Product 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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8856 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2006-08-15
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 206 minutes

Features

• 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 h

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Two of Hollywood's greatest actors together
Henry Fonda and Jimmie Stewart were two of the greatest, most versatile, actors of the Golden Age of movies. Unfortunately, some people tend to dismiss Jimmy Stewart as a somewhat lightweight actor because of the low-key aw-shucks acting style he used in some of his early movies. But, after his service as a bomber pilot in WWII, Stewart's performances toughened up considerably, as his performance in Firecreek clearly shows. Henry Fonda, on the other hand, was an oustanding and highly versatile actor throughout his entire career and, in retrospect, may well have been THE greatest movie actor ever. The two quite different movies on this DVD -- the brutal western Firecreek and the superbly-comedic somewhat-bawdy western The Cheyenne Social Club -- illustrate Fonda's incredible ability to completely assume whatever role he portrayed without any hint of acting. Unfortunately Henry Fonda and Jimmie Stewart, despite being close friends, made few movies together. This DVD presents these two legendary actors together in two excellent, but entirely different, westerns. My personal favorite of the two movies presented on this DVD is The Cheyenne Social Club, perhaps because I prefer comedy to violence, and perhaps because it allows these real-life friends to portray friends rather than implacable enemies as in Firecreek. But whichever western genre you prefer, you will not see better actors or better performances than presented in these contrasting movies.

Stewart and Fonda..What a pair
This western double feature disk is worth every penny

The Cheyenne Social Club is a bitter sweet comedy. Stewart inherited a brothel froma deceased brother. Fonda is his saddle buddy who comes alonmg with him. The madam of house is played by Shirley Jones. Stewart finds it hard to manage the ladies. Comedy with western action ensues

FireCreek pits Stewart as farmer/part time Sheriff against gunfighter Fonda with his gang (Gary Lockwood. Jack Elam) who preys upon the small town and its citzens. It has a High Noon-que quality, but seem more sadistic for my taste. It is tend for now, but in the 1970s when this film came out, it was rated M for mature

Both westerns showcase the talents of Fonda and Stewart and these are worth your time

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

BRILLIANT!
FIRECREEK This is a profound and deeply moving film! Its simple plot incorporates the timeless and very important message that we ought to take a stand in this world! "The day a man decides not to face the world is the day he better step out of it!"

Jimmy Stewart is Johnny Cobb, a farmer and a part-time sheriff of Firecreek and Henry Fonda is Larkin, a hired killer, who passes through the town with his gang. Both men do not take seriously their leadership roles until a tragic incident forces them to meet in a deadly fight. Larkin wants to prove that he is somebody important. It is a question of Honor for Johnny Cobb. On the streets of this small town, where nothing significant ever happens, one man will find his death, another his pride!

Beautiful music score, impressive cast of talented actors and James Stewart delivers one of his most powerful and most brilliant performances ever! He portrays with splendid grace Cobb's dramatic transformation from a laid back and placid farmer to a brave and proud man! Great film!

THE CHAYENNE SOCIAL CLUB I love this western! Watching it was such a refreshing experience! I didn't stop laughing, just couldn't help myself!

Two real-life friends, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda are friends on screen. John O'Hanlan/Jimmy inherits "Social" Club that comes with six beautiful working girls, who need his protection. All kinds of dangerous situations occur and both John O'Hanlan/Stewart &Harley Sullivan/Fonda risk their lives to save the girls. There is something for everyone in here: love, romance, betrayal, hilarious action packed scenes and loads of fresh, healthy humour! You'll even hear Jimmy Stewart &Henry Fonda sing and they sound pretty good too!

Nice Anamorphic transfer. The extras include theatrical trailer and documentary on the making of the movie with short commentary by Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda and Gene Kelly.