Die fünf Vogelfreien

This is the story of the farmer/sheriff (James Stewart) who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many...the novice young , a mentally-challenged stable boy (Robert Porter), he had to teach or watch to die . As a peace-loving, part-time sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of nasty outlaws takes over his town. The $2 a month sheriff that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish ! . The villagers ask the unexperienced sheriff to rid the little town of bandits when a vicious gang of freebooters (Jack Elam , Gary Lockwood , James Best and Morgan Woodward) passes through, their leader Larkin (Henry Fonda), who is suffering from a minor wound healed by a spinster (Inger Stevens) , decides to spend that night .

This excellent , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be quite entertaining. Outstanding Western balances action , suspense and drama. It's a classical recounting about an unexperienced marshal in charge of a village full of cowards and frightening people ; being probably one of the best Westerns in the fifties and sixties. The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns, the twisted surprise at the livery stable and, of course, the final gundown . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Calvin Clemens though clichés run through-out. The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between Henry Fonda and Inger Stevens. Magnificently performed by heavywights : James Stewart and Henry Fonda , they are awesome experts in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here are reunited in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection, distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople such as Gary Lockwood , James Best , Morgan Woodward and veteran Jack Elam as well as villagers perfectly performed by Barbara Luna , Ed Begley , J. C. Flippen, Louise Latham, Dean Jagger, Jacqueline Scott, Robert Porter, John Qualen, among others . Wonderful cinematography in Technicolor is superbly caught by cameraman William H. Clothier, John Ford/John Wayne films's usual. Sensitive as well as lively musical score by classic composer Alfred Newman .

This is another superbly powerful Western being compellingly directed by Vincent McEveety , son of director Bernard McEveety. Vincent was an expert craftsman filmmaking occasionally for cinema such as ¨Herbie, Torero¨ , ¨Amy¨ , ¨The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again¨ , ¨Gus¨, ¨The Strongest Man in the World¨ and usually directed several TV episodes such as ¨Diagnosis murder¨, ¨Colombo¨, ¨Pensacola¨ , ¨Perry Mason¨, ¨T. J. Hooker¨, ¨Airwolf¨ , ¨Dallas¨ , ¨Cimarron¨ , ¨Gunsmoke¨ and ¨Star Trek ¨ in which four of the actors have links to ¨Firecreek¨ as Gary Lockwood, Barbara Luna, Brooke Bundy and Morgan Woodward all starred in Star Trek episodes. Well worth watching and it will appeal to James Stewart and Henry Fonda fans .

I got tired of reading reviews containing either outright misinformation (suggesting the writer saw some other movie) or downright absurdity. From the top notch performances to the stirring Alfred Newman score to the brilliant Vincent McEveety direction to the detailed Calvin Clements script, this a western I can recommend wholeheartedly. This movie finally deserves its due, and a decent DVD release. Rather than falling into the spaghetti western mold popular at the time, this film looks and feels very American, a direct heir to the great Anthony Mann westerns of the 50s.

Jimmy Stewart, mystifyingly maligned in other reviews, gives a sincere moving performance. I wonder if the criticism comes at his farmer character's reluctance towards violence--disappointing no doubt to fans of "cartoon" westerns. The gritty realism extends to the easy, natural relationship among the gang played by Henry Fonda, Gary Lockwood, James Best, Jack Elam, and Morgan Woodward. This gang is the catalyst and their details, ticks and volatile unpredictability are portrayed with beautifully understated precision. And J. Robert Porter as the town simpleton will break your heart.

There's so much fine work by the cast, particularly Stewart, Fonda, Lockwood (who played another superb villain in the electrifying two-part "Gunsmoke" episode, "The Raid"), Best, Elam, Brooke Bundy, Jacqueline Scott, Louise Latham, Barbara Luna and Ed Begley. A dark, gritty, suspenseful western to be sure, but with a warm heart and soul at its center. Seek it out.

Or may I say his masterpiece if you compare with what he will do later for Disney industry. This is a pretty good western though showing a scheme already told before ten million times; a sheriff alone against a bunch of outlaws. But Hank Fonda, supposed to be the leader of the "bad men" has very intersting character, ambivalent and touching in some points. It could be compared with the Richard Boone's character in THE TALL T, the leader of four outlaws, but a character for whom the audience can feel some kind of empathy. Not the ugliest guy in the world. A western that deserves to be seen over and over. Not so typical of the late sixties but rather the fifties. It could have been made ten years earlier.

Jimmy Stewart gets top billing and a lot more screen time than fellow mega-star Henry Fonda in this early modern western. 59 years old when the movie was being shot, Stewart looks if anything even older as remarked by many others. He is NOT credible as a new father even of his third child.

Fonda was three years older but has aged much better, looking fit, competent, credible even as a love interest for Inger Stevens who is just about half his age.

This movie is driven by character. The story is simple, not very original and quite slow to get going. However, and as one perceptive reviewer noted, Gary Lockwood's performance as a drawling, baby-faced killer is superbly convincing. His character shows a surprising self-possession, too, always giving part- time sheriff Stewart an excuse to keep looking the other way. It makes him dangerous to everyone, the boss of the outfit (Fonda), especially. Veteran western actor Jack Elam--later to appear in a soft drink commercial-- is no self-parody here! Tough, cunning, mature, his character is just amoral enough to be part of the crew of hired guns that the town of Firecreek has the ill luck to play host to.

In this age of dumbed-down scripts, mumbling actors and dialog that rambles on for no apparent reason, the articulately spoken, sharp and memorable lines given to all the characters is a poignant reminder of what movies used to be. They most of all are what make every minute of this picture worth watching.

The late sixties, for me, were the last years of traditionnel Hollywood western, typical of the Anthony Mann type of films of the fifties. Western of the seventies will have all that Leone type of feeling, or the violent aura of The Wild Bunch (Of course, there's few exceptions, like The Shootist). Nothing new under the sun here : a little bit of High Noon here, a little bit of the Mann-type of western there. But the story, if not original, is strong and the acting is very fine. I don't think Firecreek was popular then, or got a reputation, perhaps because people were tired of that kind of films. But James Stewart is superb. As always.