6.6/10
4,661
54 user 12 critic

Hellfighters (1968)

G | | Action, Adventure, Drama | 27 November 1968 (USA)
Hellfighters Poster
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 | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
Popularity
3,523 ( 1,948)

On Disc

at Amazon

Photos

See all 26 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
The Green Berets (1968)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.

Directors: Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, and 1 more credit »
Stars: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton
Next »
Donovan's Reef (1963)
Adventure | Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Comedy subtly dealing with moral issues such as racial bigotry, corporate greed, American belief of societal superiority and hypocrisy.

Director: John Ford
Stars: John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen
Next »
Chisum (1970)
Biography | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Stars: John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George
Next »
The Undefeated (1969)
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

After the Civil War, ex-Confederate soldiers heading for a new life in Mexico run into ex-Union cavalrymen selling horses to the Mexican government but they must join forces to fight off Mexican bandits and revolutionaries.

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Stars: John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Antonio Aguilar
Next »
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A tough Marshal has a difficult task when his two sons join a gang and rob a bank.

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Stars: John Wayne, George Kennedy, Gary Grimes
Next »
The Train Robbers (1973)
Comedy | Romance | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start fresh.

Director: Burt Kennedy
Stars: John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor
Next »
The War Wagon (1967)
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.

Director: Burt Kennedy
Stars: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel
Next »
Rooster Cogburn (1975)
Adventure | Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Marshal Rooster Cogburn unwillingly teams up with Eula Goodnight to track down the killers of her father.

Director: Stuart Millar
Stars: John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Zerbe
Next »
Hatari! (1962)
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A group of men trap wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos before the arrival of a female wildlife photographer threatens to change their ways.

Director: Howard Hawks
Stars: John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Hardy Krüger
Next »
Brannigan (1975)
Action | Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

Chicago Police Lieutenant Jim Brannigan is sent to the U.K. to escort organized crime boss Ben Larkin back to the U.S., but Larkin's hitmen prepare an ambush for Brannigan.

Director: Douglas Hickox
Stars: John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson
Next »
Big Jake (1971)
Certificate: GP Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.

Directors: George Sherman, John Wayne
Stars: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara
Next »
North to Alaska (1960)
Comedy | Romance | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

During the Alaska gold rush, prospector George sends partner Sam to Seattle to bring his fiancée but when it turns out that she married another man, Sam returns with a pretty substitute, the hostess of the Henhouse dance hall.

Director: Henry Hathaway
Stars: John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs
Edit

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 Frances Fong ... Madame Loo
Alberto Morin ... General Lopez
Alan Caillou ... Harry York
Laraine Stephens ... Helen Meadows
John Alderson John Alderson ... Jim Hatch
See full cast »
Edit

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. Written by Jared Johnson

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

oil | fire | oil well | firefighter | guerrilla | See All (91) »

Taglines:

The Toughest Hellfighter Of All! [Australia Theatrical] See more »

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Certificate:

G | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Release Date:

27 November 1968 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Hellfighters See more »

Filming Locations:

Conroe, Texas, USA See more »
Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Chance Buckman is based on real-life oil well firefighter 'Red' Adair. See more »

Goofs

During the opening night scene when the oil well fire begins which triggers the action of the story, numerous trees can be seen fairly close to the burning oil well. A few minutes later when Buckman's fire fighters arrive, the burning well is on the banks of a small lake or pond surrounded by oil wells. There isn't a tree within sight of the well. The first scene of the well explosion was clearly shot in a different location. See more »

Quotes

Greg Parker: [after being awakened by a kiss from Tish] What are you doing here?
Chance Buckman: [being awakened by Greg's question] What's Tish doing here?
Madelyn Buckman: That was my idea.
Chance Buckman: Somebody wake me up!
See more »

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. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Space Travellers (1992) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Wayne plays Chance Buckman in the mold or spirit of Red Adair
22 May 2004 | by nealmassey – See all my reviews

This is a very entertaining film ... co-staring Jim Hutton, Katherine Ross & Vera Miles. Some of the acting of Hutton & Ross may have been less than one would expect. But the film should be seen keeping mind that this was years before the disaster films of the early seventies like The Poseidon Adventure & The Towering Inferno. It is a fun watch as Buckman's crew travels the world putting out oil well fires while kindling a few fires of their own in the local women. It is fun to watch many of the fire-fighting scenes today and wonder how they pulled this off thirty years ago. It is very John Wayne as can be seen as some of his regulars turn up here, such as Bruce Cabot, Edward Faulkner who were part of his stable. Watch it and enjoy.
20 of 25 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 54 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

IMDb Freedive: Watch Movies and TV Series for Free

Watch Hollywood hits and TV favorites for free with IMDb Freedive. Start streaming on IMDb and Fire TV devices today!

Start watching

Stream Popular Action and Adventure Titles With Prime Video

Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed