Hellfighters is a John Wayne movie, for people who don’t like John Wayne movies. Wayne was larger than life in many of his films. In this one, he plays a very human, likeable and successful business man, named Chance Buckman. His business is firefighting. It is the very dangerous business of putting out oil fires, all over the world. Even though he loves what he does, it’s cost him dearly. His wife, Madelyn, (Vera Miles) walked out on him and took their daughter. She could not bear the dangerous life that Chance led. One day his daughter, Tish, (Katherine Ross) and his wife come back into his life, after Chance is injured. This gives the romantic angle to the film. Chance tries to rekindle his romance with Madelyn, and Tish starts one with Greg Parker, (Jim Hutton); an employee of Chance Buckman. The story centers around the firefighters and the dangerous lives they lead. They are shown fighting fires in the U.S., Asia and in Venezuela: where they not only fight fires, but revolutionaries as well.
The thing that makes this movie stand out, is its based on the real life experiences of Red Adair. He had a company that did put out oil fires all across the globe. He was a technical adviser on this film. His help in the making of the film allows the realism of the firefighting on screen. He was flattered that John Wayne portrayed him onscreen. The producers in turn, said the film couldn’t be made without him.
John Wayne isn’t as dominating in this film, although he does give a strong performance, as Chance Buckman. His costars,Vera Miles and Katharine Ross are very good in this movie and keep it from being a male dominated film. Vera Miles works well with John Wayne and her skills as an actress, are shown in this film. Katherine Ross has the distinction of appearing in two influential movies, of the sixties; The Graduate and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. She has a better role as Tish Buckman, in this film. Katherine Ross as Tish Buckman shows her love for her long lost father, and her love for Jim Hutton’s character. She is never lost to the bigger stars, which is an achievement. There is also J.C. Flippen, who plays Jack Lomax. His character is a lifelong friend of Chance, but was crippled when fighting fires with him. He does well as the counselor to Chance and Madelyn. He is also able to participate in a limited firefighting capacity, in the film’s climax.
A film’s success or failure lies with the director. Hellfighters succeeds because of Andrew V. McGlagen. He has managed to show the danger of putting out oil fires. His work with the camera manages to bring the audience to the fire. He had previous experience working with John Wayne on one of The Duke’s best films, McClintock, and it shows. The storyline, although a different locale, is similar. John Wayne’s character is a successful businessman, estranged from his wife: the wife reappears and he tries to win her back. The only difference is location and a different type of actress in Maureen O’Hara. John Wayne was a big star and Macglagen has gotten the most out of him.
A film like Hellfighters might be easier to make today, because the scenes of firefighting could be done with computer graphics. This film was done before that, when the camera filmed everything. It never slows down, and keeps an even flow. It isn’t dated and shows why John Wayne, was able to keep his career going for so long.