Hellfighters (1968)

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writer:

Clair Huffaker (writer)

Release Date:

27 November 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

The Toughest Hellfighter Of All! [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

The story of macho oil well firefighters and their wives.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Oil Well | Fire | Plunger Detonator | Firefighting

Cast

John Wayne	...	Chance Buckman
Vera Miles	...	Madelyn Buckman
Katharine Ross	...	Tish Buckman
Jim Hutton	...	Greg Parker
Jay C. Flippen	...	Jack Lomax
Bruce Cabot	...	Joe Horn
Edward Faulkner	...	George Harris
Barbara Stuart	...	Irene Foster
Edmund Hashim	...	Col. Valdez
Valentin de Vargas	...	Amal Bokru
Frances Fong	...	Madame Loo
Alberto Morin	...	General López
Alan Caillou	...	Harry York
Laraine Stephens	...	Helen Meadows
John Alderson	...	Jim Hatch

Runtime:

121 min | Finland:112 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (uncut) (1968) (70 mm) | Finland:K-12 (heavily cut) (1969) (35 mm) | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2008) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Baytown, Texas, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When asked to comment on the film during production, actress Katharine Ross replied, "It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever done!" Then the reporter asked Vera Miles (who was playing Wayne's wife and Ross's mother in the film) to respond to Ross's comment. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's not the biggest piece of crap I'VE ever done!"

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Chance Buckman: Exactly WHAT did you tell her about Madame Loo?
Greg Parker: Only that she's 80 years old, weighs 300 pounds and is one of your oldest friends.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: Walk Like a Man (#6.17)" (2007)

Scorcher

OK, so John Wayne made films the way Ford made Model T cars, but I love the Hellfighters. I remember first seeing it when I was in short trousers. The silver heat suits, flames and red vehicles caught my imagination and I decided that I wanted a career in the oil industry. I worked downstream in an oil refinery and helped get the Liverpool Bay oil and gas field development online.

I love the childish punch-ups, the stilted dialogue and cheesy acting. But most of all I like the simple entertainment that I got out of this film the first time I watched it and still do now. Watching this film along with True Grit makes you realise why John Wayne was such a cultural icon.

Don't try analyse it or admire it in a post-modern ironic way. Just sit back relax and enjoy

Note: Red Adair helped with the fire sequences to make it look right, but the story itself is pure fiction