Firecreek (1968)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of fun.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A motley group of outlaws terrorize a town. The townsfolk are mostly "losers"; but can a part time sheriff reverse the cowardly nature of the town?This is a gritty, compelling western with fine performances from a cast containing some hollywood legends.Pleased to say this movie is on a par with many of the top rated westerns and certainly worthy of a high vote:8/10

I wonder if anyone has ever figured out how many Western movies have been made over the years. Thousands? And they all boil down to a half-a-dozen basic plots. You could probably take 90% of the Westerns ever made and dump them in a vat of hydrochloric acid, and not many people would ever notice. You'd still have hundreds left.So the question is, what makes a Western worth watching now that we are well over the 1950s mania for Westerns. Well, somewhat unique plots get extra points (perhaps along the lines of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence"). Star power is another factor (such as in "Rio Bravo"). Or the unique ability of a particular director who can weave something special out of very common cloth (such as John Ford)."Firecreek" is certainly not one of the GREAT Westerns. But I wouldn't dump it in that vat of HCL acid, either. It's saving grace are the performances of the 2 primary stars -- Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. And, the director (whom you probably never heard of) does a nice job (though not award winning level) of telling the story. That story is simple -- the bad guys ride into town (in this case they appear to be ex-Confederates), and it's up to the honorary sheriff (Stewart) to solve the problem. There is a twist -- the chief of the bad guys is none other than Henry Fonda. Of course, Stewart has a family, including a wife who is about to deliver a baby.There's a problem here, and one that I rarely am concerned with. Jimmy Stewart was 60 years old when he made this film, and yet he's going to be a father again. Not impossible, but this was out of his age range. I much preferred him in "Bandolero" (with Dean Martin), made the same year, where he pretty much acted his age. So, to enjoy "Firecreek", you're going to just have to get over the age issue. I was thinking that they could have solved the issue by having the wife of Stewart's son, who was away for some reason, and Stewart acting as the father/grandfather. That would have worked. I've always felt, also, that Stewart sometimes overacted PHYSICALLY in some action scenes, and he does here; perhaps it's just because of him being so lean and lanky. But it's still a really fine performance.I'm a little surprised that Henry Fonda accepted this role. In it, he plays a totally pathetic character. He has far fewer good scenes than Jimmy Steward, although a few are really good.Another problem with this film is that most of the film is a growing menace, and it takes a very long time for the real action to start. When it does, I am reminded of Gary Cooper in "High Noon". Although it's hardly the same story, once again it is one man against the bad guys.One of the best scenes in the film belongs to Dean Jagger.The film has some of the best supporting actors around at the time. Inger Stevens An old Dean Jagger. An old Ed Begley. An old Jay C. Flippen. Jack Elam in one of his final films.This is not one of the great Westerns, but it is heads above your average Western. Recommended.

This is the story of the farmer/sheriff (James Stewart) who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many...the novice young , a mentally-challenged stable boy (Robert Porter), he had to teach or watch to die . As a peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of nasty outlaws takes over his town . The $2 a month sheriff that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish ! . The villagers ask the unexperienced sheriff to rid the little town of bandits when a vicious gang of freebooters (Jack Elam , Gary Lockwood , James Best and Morgan Woodward) passes through, their leader Larkin (Henry Fonda) , who is suffering from a minor wound healed by a spinster (Inger Stevens) , decides to spend that night .This excellent , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be quite entertaining . Outstanding Western balances action , suspense and drama . It's a classical recounting about an unexperienced marshal in charge of a village full of cowards and frightening people ; being probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the twisted surprise at livery stable and , of course, the final gundown . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Calvin Clemens though clichés run through-out , the enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Henry Fonda and Inger Stevens . Magnificently performed by James Stewart and Henry Fonda , they are awesome experts in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here are reunited in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople such as Gary Lockwood , James Best , Morgan Woodward and veteran Jack Elam as well as villagers perfectly performed by Barbara Luna , Ed Begley , J.C. Flippen , Louise Latham , Dean Jagger , Jacqueline Scott , John Qualen , among others . Wonderful cinematography in Technicolor is superbly caught by cameraman William H. Clothier , John Ford/John Wayne films' usual . Sensitive as well as lively musical score by the classic Alfred Newman .This is another superbly powerful Western being compellingly directed by Vincent McEveety , son of director Bernard McEveety. Vincent was an expert craftsman filmmaking occasionally for cinema such as ¨Herbie, Torero¨ , ¨Amy¨ , ¨The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again¨ , ¨Gus¨, ¨The Strongest Man in the World¨ and usually directed several TV episodes such as ¨Diagnosis murder¨, ¨Colombo¨, ¨Pensacola¨ , ¨Perry Mason¨, ¨T.J. Hooker¨, ¨Airwolf¨ , ¨Dallas¨ , ¨Cimarron¨ , ¨Gunsmoke¨ and ¨Star Trek ¨ in which four of the actors have links to ¨Firecreek¨ as Gary Lockwood, Barbara Luna, Brooke Bundy and Morgan Woodward all starred in Star Trek chapters . Well worth watching and it will appeal to James Stewart and Henry Fonda fans .

Old friends and former roommates James Stewart and Henry Fonda are well teamed here in this very good Western; it doesn't quite become a classic, but it's so nicely acted and suitably engrossing that it's still a fine film of its kind. Stewart plays Johnny Cobb, an easygoing part time lawman in the tiny town of Firecreek, which is visited by Bob Larkin (Fonda) and his companions, a group of hired guns who are bored and itching to make some trouble. Johnny will find that his laid back approach to law enforcement will only cause problems, so in the end he will have no choice but to confront Larkin and gang. Extremely well shot by William H. Clothier, "Firecreek" is capably directed by Vincent McEveety and maintains a classic American Western style, at a time when the Italian made Spaghetti Westerns were putting a new spin on the old genre. Written by Calvin Clements Sr., it tells a fairly dark and gritty tale, one with a feeling of somber inevitability to it all. It benefits from its rather even handed treatment of antagonist Fonda, who's not a one-dimensional, moustache-twirling Oilcan Harry type. His associates, however, are less subtle. Jack Elam is fun as always as the older and wiser Norman, but chewing up the scenery are the fantastic Gary Lockwood as the volatile Earl and the amusing James Best, whose character Drew will automatically remind you at times of his famous TV character of 'Dukes of Hazzard' sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, giggles and everything. The women in this tale fill some strong roles, in particular Inger Stevens as Evelyn Pittman; her scenes with Fonda are compelling. Barbara Luna as Indian gal Meli and Brooke Bundy as Leah are quite lovely to look at. The superb supporting cast also features Dean Jagger as store owner Mr. Whittier, Ed Begley as the preacher, Jay C. Flippen as hotel owner Mr. Pittman, Jacqueline Scott as Cobbs' pregnant wife, the fine character actors John Qualen and Morgan Woodward, and the appealing Robert Porter as town simpleton Arthur; your heart just goes out to this guy. The film gets fairly violent as it goes along (albeit without really showing anything in the way of gore), and is somewhat shocking. Cobb doesn't emerge from the final confrontation unscathed. Ultimately, this is a good story of figuring out the right thing to do, and having to overcome ones' instincts if necessary. Fans of the actors and the genre should find it to be quite satisfactory. Seven out of 10.