dbdumonteil
The movie essentially focuses on the documentary side :how the fire fighters worked in the fifties,how they often risked their lives (still do today)and how(sometimes) they were unjustly accused of cowardice .their relatives are not forgotten :Widmark's wife and Hunter's mom are present and are even together when they are waiting for their men to come back after a dangerous mission.The plot concerns a fire fighter who suffers from amnesia:he does not remember what happened during a mission in which all his men were killed:a man among them was the father of a young fire fighter who cannot forgive him because he thinks he abandoned his men to save his life.Without any flashback,we do understand the whole thing during the final mission ,much to the credit of the film.
lexyladyjax
As time travel is yet impossible, this film was not based on the book, Fire, written by George R Stewart, as claimed by another reviewer. Since that book was published February 1, 1984, 3 years after Richard Boone's death from oral cancer, it would have been impossible to have filmed this book. The film was shot in 1952, long before the book was published.The F/X are amazing for their time. There's no CGI and the flames are from burning trees and forest. It's remarkable no one was killed making this film. One wonders how much acreage was consumed during filming.At the time it wasn't known that controlled fire was a healthy part of forest growth and management. Times have changed. All the Smokey Bear campaigns preventing forest fires caused a buildup of materials on forest floors and when forest fires occurred they were hotter and too destructive for the forests to survive.The actors are better than the plot.
jspotter1950
This film is based on an actual event, the Mann Gulch Fire, documented by the late Norman MacLean in his deeply moving book, "Young Men and Fire", where a team of smoke jumpers landed, confidently, on a hillside but were suddenly confronted by a firestorm, chasing them up a steep hill. One of the group, the team leader, lit a grass fire, jumped into the ashes, and survived. All but two of his comrades were burned to death in their futile attempt to escape. MacClean wrote his book in his last years. He actually saw the Mann Gulch fire as a younger man, I would recommend this book to anyone. There are no braver people in the world than smoke jumpers.
teuthis
Red Skies of Montana is one of a series of outstanding adventure films in which Richard Widmark starred during the 1950's. It portrays the dangerous lives of smoke jumpers, who fight fires in the great northwest by parachuting into the flames. Richard Widmark is a team leader, under suspicion after he is the sole survivor from a group of smoke jumpers killed in a massive fire. He can remember nothing of event, yet must resume life amidst the doubts of his comrades. The film adeptly the blends personal lives of the men and women involved, excellent firefighting action, and the suspense created by Richard Widmark's flashbacks of his near fatal event. Jeffrey Hunter plays the vengeful son of one of Widmark's slain team; and Richard Boone adds dimension as the stern, professional commander of the unit. This film is utterly believable. The fire scenes are awesome. Red Skies of Montana portrays a lifestyle that needs no "over the top" fiction or outlandish action to make it thrilling. I think this is a timeless film, and a truly entertaining one. And if you do enjoy it, I recommend "Destination Gobi"; another outstanding Widmark adventure.
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