Firecreek

Dir: Vincent McEveety

1968

****

There is nothing particularly original about Vincent McEveety's 1968 western Firecreek, indeed it's almost a carbon copy of Fred Zinnemann's 1958 classic High Noon but it has a certain something, its own panache, that make it a great standalone film within the genre. The film's big selling point was that it saw James Stewart and Henry Fonda go toe to toe with one another, two of the biggest names in Hollywood and well known best friends. They'd both stared together in 1948's musical On Our Merry Way and both had stared in John Ford's epic western How the West Was Won in 1962 (who wasn't in that film?) but they didn't share any scenes together. Both men had become giants in the western genre and their joint top billing was a long time coming for many film lovers. What really makes Firecreek unique and stand out somewhat from the crowd are the characters. James Stewart isn't your typical good guy (he's a part time Sheriff and full time farmer) and Henry Fonda isn't your typical villain (he's full of quiet regret and resentment for a life he feels is too late to escape from). When Fonda's gunman and outlaw Bob Larkin arrives in town injured and with his gang of troublemakers, the town cower and let the men walk over them, in fear for their lives and livelihoods. Quite a lot of time is spent on the gang's lengthy psychological attack on the townsfolk, which leads beautifully to the eventual climax of the film. As Stewart's part time sheriff Johnny Cobb tries to look after the town as well as his wife, who is expecting their third child any day, we slowly see him lose patience and grow frustrated that no one else seems willing to do anything about the situation. A few incidents involving a local young girl bathing in a local river (played by the stunning Barbara Luna), broken property and a mixed race relationship tip the gang over the edge and when one of the villagers shoots a gang member, they decide to take the law into their own hands. Fonda is brilliant as the gang leader who clearly has regrets but is unable to change ways and there is a wonderfully dark scene whereby the gang get drunk and dance around the body of their killed buddy but it is watching Stewart's slow and crazed decent into pure rage that makes the film so captivating and rewarding. The climax is the stuff of classic western, not particularly original but still something rather special. An overlooked great.