Les feux de l'enfer

This COULD have been an exceptional John Wayne film, as the plot was so unusual and was based loosely on the exploits of oil fire expert Red Adair. The idea of him working as a man who travels the world to put out oil fires is pretty cool! This was a very nice change of pace for The Duke and the film had some wonderful moments. However, while the script SOMETIMES offered a lot of new and interesting moments, at other times it was very clichéd and formulaic--cheapening the exploits of Adair AND making it just another mediocre late 60s/early 70s John Wayne film. Now understand that I really like John Wayne films, but I must admit that aside from THE SHOOTIST, all his films after THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE were mediocre and formulaic--so much so that they offer nothing particularly new (even TRUE GRIT which garnered Wayne an Oscar even though he'd made many better films). Even one of his films I really liked from this era, ROOSTER COGBURN, is essentially THE African QUEEN set in the old West. And what formulaic elements do these films have in common? Well, how about a way too old Duke Wayne getting in a fist fight in all these films (and he was into his 60s), macho arguments among the manly actors about who is going to do the "selfless" act (whatever that might be), an occasional over-reliance on comedy and John walking through the film as if he's in slow-motion (which, at his age, he was). No, Wayne didn't age very well in these films and his fans watched them because they loved the actor--not because they were outstanding films. That's exactly why I watched them.

Action and romance with John Wayne as the head of a company that specializes in putting out oil well fires. An accident leads to his co-worker and friend Jim Hutton contacting Wayne's estranged daughter Katharine Ross and ex-wife Vera Miles, who left Wayne because she couldn't handle the stress of being married to a man in such a dangerous profession. Wayne and Miles are therefore stunned when Hutton and Ross fall for each other and quickly get married, insuring that the younger couple will face the same situations.

This isn't awful, and the firefighting scenes are interesting, but the melodrama aspects are tired and dull. I always like seeing Jay C. Flippen, even if this is one of his wheelchair roles after losing a leg to diabetes complications. Ross reportedly battled with Wayne throughout filming due to their contrasting views on Vietnam.

Loosely based on the exploits of Red Adair, Hellfighters is a perfect vehicle for John Wayne. The characterizations are a bit overstated, but this was standard for the era, so I allow for that. And who could have picked a more appropriate love interest for the Duke than Vera Miles as a San Francisco Department Store heiress.

I thought Jim Hutton and Katherine Ross made a good offsetting couple to JW & VM and Bruce Cabot, a long-time associate of Wayne's, an excellent comic element.

I think the thing that sold it for me was the reality of the fire scenes which I just marveled at until I saw that Red Adair was a technical adviser on the film. That and the knowledge that Wayne was all for reality as much as possible really made me a watch it anytime fan of this picture.

If one takes into account the decade in which the picture was made, it can be and is, for me at least, a very enjoyable film. I highly recommend it!

Exciting adventure (re-made years later as ARMAGEDDON with Bruce Willis and re-set in outer space) with John Wayne as a successful contractor to oil companies. He's successful because his job is a very dangerous one: Drill into oil fields that are on fire, set explosives into the heart oil field fires, and cause them to lose oxygen. This job description has caused his wife to divorce him. John Wayne's top employee is young hot shot Jim Hutton, who John Wayne sees as someday taking over the company. Jim Hutton and John Wayne's daughter, Katharine Ross, are in love and want to get married, but John Wayne wants nothing of it. He doesn't want his daughter to suffer the same stress his own wife suffered, wondering if her husband would live through another dangerous assignment. Unlike ARMAGEDDON in which we never explore Bruce Willis' marriage we actually get to see John Wayne's wife, Vera Miles and listen to her concerns (the divorce was more than just because he had a dangerous job). The climax of the film centers around a government contract that sends the crew into the middle of a war where aircraft is blowing up oil fields as John Wayne and company are trying to put the fires out. Will John Wayne allow Jim Hutton to marry Katharine Ross? Will John Wayne get back together with Vera Miles? Will John Wayne and Jim Hutton blow themselves up in a fire ball or be blown apart my the aerial attacks? If you loved ARMAGEDDON check out the film that started it all.

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.