The Showdown

Showdown has an intriguing plot and some good acting performances with one of the best in Morris Ankrum playing under the false pretenses of being a European horse trader. Of course Hoppy (William Boyd) smells a rat after a crooked poker game and with Speedy (Britt Wood) they aim to set a trap. Well known TV and movie performer, Jan Clayton comes on strong as the Colonel's niece, or is she? Russell Hayden, her real-life husband is caught in a three-way crossfire not knowing who to trust. One of the best heavies, Roy Barcroft does his henchman role to perfection and The King's Men Quartet croon some great tunes. The greatest singing cowboy, Eddie Dean and Kermit Maynard round out a great cast.

Morris Ankrum who appeared in several Hopalong Cassidy movies does this one with a touch of the continental. He arrives at Wright Kramer's horse farm with a nice European accent passing himself off as Baron. This baron is really a horse thief, but he's got a pair of quality race horses involved here and he wants them to disguise and help fix races and clean up on bets.

At the same time young Jan Clayton arrives saying she's Kramer's long lost niece. Coincidence or not? It's up to Hopalong Cassidy and Lucky and Speedy to sort it out, or at least Hoppy to and the others follow his lead.

That might not be easy for Lucky Jenkins. He's more impulsive and headstrong than normal in this Cassidy feature. In real life Russell Hayden was married to Jan Clayton at the time.

A good Hoppy feature with Hayden especially standing out.

This film essentially begins with a man by the name of "Baron Render" (Morris Ankrum) arriving on the train to the small town of Sundance to meet with a rancher named "Colonel Rufe White" (Wright Kramer). His goal is to purchase some horses from Colonel White so that he can make a hefty profit from them when he returns to Europe. At almost the same time, a young woman named "Sue Willard" (Jan Clayton) also shows up at the ranch and tells Colonel White that she is his niece. Naturally, Colonel White welcomes her with open arms and invites her to stay with him for as long as she wants. The problem is that things are not what they seem and it's up to a cowboy named "Hopalong Cassidy" (William Boyd) to straighten things out. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be an enjoyable Western from days gone by with William Boyd putting in a solid performance as the lead character. I especially liked the rather surprising twist around the mid-point of the film which I didn't see coming. But then, by his own admission, neither did Hopalong Cassidy. In any case, although the film is clearly dated, it was still entertaining enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Baron Rendor (Morris Ankrum) arrives in town under the pretence of being a horse trader from across the sea in Europe. What no one in town realises is that Rendor is in fact a crooked gambler who is more adept at a bit of horse theft. What the Baron doesn't count on is the suspicious tendencies of Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) who arrives in town to and immediately thinks there is something dodgy. His feelings are backed when he enters a game of cards with the Baron and after being dealt 4 aces pulls one over on the Baron and then marking his winnings because he knows a sore loser will try and steal them back.

I like how Hoppy expresses his suspicions of someone dodgy with that face expression of his - and when Morris Ankrum, who plays the Baron, appears Hoppy's suspicious mind starts ticking - especially when he sees regular B-western bad guy Roy Barcroft talking to the horse trader - this briskly-paced western has an intriguing storyline, a tense poker game, a subplot of whether the girl who Lucky takes a shine to his Colonel's niece and Hoppy gets trapped in a burning barn. Lucky gets the wrong idea about Hoppy and the Colonel's niece and the villain uses this to his advantage.

The 28th Hopalong Cassidy movie has Morris Ankrum showing up, sporting an accent, claiming to be a baron interested in buying Wright Kramer's harness-racing horse for a European syndicate. When he speaks with his associates, it's clear he's a con man. This casts doubt on Jan Clayton, who shows up riding the rods, when a letter arrives claiming she's the rightful owner of Kramer's ranch.

It's one of the best written Hoppies, because of that tension. There's even tension between series lead William Boyd and regular sidekick Russell Hayden. Miss Clayton, in her third and final appearance in the series, clearly relies on Boyd's assistance, kicking off Hayden's jealousy. I'm pretty sure it was just acting; later in the year, Boyd would marry Grace Bradley, and Miss Clayton would marry Hayden. Miss Clayton was not just another pretty starlet. She would originate the role of Julie Jordan in Rodger & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL; tv viewers would also recognize her as Ellen Miller, Timmy's put-upon mother in the first version of LASSIE. She would die in 1983 at the age of 66.