''Firecreek'' is a 1968 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Vincent McEveety Vincent Michael McEveety (August 10, 1929 – May 19, 2018) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Vince McEveety directed numerous Emmy Award-winning television series, including ''The Untouchables'', '' Gunsmoke ...

and starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

in his second role as an antagonist that year alongside

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

's '' Once Upon a Time in the West''. The film is similar to ''

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense ...

'' in that it features an entire town of cowards refusing to help a peace officer against outlaws. Stewart plays an unlikely hero, forced into action when his conscience will not permit evil to continue. The supporting cast features

Inger Stevens Inger Stevens (born Ingrid Stensland; October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970) was a Swedish-American film, stage and Golden Globe-winning television actress. Early life Inger Stevens was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the eldest child of Per ...

Dean Jagger Dean Jagger (November 7, 1903 – February 5, 1991) was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949). Early life Dean Jeffrie ...

, Ed Begley, Jay C. Flippen,

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

and

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

. Offscreen close friends Stewart and Fonda's first film together had been in a section of the episodic

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

'' On Our Merry Way'' two decades earlier, in which they played two musicians named "Slim" and "Lank," and they made ''

The Cheyenne Social Club ''The Cheyenne Social Club'' is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits a ...

'' two years after ''Firecreek''. They had also both appeared in '' How the West Was Won'' but had no scenes together despite their characters in the film being depicted as best friends. ''Firecreek'' was partially filmed at North Ranch in

Oak Park, California Oak Park is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, California, United States. When developed in the Simi Hills in the late 1960s, a single road provided the only access to the community from Agoura Hills, California, in neighboring Los An ...

and

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

Plot

After years of backing away from criminals and gunfights, one resident of the small western town of Firecreek decides to fight back. Part-time sheriff Johnny Cobb (

) decides to avenge the death of a young man against gunmen led by Bob Larkin (

). Cobb has a lot on his mind, particularly with his wife Henrietta ( Jacqueline Scott) about to give birth. He is a peace-loving farmer whose childishly made sheriff's badge is practically an honorary one. Larkin's men ride into town and disrupt the peace. Earl (

Gary Lockwood Gary Lockwood (born John Gary Yurosek; February 21, 1937) is an American actor. Lockwood is best known for his roles as astronaut Frank Poole in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), and as Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the '' Star ...

), Norman (

), and Drew (

James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...

) run roughshod over the local citizens and Larkin has no inclination to stop it, despite Cobb's requests. Larkin is more interested in getting to know an attractive widow named Evelyn (

). The only person in town willing to help Cobb is a slow-witted stable boy named Arthur ( J. Robert Porter). When one of Larkin's men attacks a woman, Arthur kills the man. Cobb's wife goes into labor and he has to leave town. While he is gone, Larkin's men hang Arthur and no one in the town tries to stop them. Cobb returns to town to discover that Arthur has been hanged in the stable. He lowers the body, then demands that the apathetic shopkeeper eyewitness, Whittier, hand over his own gun. Cobb then goes after Larkin and his men, one of whom gets caught in a rope tied to his horse, which bolts off, dragging him. Cobb manages to kill the last two men in individual struggles, and then faces off against Larkin in the middle of the main street; Larkin easily outshoots Cobb and gives him the option of living if he stops his vendetta, but Cobb refuses to quit, Larkin prepares to kill Cobb but is shot with a rifle by the widow Evelyn from a 2nd-story window, as he is about to shoot Cobb.

Cast

as Johnny Cobb *

as Bob Larkin *

as Evelyn Pittman * Jacqueline Scott as Henrietta Cobb *

as Earl *

as Whittier * Ed Begley as Preacher Broyles * Jay C. Flippen as Mr. Pittman *

as Norman *

as Drew * BarBara Luna as Meli *

Brooke Bundy Brooke Bundy is an American film and television actress. Early years As a teenager, Bundy was a model in New York before she went to Hollywood on vacation and remained there to become an actress. While in New York, she attended the Professiona ...

as Leah * J. Robert Porter as Arthur *

Morgan Woodward Thomas Morgan Woodward (September 16, 1925 – February 22, 2019) was an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as Marvin "Punk" Anderson on the television soap opera ''Dallas'' and for his portrayal of Boss Godfrey, the sungla ...

as Willard *

as Hall *

Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film ''Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fam ...

as Dulcie * Athena Lorde as Mrs. Littlejohn

Critical reaction

Contemporary critical reaction to ''Firecreek'' was generally positive. Howard Thompson of

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

called it "a good, sturdy and occasionally powerful little Western", especially praising screenwriter Calvin Clements and claiming "James Stewart is plain wonderful and Henry Fonda almost matches him."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

gave ''Firecreek'' three stars. However, despite the rating and praise for actors James Stewart, Jacqueline Scott, Henry Fonda and

, Ebert felt that "somehow the parts don't quite come together" and "things move at too leisurely a pace."

References

External links

* * * * {{Vincent McEveety 1968 films 1968 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Vincent McEveety Films scored by Alfred Newman Warner Bros. films 1968 directorial debut films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Critical reaction

See also

References

External links