Firecreek *** (1968, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, Gary Lockwood, Jack Elam, James Best) – Classic Movie Review 11,148

Director Bernard McEveety’s 1968 Western film Firecreek is a strongly cast, decent cowboy vehicle for sixtysomething real-life best buddies Henry Fonda and James Stewart.

Fonda plays Bob Larkin, the wounded villainous leader of a wild gang of war veteran hired hands (Gary Lockwood, Jack Elam, James Best, Morgan Woodward) terrorising the town of Firecreek, where timid, reluctant farmer and family man Johnny Cobb (Stewart) is peace-loving part-time sheriff, who must go into action to stop the bad guys.

The unsurprising, gloomy tale, reminiscent of other, better Westerns, is lifted by the worthwhile performances you would expect from this star duo (and Fonda is always interesting cast against type as a bad guy), with old-timers Dean Jagger, Ed Begley, Jay C Flippen and Jack Elam adding more to the atmosphere than youngsters Inger Stevens and Gary Lockwood.

Still, Firecreek is a solid production all round, with especially good work in Technicolor and Panavision photography (by William Clothier) and score (by Alfred Newman).

Gary Lockwood plays bad guy Earl in Firecreek (1968).

Also in the cast are Barbara Luna, Jacqueline Scott, Brooke Bundy, J Robert Porter, Morgan Woodward, John Qualen, Louise Latham, Athena Lorde, Harry Duncan, Kevin Tate, and Christopher Shea.

Writer: Calvin Clements Sr.

It is shot at Laramie Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California; North Ranch, Lindero Canyon Road at Kanan Road, Agoura Hills, California; and Sedona, Arizona.

Production company: Warner Bros/ Seven Arts.

Running time: 104 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,148

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