The Showdown

Wild Bill Elliott plays the mysterious loner out to solve the murder of his brother. The identity of his brother's killer was less mysterious to this viewer than to Wild Bill. It was fairly obvious before the film was half way over who did the dirty deed. But who cares when one is being treated to the acting of Wild Bill, Marie Windsor, and Walter Brennan. Elliot's serious, stoic stage presence was perfect for dark films like this. Too bad better directors failed to recognize his potential. Windsor and Brennan provide strong supporting characters.

This movie makes my top-ten list of greatest westerns. Great acting from the usually laughable Wild Bill Elliot, great direction and awesome character development along with a good mystery. The subtle dialog from Elliot brings a new light to his acting ability.

This could have been an excellent western movie had they not tried to be so cheap in production. Instead of filming on location with vaulting mountains and wide open scenes, we are left with filming on a back lot with very little scenery and projected background landscape. And with such gifted actors in most parts it was puzzling on why they put stiff actor Bill Elliott as the lead man. I know he has played the lead in many B-westerns but with the cast of actors in this film, he stood out like a sore thumb.

But passing on Elliott's mannequin performance, the rest of the cast seemed to flow effortless and made the story entertaining to watch. There was a few spots hard to watch but overall this film provided enough interest throughout to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat right to the end of the movie. Was actually expecting very little from this movie but was pleasantly surprised. This is a film that you ask yourself, What could have been?

This film begins on a cold, dark night with a former Texas State Policeman by the name of "Shadrach Jones" (Bill Elliott) in the process of digging up the grave of a man who had been killed just a week before. As it so happens, he is spotted by two cowboys named "Cap MacKellar" (Walter Brennan) and "Rod Main" (Harry Morgan) who immediately demand to know what he is doing. In response, Shadrach tells them that he needs to know the identity of the man buried in this grave in order to ascertain if it is his brother or not. However, it's when he tells them that he used to work for the Texas State Police that Rod becomes extremely hostile toward him which results in Cap intervening to prevent a shootout right there and then. That being said, since it is obvious that Shadrach is intent upon finishing up what he started the two cowboys ride off with Cap telling him that he hopes the man buried there is not his brother--so Shadrach can ride off before any trouble starts. Unfortunately, Shadrach soon discovers that the body in the grave is in fact his brother and--like Cap MacKellar feared--trouble soon begins which nobody seems capable of stopping. Now rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good Western thanks in large part to a number of good actors and some good mystery along the way. Admittedly, I would have liked a bit more suspense here and there but, even so, it still turned out pretty well and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

I would have never thought that Walter Brennan would have played in a western - or any other movie - costarring Wild Bill Elliott. Very unlikely, but Marie Windsor's presence makes us forget this strange cast. The story, the scheme, is rather unusual for a western, because a mystery link is not what you expect to find out in such a film. And I say "Why not?" after all. This is not a brilliant movie, but worth the ride, made by a couple of directors whom I have never heard of before and who seem to have made some more films after this one, features destined to kids for Sunday matinees. Good stuff.