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The Cheyenne Social Club / Firecreek

Description

They can be tough as leather. Or as down-home as any pair of good ol' boys. Either way, there's a sense of warm respect between the two stars. The off-camera friendship of James Stewart and Henry Fonda goes back to their days as struggling actors and roommates. The Cheyenne Social Club [Side A] casts them as saddle-weary Texans who, surprised to find they've inherited a Wyoming bawdy house, feel honor-bound to defend it against a gun-wielding gang. Gene Kelly produces and directs this mix of fun and Western action. Next comes a firestorm of character-driven excitement in Firecreek [Side B]. Fonda plays an outlaw preying on small towns, and Stewart is the jittery, $2-a-month part-time lawman who must find the courage to stop him. This will be some showdown!

The teaming of James Stewart and Henry Fonda was a natural: not only were the two men veteran stars of their generation, but they'd actually been friends and even roommates since early in their careers. These two Westerns offer the stars in their relaxed end-of-career mode, with Stewart in the hero roles and Fonda as either villain or burr-under-the-saddle sidekick.

Firecreek is a grim 1968 Western that carries a strong residual aroma of High Noon. Stewart plays a farmer who happens to be the nominal (but rarely needed) sheriff of Firecreek, which means he must go into service when Fonda and his scurvy bunch of desperados (among them Gary Lockwood and Jack Elam) come to town looking for trouble. This slow, stripped-down picture has a philosophical undertone, with Fonda's weary, wounded outlaw trading bitter wisdom with local girl Inger Stevens. It goes on too long and Stewart is in the phase of coasting on his familiar persona, but overall it's a decent little Western fable.

The Cheyenne Social Club, from 1970, gets off to a marvelous start, with a sequence of saddle tramps Stewart and Fonda riding across half the West as Fonda maintains a fractured monologue throughout. Screenwriter James Lee Barrett was a veteran who worked frequently with Stewart (Shenandoah) and John Wayne, and some of the Western flavor is fine, but... things turn crass as soon as the pals realize Stewart has inherited a bordello in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Everybody except Fonda overacts mercilessly, and director Gene Kelly--yes, that Gene Kelly--indulges a leering style that undercuts some of the authentic laughs. Shirley Jones is around to provide comfort at the club; some predictable gunplay is mixed in with the jokes. However middling these two films might be in the filmographies of their formidable stars, it must be said that the widescreen transfer of both films to DVD is very good. --Robert Horton

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-07-04
Summary: "AVOID SPOILER TRAILER"

A classic western action/comedy. Well played by Stewart and Fonda. My pet peeve is spoiler trailers. It's like seeing the whole film in seconds. Asinine.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-03-19
Summary: "Great movie"

I bought this movie as it is one of my favorites from when I was younger. Everyone should see it. Great acting and a great story.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-01
Summary: "Thanks and God Bless"

Thanks and God Bless for providing this much appreciated product for our family to enjoy. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-01
Summary: "Cheyenne Social Club / Firecreek a sure set of classics"

I'd known about The Cheyenne Social Club for years. A classic comedy from 1970 starring Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and Shirley Jones. While not the subject material for youngsters (Jimmy Stewart's brother dies and leaves Jimmy the title to a whorehouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming in the 1870's), it is terrific comedy for teens and adults. This movie was actually directed by Gene Kelley, the famed star of Singing in the Rain.

Fonda's character, Harley Sullivan, may be the number 2 fella in this movie, but in my mind, he steals the show. The opening monologues that he has still crack me up, and I've seen the movie dozens of times already.

The surprise to this set is the flip side. Firecreek is ALL drama and little comedy. Fonda's character in this one is baaaaaad. I'm not sure I've ever seen him portrayed as an evil man. His character wrestles with these demons of his personality. He recognizes what and who he is. It seems there's good in him, but his life has always been a brutal one up to that point and he can't decide how to let go of it. Jimmy Stewart's character is a bit staid, but is the good guy you want to cheer for. I found myself rather upset throughout the movie at various points, but, like a car accident, I couldn't stop watching. In the end, I was most satisfied at the outcome, and will watch Firecreek again and again.

Full recommendations for this pair of classic movies from 1970. I hope, if you like westerns, you'll take the time to watch these. It's time well spent...

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-12-27
Summary: "A lesson in etiquette"

This is the story of two cowpoke John O'Hanlan (James Stewart), Harley Sullivan (Henry Fonda), and their relationship with life. John O'Hanlan comes into an inheritance (The Cheyenne Social Club) and plans to become a man of property. At the first opportunity he starts acting so. Will success spoil John O'Hanlan?

Moreover, can the partners' friendship stand the strain?

Soon Johns dreams of becoming a businessperson are at first a tad dashed when he finds that the Social Club is designed to perform a social service. There are a few stings attached and a way of life at stake for the clubs employees. How will this be resolved if it is resolved?

If James Garner and Jack Elam played the two characters, this movie would just go down in history as just another cowboy spoof. However it is James Stewart and Henry Fonda that are sparing with a little Sue Anne Langdon to boot. It is distend to be a classic.