Firecreek (1968)

RELEASED IN 1968 and directed by Vincent McEveety, "Firecreek" stars Jimmy Stewart as a farmer living on the outskirts of a small town of 'losers' where he's the 'honorary sheriff.' When a group of ne'er-do-wells comes to town he's compelled to take action. Henry Fonda plays the leader of the rabble-rousers while Inger Stevens appears as the quiet woman who sparks his interest. Gary Lockwood plays the top troublemaker with Jack Elam & James Best in tow. BarBara Luna is on hand as an irresistible squaw and Robert Porter as the "stable boy," the catalyst.The director was a reliable TV director of shows (e.g. Star Trek) & movies, but "Firecreek" was his first theatrically-released film. While his oeuvre includes a handful of other theatrical films, he mainly stuck with TV. I point this out because "Firecreek" has a bit of a TV Western feel to it, which isn't to say it's not a solid Western, it's just not on the level of the contemporaneous "Bandolero!", also starring Stewart. The build-up is long and low-key, but the dialogues are good for the most part and you get to know the characters and their situation in a remote town of 'losers,' as Dean Jagger's character humbly describes them.Speaking of the town, this is a decidedly town-bound Western, with some scenery shots at the beginning. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the celebrated "Rio Bravo" (1959) was a town-bound Western, but this limits the movie. In other words, don't expect a wilderness Western with numerous breathtaking scenic shots in the background, e.g. "Jubal" (1956).Stevens plays the notable intelligent lady that trips the trigger of Fonda's character. Unfortunately, she'd be dead less than two years after the release of "Firecreek" from (supposedly) intentional overdose. She was only 35; what a shame.The producers made a good decision to NOT make Fonda's character a one-dimensional villain. Actually, the man's nothing of the kind, but he has to fulfill his part, his duty, in order to maintain the respect of his men. The success of the movie all depends on if Stewart can deliver the goods when the protagonist is finally forced to make a stand, come hell or high water. And he does so superbly.THE FILM RUNS 104 minutes and was shot in North Ranch, Agoura Hills, California, as well as Warner Brothers Burbank Studios with establishing shots in Sedona, Arizona. The screenplay was written by Calvin Clements Sr. ADDITIONAL CAST: Morgan Woodward, Ed Begley, Jay C. Flippen, Jacqueline Scott & Brooke Bundy.GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

Firecreek is a geriatrics High Noon. It stars James Stewart as a mild mannered farmer with a part time job as a $2 a month sheriff. Even his badge is home made.Henry Fonda is an injured outlaw, his gang stops by in this small town to recuperate from his injuries. In the meantime his gang of outlaws are bored and want to have a good time which means getting drunk, causing trouble and rape as they desire the local native Indian woman.The town puts up with the outlaws because they are afraid, this is a community of losers who themselves run away from trouble. When a young man is found hanged because he shot one of the bad guys who was trying to rape the native Indian woman, Stewart realises he needs to make a stand and fight back.I never believed for a moment Stewart as a part time sheriff with young kids and a wife who is about to go into labour. I thought they were his grand-kids. In the climatic shootout, badly staged he is too busy fixing his injured leg when the bad guys are looking for him.Fonda is essentially a decent man who finds some tenderness with the granddaughter of the man who runs the local boarding house. His inability to rein in his wild men causes problems for everyone. You wonder whether he was an effective leader of his men if he could keep them calm for a few days.It is a low key, old fashioned film. A derivative B western with some big stars. This film was made in 1968, t a year before Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The quality and the generational divide is plain to see.

I start every Western review the same...I tell everyone how I became a huge fan about ten years ago after having never seen a Western before and then I discovered Jimmy Stewart and now I have a new genre that I eat up. As with any genre, it is hit and miss even when Stewart is involved. I had never heard of Firecreek and lucked out finding it on DVD. I am excited to say I was absolutely blown away. First of all, this is one of the darkest and most adult classic Westerns I have seen since Pale Rider which is very high on my list as well. Firecreek deals with some heavy emotions and themes and is definitely not light hearted fare. I didn't realize going into this that it would be so dark but I certainly didn't mind. There are a lot of characters without a ton of background but they all have such great scenes and charisma on screen that you are riveted beginning to end. There is just a tone to the film that is completely captivating. The villains are exactly that through and through and the heroes are reluctant ones who are forced into what I think might be one of the best Western climax scenes I have seen in a very long time. It is brilliantly made.I will start with easily one of the greatest actors in history, Mr. James Stewart. The man was versatile, charismatic, riveting to watch and I adore him. He obviously loved Westerns and did some amazing ones. This is now one I can say he performs brilliantly in. Quite often his Western heroes are sort of angry, brooding and sarcastic but this time in Firecreek he is soft spoken, a family man never pushed to his limits. To me it seems unfathomable that Stewart was sixty when he made this film. He doesn't look it nor does it play any games with his character who easily could be middle aged. This is a subtle performance of his that if you watch closely you can't help but be in awe. Another Hollywood legend joins him, Henry Fonda. I am not nearly as familiar with Fonda's work and I'm not even sure I've seen him in anything besides this but he is stoic and strong willed as the leader of the savage crew that invades Firecreek. He is more suave than his rough around the edges gang and he commands attention on screen. Cleverly they keep Fonda and Stewart separated through most of the film in order to build to the aforementioned amazing climax at the end between them. The supporting cast are all very good and play their roles well. They really are there to support Fonda and Stewart but their characters all drive the story as well. Inger Stevens, Gary Lockwood, Dean Jagger, Ed Begley, Jack Elam and Barbara Luna are specifically worth mentioning in the main supporting cast. Everyone plays off of each other so well.Director Vincent McEveety is a legendary Television director. Usually that doesn't translate well to film but I think he brings the most out of this cast of characters. Firecreek is a small dusty Western town that finds themselves in extraordinary circumstances. This viscous gang is exactly that. Rape and bullying and looting...it is almost hard to watch at times. Stewart's character being pushed to violence and to the brink of war while portraying that he is a simple man, a family man, waiting for his child to be born is just something that works so well for this film. I am always amazed by Westerns that they can be so blatantly similar and yet you can find some truly unique stories and characters in certain films and this is one of them. An absolute must see!! 9/10

A sheriff of a small town has to defend his congregation from a gang of hired killers lead by Henry Fonda, who are determined to destroy the town, pillage, rape and plunder.The town comprises mostly of misfits, losers and people who do not fit into society. They are flawed human beings, as are the gang members. This is a running theme in the movie. The good guys are slightly short of bad and the bad guys are slightly short of good. Fonda's gang leader realises towards the end that he and the sheriff are the same, save for their choice of lifestyle. They fail to hate each other and this confuses the story line.The setting is bleak, even the scenes shot in the day-time are darkened to reflect dark end the awaits the whole town. The suspense builds as you know that eventually Stewarts character must make a stand, as he does in all his movies. The show down towards the end of the movie sees Stewart facing the gang alone. Bearing in mind that this movie was made in the 60's, the action is quite rewarding. However I cannot help but compare it to other westerns of the 60's such as Clint's spaghetti westerns or the Duke's pilgrim epics and by this account Firecreek just doesn't measure up. Stewart plays the same character in all his movies and this is no different. Consequently you know exactly what's going to happen and you know that he's going to win, because ultimately the good guy must win in all his films. In this sense, the movie has no surprises, no unexpected endings and no suspense. It is far from being a masterpiece such as many of Stewarts other films (Liberty Valance etc) Disappointing and not worth watching. 5/10