SHOWDOWN
(director: R. G. Springsteen; screenwriter: Bronson Howitzer (Ric Hardman); cinematographer: Ellis W. Carter; editor: Jerome Thoms; music: Hans J. Salter; cast: Audie Murphy (Chris Foster), Kathleen Crowley (Estelle), Charles Drake (Bert Pickett), Harold J. Stone (LaValle), Skip Homeier (Caslon), L.Q. Jones (Foray), Strother Martin (Charlie Reeder), Kevin Brodie (Buster Reeder), Charles Horvath (Hebron), Dabbs Greer (Express Man), Henry Wills (Chaca), John McKee (Marshal Beaudine), Joe Haworth (Guard), Kevin Brodie (Buster), Carol Thurston (Smithy’s Wife), Harry Lauter (Bartender); Runtime: 79; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Gordon Kay; Universal Pictures/Kino Lorber; 1963-in B/W)
“A film which is at its best when Audie acts like the gunslinger he usually plays in Westerns.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Universal chooses to shoot the Western in black and white to save money. Veteran B-film Western director R. G. Springsteen (“Secret Venture”/”Affair in Reno”) does his usual professional job. Writer Ric Hardman uses the screen name Bronson Howitzer, and keeps things tight until the film stumbles in its absurdities in the third act.
The loser veterinarian Bert Pickett (Charles Drake) and the ethical bronco rider Chris Foster (Audie Murphy), are buddies who worked together on the same ranch the last two years. They ride into a dusty Texas border town to cash their paychecks. When Bert gets drunk at a poker game, he causes a barroom brawl. When he punches the town marshal (John McKee), the boys get arrested and have an iron collar placed around their neck while chained to a post on the town square, where they’re kept under guard all night. Also arrested is the ruthless outlaw Harry LaValle (Harold J. Stone) and his gang. The gang escapes in the morning by digging out the post and then the outlaw forces the partners to escape with his gang. When LaValle learns during the getaway Bert stole $12,000 worth of negotiable bonds from the town office and plans to cash them in, he cooks up a scheme that has Bert cashing in the bonds in the next town. If he fails to return, the unscrupulous gang leader will kill Chris who is left behind as a security deposit. Chris never wanted the stolen bonds and begged Bert to return them.
Instead of cashing in the bonds, Bert sends them to his ex-wife Estelle (Kathleen Crowley). He feels sorry after he shamefully abandoned her and his young daughter, and left her bankrupt. Estelle now works as a saloon singer in the nearby town of Hawley.
The third act has Audie, who is never armed with a gun, take down LaValle in a showdown gun duel when he gets a gun. This takes place in the same town where he was arrested. It comes after Audie takes down the gang, who he eluded when escaping from them.
The town without a jail is an interesting concept, in a film which is at its best when Audie acts like the gunslinger he usually plays in Westerns. Things become implausible when suddenly at the end, the offensive Estelle turns misleadingly sweet and becomes the honorable Audie’s love interest now that Bert is out of the way.
REVIEWED ON 2/17/2025 GRADE: B-
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