Hellfighters

The adventures of oil well fire specialist Chance Buckman (played by John Wayne, based on real-life Red Adair), who extinguishes massive fires in oil fields around the world. Apparently Katharine Ross thought this was a big piece of junk, and Vera Miles thought similarly (though not as strongly as Ross). I can understand why, especially given their roles. The female characters get a raw deal in this, and for the life of me I can't see why Tish would be attracted to Greg or want to get involved in this life. But that being said, I thought this had incredible action and some diverse locales that spiced it up. Maybe it isn't Wayne's best film, but it has to be one of his best that isn't widely celebrated. I wish I would have known about this film years ago.

If you've got a rainy afternoon and love John Wayne away from his traditional western rolls you'll love this movie. Great action and old time effects, action sets. Especially driving scenes and back scenes of fires. Plot is fun and Jim Hutton is so good and charming, and TALL. Watch for goofs but enjoy the macho-ism of the times. 1968.

You know all these movies, where you are banging your head against a wall, because nobody seemed to care about realism? This movie had Red Adair as technical adviser, and it shows. ***MINOR SPOILER*** There is a scene where two explosive charges must be at their (different) destinations exactly at the same time and Buckman's men tell him "We have practised 12 times and finally it worked". His answer is "Practise it 12 times more, and if it works EVERY time, we'll do it." I bet this line is from Red Adair himself.

This is an excellent movie on the fighting of High pressure well fires and the way's they are fought. The poison well fire is the most amazing of the fires shows what can be trapped under the ground when drilling for oil.

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.

You know, maybe it wasn't the all time best movies, but it is is one of the only attempts to make a movie about a real life hero- Red Adair. It was something that people in parts of the country where you have seen a rig burn for a month while they try to put it out, where family members or friends have died in oil rig disasters, the movie gave life to the names that they have heard, to see what these men do and fall in love with this hard knocking, hard living, danger loving men. It is a reminder of what they face.. and in that, it makes it a good movie. John Wayne is reunited with Bruce Cabot and the movie is not the best of both actors, nor the worst. The character that John Wayne plays is typically strong with a character flaw, like so many men in this world. I like that fact that it is a G rated movie, like so many from that era, it is a movie that I can let my children watch and not worry about violence( by todays standards), sex, or any of those things.

After the first Gulf War, we heard a steady stream of news reports about workers putting out oil fires in Kuwait. I immediately understood what they were describing, because I had seen Hellfighters, and they were using the same techniques. I really liked this movie. I thought Chance Buckman was the perfect role for John Wayne's character...his character seemed to match the sort of person who would be doing this for a living. Fighting the fires while getting shot at by guerrilla fighters seemed a big much, until I considered what is going on with people working on the infrastructure in Iraq...not much different. I've heard the complaint that the special effects are not up to today's standards, but they work for me...they do not interrupt my suspension of disbelief, and they are not distracting like some of todays whiz-bang special effects. I think this is one of John Wayne's best movies.

The screenplay is quite derivative and a bit reactionary: when his "son" plays around ,the perfect lady killer,it's all right,but when it's the boss's own daughter ,well...but do not panic,they're married!The final scenes are simplistic :the guerrilla band is the villains-we hardly see them anyway- and the local army is not always up to scratch . I do not think that this story does the courageous "Hellfighters" who risk their life at every mission justice .It's a pleasure to see Vera Miles ,even in a predictable part.Katherine Ross is really lovely.But the story lacks substance ,something which would make us care for these characters:and in a movie when life is at stake ,it's downright embarrassing.

My ex-husband was a huge John Wayne fan and had me watch every JW movie over and over. This was my favorite. The acting and script are not the point of watching this movie. The attitudes, clothes(especially the women's), and the sets are Soooo Sixties. My favorite thing is the "window" in the office. If you look closely you can see it isn't a window at all, it is a miniature of a highway(like a miniature railroad), but it is supposed to look like the view out the "window". I'm sure that was state-of-the-art in the late 60's. Katherine Ross is fabulous and wears the best clothes. Jim Hutton is quite handsome. John Wayne acts like....John Wayne. If you're a JW fan you'll recognize most of the cast. Great fun!!!!

Being that I am a Jim Hutton fanatic, I really loved this movie. Great chemistry between John Wayne & Jim Hutton. I enjoyed watching them both in the Green Berets & also this movie....Watch it & enjoy!