Hellfighters (1968)

The story of macho oil well firefighters and their wives.

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writer:

Clair Huffaker (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Chance Buckman
Katharine Ross	...	Tish Buckman
Jim Hutton	...	Greg Parker
Vera Miles	...	Madelyn Buckman
Jay C. Flippen	...	Jack Lomax
Bruce Cabot	...	Joe Horn
Edward Faulkner	...	George Harris
Barbara Stuart	...	Irene Foster
Edmund Hashim	...	Colonel Valdez
Valentin de Vargas	...	Amal Bokru (as Valentin De Vargas)
Frances Fong	...	Madame Loo
Alberto Morin	...	General Lopez
Alan Caillou	...	Harry York
Laraine Stephens	...	Helen Meadows
John Alderson	...	Jim Hatch

Storyline

The telling of Chance Buckman an oil rig fire fighter who becomes hospitalized and has to come to grips with how his job interfered with his marriage, after being laid up in a hospital bed after an accident with a news man running in front of a bulldozer causing it to swirve into Chance, and forcing him to allow veteran oil fire fighter Greg, a cocky but knowledgeable Greg becoming his son in law and he has to learn tolerance for not being able to control his daughter wanting to visit oil fires and learn how to rekindle the spark that went out with his ex of more than 25 years and the fear of losing her daughter as well as her husband to the oil fighting.

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Plot Keywords:

oil | fire | oil well | firefighter | guerrilla | 

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Taglines:

JOHN WAYNE - The Toughest Hellfighter of All!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 November 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Unerschrockenen

Filming Locations:

Conroe, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 112 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 70 mm 6-Track (Australia)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Casper, Wyoming filming locale was the Snodgrass Ranch. Billy Snodgrass, an Iditarod competitor, said he was 10 years-old when the movie was filmed on his family ranch. The Duke enjoyed playing catch with Billy and friends during filming breaks.

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Goofs

When Tish first arrives at her father's apartment in Houston, she asks for a scotch rocks... but in numerous shots, there is never any ice in the glass.

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Quotes

Jack Lomax: There's no mystery. There just seems to be.

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Crazy Credits

There is a print which has been shown on UK television, an original English language print with English titles, which however includes two frames of opening titles in Italian: the list of technical consultants is headed "Consulenti Tecnici" and the next sheet explaining that the events depicted are based on the real live experiences of those people, is written in Italian. Then the credits revert to English.

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Connections

Referenced in NCIS: Playing with Fire (2012)

User Reviews

One of my favorites from the 1960's

Despite (or maybe because of) the simple plot and even simpler characters, this film remains one of my favorites from the 1960's. John Wayne is utterly believable as both a crusty oil rig firefighter and as a protective father, while Jim Hutton, a fine actor who was lost much too young to liver cancer, is at his supporting-role best as an apprentice firefighter and romantic interest for Wayne's daughter.

At many points this film is more documentary than fiction, a fact that only adds to the film's entertainment value. For example, I wonder how many first-time viewers are aware that oil rig fires are extinguished with dynamite? It's extremely dangerous work, and very interesting to watch.