John Wayne as Chance Buckman

• As played by Wayne late in his career, Chance Buckman is a tough, adventurous firefighter who tries to live a more stable life after years of separation from his wife and daughter. Buckman owns an oil well firefighting company, but after being injured in an accident decides to take a position at a friend's oil drilling company hoping to win back his ex-wife. He soon grows bored and returns to firefighting by the end of the film.
  
  

Vera Miles as Madelyn Buckman

• Miles, known for roles in films like "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," both also starring Wayne, plays Buckman's ex-wife. Madelyn left Chance and took their daughter Tish years earlier because she could not stand the danger of Chance's profession. She takes Chance back after he stops firefighting, but eventually accepts his life of danger.
  
  

Katharine Ross as Tish Buckman

• Ross, who played Elaine Robinson in "The Graduate," plays Buckman's daughter, Tish, who reconnects with him while visiting as he recovers from an injury. She marries Chance's fellow firefighter, Greg Parker, after only knowing him for a few days and then travels with him as he fights fires. She asks Chance to return to firefighting to help Greg in Venezuela.
  
  

Jim Hutton as Greg Parker

• Hutton, who also worked with Wayne in "The Green Berets," plays fellow firefighter Greg, a womanizer who marries Buckman's daughter, Tish. Buckman distrusts Greg's intentions at first, but eventually accepts him and gives him control of the firefighting company.
  
  

Supporting Cast

• Jay C. Flippen plays Jack Lomax, who owns the company Buckman joins when he stops firefighting. Bruce Cabot and Edward Faulkner play Joe Horn and George Harris respectively, who are both members of Buckman's firefighting team. Barbara Stuart plays Irene Foster, the receptionist at Buckman's oil company. Edmund Hashim plays Colonel Valdez of the Venezuelan military who works with Greg as he struggles to put out a series of fires.