stars Ernest Borgnine("The Poseidon Adventure") as wealthy lumber mill owner Sam Brisbane, who tries to win back an old flame(played by Vera Miles) who owns a lodge in their mountain community. Their plans are ruined when a fire involving two prisoners(played by Neville Brand and Erik Estrada) gets out of control, threatening to destroy the area, and cost several lives... Donna Mills, Lloyd Nolan, Alex Cord, and Patty Duke costar. Made concurrently with "Flood"(1976), disaster film is an improvement, with more excitement and interesting story turns, and the expected(if quite familiar) scenes of triumph and tragedy.

After "Flood!" comes "Fire!", or vice versa! In 1976 and 19744, producer Irwin Allen and director Earl Bellamy shot two disaster movies back-to-back in the beautifully green state of Oregon. Ever since their releases these two titles seem to be inseparable. Most people watch them as a double-feature and, in my country, they were even release together on one single VHS-tape. There must be some sort of supernatural force involved because, after seeing "Flood!" last week, I also immediately felt the urge to see "Fire!" as soon as possible! Moreover, it's another great opportunity to subject another title to my specifically developed rating scale for typically 70s disaster movies!

Condition #1: without producer Irwin Allen, there wasn't a budget for special effects and thus no movie. "Fire!" is a TV-production, so obviously it's less spectacular than its distant fiery cousin "The Towering Inferno", but the flames, set-pieces and cinematography look very realistic (and superior to "Flood!") quite good, so I'll give it a full point. Condition #2: all disaster movies star one major star (Charlton Heston and Paul Newman were prime choices) and a long list of "secondary" stars (like Ernest Borgnine, Leslie Nielsen...). I am going to be very generous here and award the full point again. For reasons linked to the TV-movie status, there isn't a major star, but Ernest Borgnine rises to the top as a genuine hero, and the list of secondary stars is nevertheless long and impressive: Vera Miles, Patty Duke, Donna Mills, Alex Cord, Erik Estrada, Neville Brand, ... Condition #3: The characters are usually split into two camps with completely opposite ideals and/or initiatives. This condition, on the other hand, isn't applicable here. The little town of Silverton is exposed to a humongous forest fire, ignited by a convict as part of a more elaborate escape plan, and there isn't a chance for anyone to deny the fire's existence or to minimalize the impact. "Fire!" is one of the rare 70s disaster movies where all the characters work together to battle the inferno. Condition #4: Regardless what type of disaster we're dealing with, variants of the exact same perilous situations are always applicable. Pass, for sure! We have little girls gone missing during the local school's field trip, wind and weather conditions that continue complicating the working conditions and doctors that can't provide medical care because their car nearly crashes into a bear! Condition #5: always remember that, when the situation appears to be at its worst, it can and will still get even worse! For this condition, "Fire!" scores a lot better than its companion "Flood!". The rescue helicopter crashes down, the mountaintop lodge that initially serves as safe harbor nevertheless still threatens to go down in flames, dumb kids lock themselves into their rooms and certain people become forced to heroically sacrifice themselves in order to safe the others. There's one hopeful little moment, however, when a cute and furry little bunny miraculously gets rescued by fire chief Gene Evans.

If we sum it up, "Fire!" scores 4 out of 5 on rating scale for 70s disaster movies! Make no mistake, though, as this is only an indicator to state that the film qualifies as fantastic entertainment with all the joyous clichés and stereotypes represented! Skeptical film fanatics are likely to disdain the film for all the exact same reasons!

This is one of the most boring disaster movies I have ever seen. The actors are playing really bad and walk around like zombies. Donna Mills was the only reason I watched this movie and I must say, she is the only one who seems to be talented in "Fire". Her part is very small and the storyline around her part is sometimes very illogical. She portrays a kindergarten teacher who is out in the woods with a bunch of kids. When the fire gets close to them they try to escape and one child is missing. When she manages it to be saved with the kids she seems to be the only one who was really concerned about the missing child. Nobody else was interested. I must admit they tried to make a good movie by telling several stories about the different characters and how they finally get together in this disaster. But they totally failed by showing everything so boring and characters you won't be interested in. A total waste of time and money, it so forgetable.

This is a great example of a 70's disaster movie! Starts off with all the story lines...Vera Miles and Ernest like each other, but never got married...Donna Mills is a school teacher out in the woods with her class...Erik Estrada is a disgruntled prisoner (falsely accused!)...Alex Cord and his wife are both doctors, but just can't see eye-to-eye about their marriage. Then the fire starts in the woods!! And all the actors come together in various threads (at the lodge, on the road, etc.) to battle the blaze and display their heroism. It's pretty entertaining, and also considering this is PRE CGI affects!! The best part for any Airwolf fans out there (the 80's helicopter action series) is to see Ernest B. (Airwolf's Dom Santini) and Alex Cord (Archangel in Airwolf) together in this!

If Irwin Allen's 1974 big-screen production THE TOWERING NINFERNO was the pinnacle of the much-despised (by critics, anyway) disaster film genre, then his 1977 made-for-TV film FIRE takes a more horizontal approach to disaster. In this case, it is a massive forest fire that threatens to incinerate a mountain community...and, naturally, the all-star cast involved as well.

Airing on NBC on May 8, 1977, a little less than six months after Allen's previous made-for-TV opus FLOOD, and, like that film, directed by Earl Bellamy, FIRE is set in the small town of Silverton, Oregon, where a disgruntled prison camp worker (Neville Brand) sets a fire to cover his escape from the camp, with the help of a fellow convict (Erik Estrada). But the tinder-dry conditions of the surrounding forest and brush pretty soon turn what was a small fire into a monstrous and uncontrollable firestorm. And when push comes to shove, Estrada, together with the camp's chief officer (Gene Evans), agrees to help with trying to put out the horrific horizontal holocaust he partially helped to start. Among those threatened are such all-stars as Ernest Borgnine (MARTY; THE WILD BUNCH); Vera Miles (PSYCHO); Donna Mills (PLAY MISTY FOR ME); Patty Duke Astin (THE MIRACLE WORKER); and Alex Cord.

I'm not saying that FIRE, or its immediate predecessor FLOOD, are masterpieces by any means; indeed, CGI in today's Hollywood makes even what were nightmarish scenes back in the day painfully old-fashioned. And yes, there is plenty of melodrama to spare, particularly when it comes to Cord and Astin, who are local doctors whose marriage is on the rocks when the firestorm erupts screen.

There's just one thing, though: Strip away the typically melodramatic elements, and what you have is an extremely credible depiction of the kind of disaster that is becoming more and more common in the interior of the western United States. Although the firestorm of this film is arson-caused one, a similar-sized one, caused by fallen electrical lines and hot, dry winds in November 2018, incinerated the town of Paradise, in Butte County in Northern California, and killed eighty-five people. Allen, the Master Of Disaster, might be accused of a lot of things, such as putting spectacle over substance; but not being able to foresee something as extreme as a firestorm isn't one of them.