"Firecreek" is a slow-paced, grisly Western starring two old buddies - James Stewart and Henry Fonda - but the characters they play are NOT friends, oddly enough. (If you have not yet seen this picture, please DO NOT read any further.) Stewart plays Johnny Cobb, a farmer and part-time sheriff with a family. Fonda plays Bob Larkin, the leader of a ruthless gang of hired guns who ride into the sleepy town of Firecreek and stir up trouble. Their horsing around and crude manners persuade the townspeople to try to convince Cobb to place these unwanted visitors in jail, but Cobb refuses. In a short time, however, he comes to realize that turning his back will not mediate tensions, and he finally displays the determination to take a stand against the gang.
The best thing about "Firecreek" is the casting. In addition to the wonderful James Stewart as the morally solid farmer and Henry Fonda as the chief villain with yet a strong sense of decency, the cast includes Inger Stevens as Evelyn, owner of a boarding house where Bob Larkin holes up for a while in order to nurse a bullet wound. (I must admit that I find the attempted romance between Larkin and Evelyn completely unconvincing, hence I am not surprised at the final resolution.) In Larkin's gang are Earl (Gary Lockwood), Drew (James Best), Norman (Jack Elam, one of my favorite Western villains), and Willard (Morgan Woodward). Reverend Broyles is played by the great Ed Begley, and storekeeper Whittier is played by Dean Jagger. Plus we have Brooke Bundy as the strong-willed teen Leah; Louise Latham as Dulcie, Leah's stern mother who hides a heart of gold; J. Robert Porter as the mentally challenged stable boy Arthur; Barbara Luna as Meli, an attractive Native American lady; Jacqueline Scott as Cobb's wife Henrietta; and the wonderful Jay C. Flippen in a small role as Evelyn's crippled father.
The following are my personal favorite scenes from "Firecreek". I absolutely love the gloomy minor-key music score about thirteen and a half minutes into the picture, when Larkin and his gang finally ride into sleepy Firecreek and watch Meli's toddler playing in the mud. While inside Meli's hash house, Norman grabs Meli in an inappropriate place, generating laughter from the Larkin gang as Norman comments about the importance of taking shortcuts and about how Meli "passed inspection". The church service becomes more interesting when the Larkin gang disrupt the proceedings, forcing Cobb to try to settle them down. Loaded with alcohol, Earl and Drew conduct themselves like a matador and bull, respectively. Cobb shares a tender moment with his pregnant wife Henrietta after her false labor. During the showdown, Cobb stabs Norman in the stomach with a pitchfork after a brutal fight. And finally, best of all, is the scene in which Cobb, with a bullet in his leg, hobbles into Whittier's shop demanding a handgun to help him do away with the outlaws; Cobb becomes ENRAGED as he displays his outright determination that the town of Firecreek is NOT full of losers, that it HAS to be worth defending, that it CAN be a place in which its residents can finally have some pride!
"Firecreek" was unfortunately not a successful Western, but, my favorite actor James Stewart being the professional that he was, he gave the role of Johnny Cobb his 100% effort. It may have seemed odd that the Stewart & Henry Fonda characters were cast against each other, but it wouldn't be long until "The Cheyenne Social Club" (1970) would cast them as the two old buddies they always were in real life.
The best thing about "Firecreek" is the casting. In addition to the wonderful James Stewart as the morally solid farmer and Henry Fonda as the chief villain with yet a strong sense of decency, the cast includes Inger Stevens as Evelyn, owner of a boarding house where Bob Larkin holes up for a while in order to nurse a bullet wound. (I must admit that I find the attempted romance between Larkin and Evelyn completely unconvincing, hence I am not surprised at the final resolution.) In Larkin's gang are Earl (Gary Lockwood), Drew (James Best), Norman (Jack Elam, one of my favorite Western villains), and Willard (Morgan Woodward). Reverend Broyles is played by the great Ed Begley, and storekeeper Whittier is played by Dean Jagger. Plus we have Brooke Bundy as the strong-willed teen Leah; Louise Latham as Dulcie, Leah's stern mother who hides a heart of gold; J. Robert Porter as the mentally challenged stable boy Arthur; Barbara Luna as Meli, an attractive Native American lady; Jacqueline Scott as Cobb's wife Henrietta; and the wonderful Jay C. Flippen in a small role as Evelyn's crippled father.
The following are my personal favorite scenes from "Firecreek". I absolutely love the gloomy minor-key music score about thirteen and a half minutes into the picture, when Larkin and his gang finally ride into sleepy Firecreek and watch Meli's toddler playing in the mud. While inside Meli's hash house, Norman grabs Meli in an inappropriate place, generating laughter from the Larkin gang as Norman comments about the importance of taking shortcuts and about how Meli "passed inspection". The church service becomes more interesting when the Larkin gang disrupt the proceedings, forcing Cobb to try to settle them down. Loaded with alcohol, Earl and Drew conduct themselves like a matador and bull, respectively. Cobb shares a tender moment with his pregnant wife Henrietta after her false labor. During the showdown, Cobb stabs Norman in the stomach with a pitchfork after a brutal fight. And finally, best of all, is the scene in which Cobb, with a bullet in his leg, hobbles into Whittier's shop demanding a handgun to help him do away with the outlaws; Cobb becomes ENRAGED as he displays his outright determination that the town of Firecreek is NOT full of losers, that it HAS to be worth defending, that it CAN be a place in which its residents can finally have some pride!
"Firecreek" was unfortunately not a successful Western, but, my favorite actor James Stewart being the professional that he was, he gave the role of Johnny Cobb his 100% effort. It may have seemed odd that the Stewart & Henry Fonda characters were cast against each other, but it wouldn't be long until "The Cheyenne Social Club" (1970) would cast them as the two old buddies they always were in real life.