As far as I am concerned, people make the High Noon comparison too assertively. I too appreciate that film very much, but this film gives more nuance to the underlying message. The townspeople of Firecreek do not uniformly stand idly by while outlaw scum run roughshod over them. Aside from the simpleton stable boy, whose nobility transcends primordial self-interest, the townspeople naturally look to their sheriff for law and order while making their own feelings known. In High Noon, people suggest that Gary Cooper's Marshal Kane skip town, while others actually want a violent outlaw to return because the guy's a lot of laughs. Both scenarios are conceivable, but Firecreek has more to say about settling for less than desired and going along to get along.
Calvin Clements' first-rate western dialogue cannot go unmentioned. I go so far as to say that it is in a class of its own. Interestingly, Jack Elam is in both films, but is especially memorable in Firecreek. Though I consider James Stewart's performance to be one of his best, I remember reading somewhere that he was disappointed in Firecreek. I realize that some people can't help but wince or grin at the perceived heavy-handedness of Stewart's Sheriff Cobb going berserk in the end. This relates to another distinction between the two films: In High Noon the marshal is the target, so he can't very well just ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly; whereas in Firecreek the outlaws would rather the sheriff remain a hat-in-hand bystander.
Firecreek is for me the more interesting film.
Calvin Clements' first-rate western dialogue cannot go unmentioned. I go so far as to say that it is in a class of its own. Interestingly, Jack Elam is in both films, but is especially memorable in Firecreek. Though I consider James Stewart's performance to be one of his best, I remember reading somewhere that he was disappointed in Firecreek. I realize that some people can't help but wince or grin at the perceived heavy-handedness of Stewart's Sheriff Cobb going berserk in the end. This relates to another distinction between the two films: In High Noon the marshal is the target, so he can't very well just ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly; whereas in Firecreek the outlaws would rather the sheriff remain a hat-in-hand bystander.
Firecreek is for me the more interesting film.