Montrose1100 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I have to say, I'd never heard or seen this before. I only started watching when I heard "Baytown" and they were about to celebrate New Years.I hardly recognized the skyline from the typical western view! I thought it was some other city, but then I recognized the Sheraton.Eventually you see more of the skyline, Tenneco, Humble, even the Marriot Residences. I think their Oil office in the Cullen Center. I recognize the windows.But great movie, very big money 60's Houston. Little bit of adventure & fire, and of course love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrisCountyEx Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) I remember seeing it when it came out (I was just a baby). I remember the highlight was when the local news reporter Chris Chandler was punched out. Everyone anticipated that part the most. I believe he was with channel 2 but I could be wrong. Now, after working with drilling companies, I can really appreciate the hard work and danger these men go through and the brainwork (Red Adair) put into figuring out how to successfully fight oilwell blowouts. Edited April 9, 2009 by HarrisCountyEx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 (edited) I remember seeing it when it came out (I was just a baby). I remember the highlight was when the local news reporter Chris Chandler was punched out. Everyone anticipated that part the most. I believe he was with channel 2 but I could be wrong. Now, after working with drilling companies, I can really appreciate the hard work and danger these men go through and the brainwork (Red Adair) put into figuring out how to successfully fight oilwell blowouts.To know Chris Chandler was to love him, he said with thinly disguised sarcasm. Chandler was KPRC TV's weather guy in the mid sixties, until he talked the station manager into giving him a half-hour personality show that would lead up to NBC Nightly News at 5:30. Chris Chandler's "personality" was, shall we say, prickly. He was opinionated, which isn't altogether bad, but he was always popping off about local people and issues, saying unkind and insulting things about people in the news. Although I don't remember him being political, he was an early version of present-day TV hosts like Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly. So, with that reputation in mind, here comes John Wayne's movie company to film The Hellfighters in the old oil fields in the Baytown area. Naturally, they hired some local actors and personalities for small roles and Chandler was hired to play an obnoxious local TV reporter. A VERY small role. But watching the way Chandler acted out on the locations you would have thought he was one of the stars. He got one of those Hollywood style folding chairs with his name on the back and, even though he was only in a couple of scenes, he spent a lot of time lounging around near the center of the action where the cameras were rolling. I'm told he was always trying to ingratiate himself with the film's real stars, and generally annoying the hell out of the director and production crew.When the movie was done, the premier was held in Houston. If you've seen the movie, you know there's a scene where Chandler as the TV reporter gets in Wayne's face at the scene of a well blow-out, and Wayne hauls off and decks him. The Houston audience applauded and cheered. A side-bar to Chandler's story. When he left the TV weather position to do the daily personality show, KPRC moved his backup weather guy into the full time gig. That was a young KPRC Radio DeeJay named Doug Johnson. Edited April 13, 2009 by FilioScotia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 It's on AMC right now. It should be coming on AMC again in the wee hours of Tuesday morning (4/21) at 12:45am. Fire up the Tivo for that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retama Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) I was pretty young but I remember when they were filming Hell Fighters in Baytown. We drove out to the old Baytown-La Porte Tunnel one night to watch an explosion scene being filmed in the Evergreen/Pelly oil field area and highway 146 offered the perfect vantage point. Trouble was, everyone else in town had gone out there to see it as well. There were cars lining both sides of the highway and on both sides of the tunnel. The set could be seen pretty clearly in the distance because of the lights, but with no place to park, we just went home. Later I heard that the didn't even set off the explosion until very late that night. Whenever I watch the movie I can see that they shot a lot of scenes in Baytown. The area is easily recognizable on screen. About 20 years later they shot a Roy Scheider movie at the same location. Edited June 10, 2009 by Retama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOelrodger Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 In the beginning a helicopter lands and your looking at the Houston area and bank of southwest…. Wonder where this was shot later they are in the Buckman office and cars are on freeway is this 45 and Allen parkway? joelrodger01@yahoo.com if you know???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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