A rip-roaring, exciting sixties action film with John Wayne trading in his cowboy hat for a firefighting helmet, HELLFIGHTERS is a hell of a lot of fun.
Wayne stars as Chance Buckman, owner of a team that extinguishes oil field blazes, usually by walking into the inferno in fire suits and setting off a massive amount of nitro to extinguish the blaze.
Jim Hutton is his right hand man Greg, a ladies man who seduces every beautiful woman he meets with his tales of danger.
When Chance is reintroduced to his daughter Tish after many years, she and Greg fall in love.
Throw in Vera Miles (Psycho) as Chance's gorgeous ex-wife Madelyn, Jay C. Flippen (Oklahoma) as an oil company owner and some amazing stunt and full size special effects work on the blazes and you've got an action classic.
Andrew V. McLaglen (Bandolero!, McClintock) knows how to bring out the macho best in The Duke, who easily carries the film on his back.
Katherine Ross made this film right after her debut in "The Graduate" and right before "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".
She's gorgeous and good in the lightly written role and in classic 60's style, the poster even calls her "That Graduate Girl".
It's all loosely based on the real life firefighter Red Adair, who served as a technical consultant for the filmmakers. The fires are huge, hypnotic and powerful. The danger feels real throughout.
It's VERY dated in all the best ways, polished to a high sheen and a big blazing blast.
By the time the story deposits our team in a South American country, with five flaming rigs blazing at once and battling guerillas shooting up any attempt to put out the fire, Wayne and company have you wrapped around their finger.
HELLFIGHTERS gets an old red hot B.
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