Firecreek (1968)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Good movie but grossly overrated

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Covering similar ground to the superior "High Noon", "Firecreek" finds sodbuster and part-time sheriff Jimmy Stewart standing up to Henry Fonda's crew of professional killers with no help from his fellow townsmen (expect for a mentally-challenged young man who has a target on his forehead the moment he appears on screen). The acting elevates the pedestrian material with top-billers Stewart and Fonda supported by great character actors like Ed Begley and Jack Elam. As a killer, Fonda plays against type (but not as momentously as he did in the same year's "Once Upon a Time in the West") but Stewart plays his typical soft-spoken, easy-going 'nice guy put in a tough spot'. A good but not great '60s Western highlighting old-school values that were starting to disappear from the genre with the advent of the anti-hero.

Directed by Vincent McEveety, with a screenplay by Calvin Clements (Sr.), this relatively unknown Western is an unheralded gem, a High Noon (1952) type story appropriately featuring James Stewart in the everyman role that won Gary Cooper his second Best Actor Oscar on his last Academy Award nomination.Henry Fonda plays the leader of the gang that disrupts the titled town where farmer Stewart is the part time sheriff, who ultimately must decide whether to stand up to them, alone. The rest of the cast includes a veritable who's who of (Western) character actors like Inger Stevens, Gary Lockwood, Dean Jagger, Ed Begley, Jay Flippen, Jack Elam, James Best, Morgan Woodward, Louise Latham, and even John Qualen. These veterans provide rich characterizations, some with few words.Though downbeat in tone, and containing some uncomfortable scenes (this film is not rated), the movie and its message will satisfy those who stick with it through its deliberate pacing.Johnny Cobb (Stewart) has two young boys and a wife named Henrietta (Jacqueline Scott) who's about to give birth to their third child. Henrietta's time is near and the Cobb's neighbor Dulcie (Latham), a midwife, advises Johnny to take himself and the boys into town; she also asks him to take her comely blonde teenage daughter Leah (Brooke Bundy) with them. Dulcie doesn't have much patience for menfolk, in fact she seems to despise them (her husband probably abandoned her), which makes her rather stern when dealing with Leah, who had just met lecherous Earl (Lockwood) and Earl Norman (Elam), members of Bob Larkin's (Fonda) gang of otherwise unattached gunmen. Larkin arrived just in time to save her from an unpleasant fate (and possible gang rape).Leah, Cobb and his youngsters get into town and deliver hay to the stables shortly before Larkin and his men arrive. Initially, the gang's plan is to resupply and allow their leader to get a few hours rest; he'd been wounded, shot in his left side. However, one thing leads to another and the gunmen end up running roughshod over the town. Only Cobb and a dim-witted young man who idolizes him named Arthur (J. Robert Porter, a James Dean lookalike) seem willing to stand up to the ruffians; the passive 'sod-buster' Cobb, who's the town's $2/month sheriff, only reluctantly gets involved, when urged by Arthur and shopkeeper Hall (Qualen). Young Earl is the hothead, whose actions lead to the downward spiral of events in town, which begin with a fight between he and Drew (Best), a giggling crazy blue-eyed member of the gang whose actions towards Meli (Luna) lead to tragedy (for himself, and later Arthur).Inger Stevens plays her stereotypical cool blonde, this one named Evelyn Pittman, who spends time with Larkin while his men slip further and further out of his control, like a greased pig. Flippen plays her father, an aged cripple who owns the flophouse. Jagger plays Whittier, the merchant whose store is used for church services when Preacher Broyles (Begley) is in town. Cautious Whittier later speaks the truth that Cobb doesn't want hear, but which energizes him to act. In the end, there's a showdown between the lawman and the gunman, Stewart and Fonda naturally, the former having earned the respect of the latter, who'd rather not be forced to end the less qualified, if resourceful Cobb's life.

'Firecreek' was a film I stumbled over late one night after watching another movie trying to fill my quota for the day. I was in the mood for Jimmy Stewart and I found myself watching this.When one thinks of westerns or 'The Western' one would likely not mention 'Firecreek,' mostly because it seems to not be well known, but if it were to be known, it very well could be one of the greats. Full disclaimer up front; the film is flawed in ways during the final gunfight but nothing that ultimately takes away from the message it tries to give and the character study that it punctuates. 'Firecreek' begins slow, trickling really... setting up the super low-key vibe of the town and its people in a way that makes you think the movie deserves to be lesser known when in reality it is setting you up for the ultimate truth in THE best scene of the film, before the final gunfight. Now, let me quickly note here how Jimmy Stewart is one of the amazing few who have had moments of acting that have sent chills down my spine, or left me quiet and dumbfounded by the power or the passion in which they say their lines. One example that comes to mind is his monologue in the alleyway in Harvey (LEGENDARY moment), and the same thing happens in 'Firecreek.' Not another monologue in an alleyway and especially not one about an imaginary rabbit, but one that screams the message of the film and could very well catch you off guard. The scene is between Stewart and the shopkeeper played sublimely by Dean Jagger, who in a moment of reflection brings to light what Stewart's character was ignoring all along.And you can begin to tell that THIS is what this film was building up to; this moment that has Stewart's character drowning in his own too-polite, too-nice sentimentality's that have cost him too much. It is now he realizes that what has happened to 'Firecreek' has gone on long enough, and even if there's a chance of dying, dammit, he's gonna do it anyway all in the name of pride and dignity because he was always proud of his beloved town.And Fonda... playing almost the same character as Stewart but as the leader of an outlaw gang. I didn't notice it at first, but then, like the revelation Stewart's character goes through, I realized that Fonda is subdued as well. He has a change of heart (possibly looking for romance) and wants to change his lifestyle but is tied to the antics of the gang as its leader and allows it (Stewart is tied to the town as its $2 salary SHERAF while his wife is about to give birth to a child). The parallel is interesting and makes the character study even more entertaining.Kinda got a little carried away there, but you get the point. 'Firecreek' is an under- appreciated film that holds way more weight than has been mentioned about it. The cast as a whole is fantastic, and Stewart's riveting passion at the end wouldn't be justified without mentioning the instigators of his town's temporary hell played by blue-eyed devil Fonda, Lockwood, Elam, Best, and Woodward. Inger Stevens does a wonderful job as a spinster who takes care of Fonda briefly and takes part in entertaining him reluctantly with little conversation as he recovers from a wound he received prior to his gang's antics in 'Firecreek.' Stevens' greatest moment also comes at the end, making a powerful and emotional statement albeit as brief as it is. Another blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty in Brooke Bundy is worth mentioning as she steals some moments as wonderful eye-candy.'Firecreek' is an excellent example of Stewart and Fonda doing what they were always good at, especially Stewart who once again shines in moments of ultimate humanity and humility as the guy we all know as not a 'John Wayne' or 'Clint Eastwood', but as the Jimmy Stewart, the aw-shucks anti-hero who did it better then anyone else.

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.