HELLFIGHTERS
DIRECTED BY ANDREW V. McLAGLEN
PRODUCED BY ROBERT ARTHUR
MUSIC BY LEONARD ROSEMAN
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
The adventures of oil well fire specialist Chance Buckman (based on real-life Red Adair),
who extinguishes massive fires in oil fields around the world.
Summary written by Jim Beaver
Full Cast
John Wayne .... Chance Buckman
Vera Miles .... Madelyn Buckman
Katharine Ross .... Tish Buckman
Jim Hutton .... Greg Parker
Jay C. Flippen .... Jack Lomax
Bruce Cabot .... Joe Horn
Edward Faulkner .... George Harris
Barbara Stuart .... Irene Foster
Edmund Hashim .... Col. Valdez
Valentin de Vargas .... Amal Bokru
Frances Fong .... Madame Loo
Alberto Morin .... General López
Alan Caillou .... Harry York
Laraine Stephens .... Helen Meadows
John Alderson .... Jim Hatch
Lal Chand Mehra .... Dr. Songla
Rudy Diaz .... Zamora
Chris Chandler .... Houston TV reporter
William Hardy
Howard Finch .... Ed 'Cal' Calhoun
Richard 'Cactus' Pryor .... Chance's doctor (as Cactus Pryor)
Big John Hamilton
Bebe Louie .... Gumdrop
Edward Colmans .... Senor Caldez (uncredited)
Elizabeth Germaine .... (uncredited)
Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales .... Hernando (houseboy) (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson .... Firefighter in airplane (uncredited)
John Stephenson .... Mr. Chapman (U.S. Embassy, Venezuela) (uncredited)
Writing Credits
Clair Huffaker
Original Music
Leonard Rosenman
Cinematograpy
William H. Clothier
Stunts
Hal Needham .... stunt coordinator
Stan Barrett .... stunts (uncredited)
Dick Bullock .... stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk .... stunts (uncredited)
Roydon Clark .... stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs .... stunts (uncredited)
Everett Creach .... stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs .... stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty .... stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham .... stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson .... stunts (uncredited)
Ronnie Rondell Jr. .... stunts (uncredited)
Rock A. Walker .... stunts (uncredited)
Other crew
'Red' Adair .... technical advisor
Robert Berry .... director of photography: second unit
Robert Forrest .... dialogue coach
Joseph Gershenson .... music supervisor
'Boots' Hansen .... technical advisor
'Coots' Matthews .... technical advisor
Trivia
The character of Chance Buckman is based on real-life oil well firefighter 'Red' Adair.
When asked to comment on the film during production, actress Katharine Ross replied, "It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever done!" Then the reporter asked Vera Miles (who was playing Wayne's wife and Ross's mother in the film) to respond to Ross's comment. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's not the biggest piece of crap I'VE ever done!"
A burning oil well prompted the owner, present-day billionaire Phillip Anschutz, to call Red Adair, a famous firefighter who later put out the oil well fires during the Gulf War, to put out the blaze. To pay Adair, Anschutz persuaded Universal Studios to pay him $100,000 to film Adair putting out his well fire for "Hellfighters."
Katharine Ross and John Wayne had many arguments over his very vocal support for the Vietnam War.
When Tish Buckman and Greg Parker look at the house they plan to move into after they wed, it's the same house used as the Douglas home in "My Three Sons" (1960). It was later used as one of the houses on "Wysteria Lane" in "Desperate Housewives" (2004).
John Wayne, Bruce Cabot and Jim Hutton also all starred together in The Green Berets (1968)
Last cinema feature of Jim Hutton.
The cast list in the opening titles lists six actors not found in the
closing credits, but not Louie, Bebe, who is found in the end list.
Vera Miles (born August 1929), who portrayed Madelyn Buckman, was only 10 years older than Katharine Ross (born January 1940), who portrayed Tish Buckman, Madelyn's daughter.
John Wayne, who turned 61 during filming, was generally considered too old for his character.
John Wayne was still advertising cigarettes in this film, four years after losing a lung.
When asked to comment on the film during production, actress Katharine Ross replied, "It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever done!" Then the reporter asked Vera Miles to respond to Ross's comment. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's not the biggest piece of crap I'VE ever done!"
According to a magazine article each of the fires used an average of 500 gallons of a gasoline and oil mixture per minute. The largest fire used almost twice that.
The studio designed special nozzles for the fires. There was an outer ring nozzle that shot out the flames and an inner one that shot out a mixture of water and India ink to simulate oil. This can be seen in how easily the "oil" is wiped off the actor's faces.
A burning oil well prompted the owner, present-day billionaire Phillip Anschutz, to call Red Adair, a famous firefighter who later put out the oil well fires during the Gulf War, to put out the blaze. To pay Adair, Anschutz persuaded Universal Studios to pay him 100,000 dollars to film Adair putting out his well fire for "Hellfighters."
The "oil" was a mixture of water and black ink. This was used since it was non-flammable, inexpensive, non-toxic and easier to clean up than real oil would have been.
The Casper, Wyoming filming locale was the Snodgrass Ranch. Billy Snodgrass, an Iditarod competitor, said he was 10 years-old when the movie was filmed on his family ranch. The Duke enjoyed playing catch with Billy and friends during filming breaks.
Although almost 30 years different in age, John Wayne and Jim Hutton tragically died of cancer only 9 days apart.
Goofs
Continuity
When Tish first arrives at her father's apartment in Houston, she asks for a scotch rocks... but in numerous shots, there is never any ice in the glass.
At beginning of the movie after helicopter lands, speed of rotor blades varies between shots.
A rear view of the cockpit shows the doorway to be clear while a view from inside the cockpit shows a curtain over the doorway.
When Tish Buckman is being picked up at the Jackson Hole airport, her porter picks up her three suitcases and skis. While walking to the plane, he has only the suitcases. When he reaches the plane, he has the skis again.
Factual errors
During the office scenes, looking through the office window, obvious toy cars were used to simulate the highway (that could be seen from outside when the helicopter first landed).
Chance remarks about a "poison well" spewing "hydrogen sulfate." It is actually hydrogen sulfide which is most often found in oil well situations. Hydrogen sulfate describes the compound which is sulfuric acid and is generally not gaseous. Hydrogen sulfide is a gas and it is poisonous.
Revealing mistakes
During the office scenes, looking through the office window, obvious toy cars were used to simulate the highway (that could be seen from outside when the helicopter first landed).
When the Hellfighters are fighting the first oil well fire, they explode nitro glycerine over the oil rig to extinguish the fire. After the explosion, the fire is still burning!
The Australian driller takes off his mask a decent distance away from the poison well fire and dies nearly instantly. Yet Greg is right under the well and has a hole in his hose going directly into the closed environment of his mask and is only knocked out.
Revealing mistakes
In the last scene, after the 3 oil fires are blown out, Chance is holding the guide rope to the control head. In the background you can see that the pipe stem is split and separated. In the next shot, all 3 drill stems are intact with flanges, to secure the control head to.
Filming Locations
Conroe, Texas, USA
Baytown, Texas, USA
(Goose Creek Oilfield)
Casper, Wyoming, USA
Gillette, Wyoming, USA
Jackson Airport, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA
Stage 32, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
William P. Hobby Airport - 7800 Airport Boulevard, Houston, Texas, USA
.
