Hellfighters

Hellfighters (1968) is an American action film you can watch online on iFILM. John Wayne plays Chance Buckman, a man who flies toward burning oil wells after everyone else has cleared the area — Nigeria, Venezuela, Indonesia, wherever the fire won't stop. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the film draws loosely on the career of Red Adair, the Houston specialist who turned impossible blazes into a profession.

The fire sequences were shot on working oil field locations, and the practical scale shows. Between them the story settles into domestic friction: Buckman's daughter (Katharine Ross) is done waiting for a father who's always somewhere else, an old marriage resurfaces, and a new government contract sends the crew back into the field. Wayne plays it straight-faced throughout, which suits the picture. Sixties Hollywood spectacle with a worn-in Western lead and fire effects that hold up without any visual effects. Stream Hellfighters on iFILM.