Often maligned as a High Noon ripoff, Vincent McEveety’s Firecreek (1968), has never received the praise it deserves. While the movie does resemble certain aspects of the 1952 feature, it cleverly avoids that film’s missteps, using deeper character development and more intimate storylines underneath the broad societal theme.
As in Stewart’s first western, Destry Rides Again (1939), Johnny Cobb is a sheriff who does not believe in firearms, but for a very different reason. Where the earlier film finds him a cunning pacifist, Firecreek reveals a man tormented by fear and confrontation. In each work, Stewart learns that ethics and principals don’t exist in a vacuum—they must be fought for, or lost forever.
It's a sad little town. Dean Jagger calls is a town of losers. People came there, Stewart included, because no one was going to give him any problems. No one was going to argue over land with him or demand much of him. Stewart is a good man at heart. He does the right thing by the Indian woman. And eventually overcomes his reluctance to be the one through the loss of his friend and I think the realization that someone has to do something about what is going on. He finally needs to be a "man." There is an interesting discussion about Inger Stevens to be had.
I thought this almost resembled "Day of The Outlaw" more than "High Noon" but there are enough similarities to go around. Westerns always have them.
Vincent McEveety I knew later as someone who did dozens of "Gunsmoke" episodes and some of the great series "Centennial."
Here is what I wrote at TCM -
This is a town of losers." So says Dean Jagger when confronted by Jimmy Stewart on a lynching in town. Indeed it is.
Henry Fonda and his gang come to town for him to recover from a gunshot wound and their arrival upsets everything and everybody. The film becomes a struggle between Stewart and Fonda and Stewart and himself.
Fonda is a leader who at once is embarrassed by his gang but needs them. He is not above letting them do what they want just as long as he doesn't have to be part of it. During his recovery he takes on verbal dueling with Inger Stevens. They both have a chip on their shoulder and have found someone to spar with and even respect. Even that only goes so far.
The heart of the film is Stewart trying to muster the courage to be the man he wants, and knows, he should be. Things have been to calm. He even admits to being the biggest loser in town because he came and he found land no one would fight him for. He struggles over how far he should go against the gang. At what point does he become annoying and they lose patience with him. At what price peace? Stewart has to do something regardless of the consequences. He is forced to a showdown with the whole gang and in the end gets a little help.
Everyone is afraid to change. Fonda can't be a "nobody" anymore. Stevens can't get out from under her past. She wants more but doesn't appear to want to risk what little she has. Stewart and Jagger are all afraid of what will happen no matter what they do. They all get hurt. Physically and emotionally.
"Ain't nothing $5 won't take care of in this town." Maybe not. But they are working on it.
Good cast of familiar supporting players. Ed Begley, Dean Jagger, Jay C. Flippen, John Qualen (without his Swedish accent.) The gang is well played by Gary Lockwood (with an attitude,) Jack Elam, James Best (who is just creepy) and Morgan Woodward is along for the ride.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Hi Chris,
Your comparison with Day of the Outlaw holds several similarities, particularly the relation of Fonda/Ives to Stewart/ Ryan, and the out-of-control gang that stumbles into a one-horse town. I was referring to countless reviews I’ve read where people have trashed the film, calling it a “poor man’s High Noon”, and worse.
Fonda’s reluctance to control his men and Stewart’s cowardice can also be related to The Oxbow Incident (1943). In all these films, it is the moral man who does nothing which allows evil to prevail. Fonda sums this up in a single sentence: “Where there is no law, you make your own.”
.
I know I was reading some posts about Firecreek earlier but I'll be darned if I can find which thread they were on, even using SEARCH.
After more than two years of waiting to see this one, it was finally on tonight and I taped it to specifically watch after midnight so nothing would interfere with it. Earlier it was loosely compared to High Noon, but there are too many differences to compare them. Gary Cooper was the regular sheriff in the town, and he was ready to retire that day, but in Firecreek, Jimmy Stewart was just a sort of honorary sheriff, I guess to handle drunks and other disturbances of the peace. Near the end, he claimed to be fighting so his boys could grow up proud of their town and the people in it, but I don't see what there was to be proud of in either people or the town. Stewart was more alone than anyone I've ever seen in a movie, western or otherwise. His boys could definitely be proud of him, but I'd be waving good bye as soon as the baby was born, and old enough to travel.
Inger Stevens part was totally out of place. I don't mean they couldn't use a different actress, I mean why have a 'lady' like her living in such a place? As it turned out, it was a good thing such a strong woman was there, but I would more expect to see a Claire Trevor type from Stagecoach than such a well bred Inger. Barbara Luna, the Mexican lady, so beautiful, I used to watch for her as the guest star on all the western weekly shows, and I think she made the rounds of all of them. I was always so jealous of her gorgeous eyes. Robert Porter as Arthur, had me totally confused. At times I thought he was James Dean, but something just wasn't right so I looked it up on imdB and that's where I learned his name. I wonder if his amazing physical similarity to JD is what kept him from going any where. Poor Brooke Bundy never did anything but play a beautiful girl who was dumb.
So actually, Firecreek is kind of slow in a lot of spots, but the last 20 minutes or half hour make up for a lot of that. It's a good movie, but not especially great, and I have heard it called 'one of the best westerns ever made'. I guess that person doesn't watch westerns very often.
.
Anne
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