thinker1691 Review of Firecreek

Firecreek (1968)

"A lesson I learned long ago, if a man is worth shooting, he's worth killing"

[7/10 · 8 January 2009]

A town is created when people decide, this is where they want to live and plant roots. Once established, it's up to it's citizens to believe in it, if not then it withers and dies and thereafter becomes a ghost town. If a town is to grow and be prosperous, then it's citizens must have law and order, without it, it becomes merely an assorted gathering of people who are nothing more than a mob. In this small frontier town called " Fire Creek " a collection of outlaws passing through, learn it's not the number of lawmen in it which is important, but the special breed of man behind the badge. In this film James Stewart plays Johnny Cobb, a simple farmer who is also the town's sheriff. His hokey, backwoods, lay-ed-back approach to law enforcement gives the impression, he and the town could be easily swept aside with little or no effort. At least that's what Bob Larkin, (Henry Fonda) and his gang believe. The outlaws began throwing their weight around and the town's people do little to reinforce their only lawman. Once gunfire and violence begin, the sheriff does everything he can to see the outlaws are met with fortitude, courage and conviction. The film is a tribute to both Henry Fonda and James Steward who along with other veterans of the big screen such as Gary Lockwood,Jack Elam, James Best, Dean Jagger and Ed Begley give this film a superior excellence beyond it's small stage appearance. ****