A viso aperto

Decent Western , but neither extraordinary , nor notable , but acceptable ; dealing with two tough men who had been friends from infancy , until they fell out over attentions of their intimate sweetheart whom one of them married . After a train robbery committed in New Mexico, a small bunch sets-out to divide the loot . However , a disagreement over the shares causes one gang member , Billy Massey (Dean Martin) , to take the whole loot and run towards the Mexican border , being pursued by the remaining band formed by revenge-seeking outlaws . Unfortunately , band member Billy Massey is a very close childhood friend of the sheriff Chuck Jarvis (Rock Hudson) who's married to their beloved sweetheart (Susan Clark) . Now it's up to Chuck to bring Billy to Justice ....when the running stops and the bullets begin . Together they fought for survival...now their guns must turn against each other!

This is a tremendously exciting story of two men who have been friends since childhood - Damon and Pythias lookalike- , as they find themselves on opposite ends of the law , as Chuck became the honest town sheriff , while Billy took to train robbing . It begins as a sluggish , slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with peculiar , rudimentary characters and solid plot . The tale is almost routine , and full of clichés , an upright sheriff and his old partner turned into a bandit come to join and separate , just in time to confront enemies but later the events get worse . The highlights of the film are the facing off between Rock Hudson and Dean Martin and the climatic showdown on the ending . Sober and adequate acting by Rock Hudson , but Dean Martin is better as the rebel and unconventional outlaw , his performance and role bear similarity to the one he played in ¨Rough Night in Jericho (1967)¨. It displays a vivid and lively musical score by David Rose and atmospheric cinematography by Ernest Laszlo . Watchable results for this offbeat Western.

The motion picture was professionally directed by George Seaton. This craftsman was a nice professional and a polish writer and a director who occasionally rose well above his average standard and was twice rewarded with Academy Award for so making . Seaton formed a partnership with William Perlberg , was to produce all Seaton's movies for several years . Both of them produced and directed the following successes as ¨Miracle on 34th Street¨, ¨The country girl¨, a monster Box office as ¨Airport¨ , the warlike movie : ¨Counterfeit traitor¨ and , another unusual War film as ¨36 hours¨ . Rating : 6/10 , acceptable and passable . The flick will appeal to Rock Hudson and Dean Martin fans. Worthwhile watching .

Showdown is another version of the two buddies who take different turns in the road of life. It borrows elements from George Marshall's supremely enjoyable Texas which starred two very young players named Glenn Ford and Bill Holden.

The buddies here are Dean Martin and Rock Hudson. They're a little older than Bill and Glenn were. Rock Hudson is now a solid respectable citizen ranch owner, married to Susan Clark, and who also happens to be the sheriff.

Dino cleared out from the ranch they had and has been gone for two years so he doesn't know that Hudson is the new sheriff. Maybe he wouldn't have decided to rob that train with some very serious outlaw types. Unfortunately Dino was recognized and Hudson has to bring him in.

This turned out to be the last western film for both Dean Martin and Rock Hudson. Martin, starting with Rio Bravo in 1959, did a whole string of westerns of varying quality. But making them is hard work, a fact Dean discovered one day out in the desert heat making these films. The rest of his movies were done in modern dress.

Also for some reason two of the most agreeable stars to work with as attested to by numerous co-stars of both did not get along during the making of Showdown.

Yet this Damon and Pythias story is still good entertainment and nothing either Rock or Dean had any reason to be ashamed of.

Old friends and partners Rock Hudson and Dean Martin unwillingly collide when Martin is wanted for train robbery and Hudson is the sheriff who has to catch him, which he does when his wife, Susan Clark, stands between the two men.

George Seaton's first western and last movie is an oddly paced affair. Both men seem to be uncomfortable at all time, and Miss Clark very relaxed. I attribute this to the idea that it seems a more more calculated to show off Ernest Laszlo's stunning cinematography than a story film. True, westerns, the most conservative of movie genres, was always more about the camerawork and vistas of the old western than stories; western writer Frank Gruber said there were only seven plots for westerns, so what else was a western movie supposed to be about other than the pictures? Yet even the great color westerns of the 1950s always had an artificial look to them. Laszlo's camerawork is seemingly more casual and gorgeous for that.

The print and transfer I saw were both carefully done. That always helps.

The plot for Showdown is so ordinary that you might just find yourself asking why you picked this up in the video rental place. But there's enough star power on the first through third tiers that this 1973 oater can't be a complete waste of time.

I remember seeing the movie on NBC some thirty years or more ago. I'd never heard of it, it had interesting people, and how badly could it be butchered for television? It was only PG back then.

Showdown is one of those movies you should see just so you can say something like, "Hey, I saw this old western with Rock Hudson and Dean Martin, and it wasn't too bad." Of course, if your time is just too valuable, then skip it.

But it's a decent excuse to eat some popcorn.

Though it breezes along at an amiable pace, there's really nothing special about this particular western. It has a lot of stuff that ends up being irrelevant, such as with the character of the sheriff's wife, and the multiple flashbacks. Though the technical side is professional, it resembles a made-for-TV movie of the time. Still, there is some interest here. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Hong Kong director John Woo saw this, because there are elements and themes here that can be found in his movies.