The Showdown

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.

Like most of the Hopalong Cassidy westerns, "The Showdown" is posted on YouTube AND it's fully restored to its original length and the print is pristine. This is important because many of the other B-western stars had their films cut down to television time slot length...but with the Cassidy films, William Boyd kept original copies...so these are NOT trimmed and look much like they did when they were first shown in theaters.

When the story begins, Speedy (Britt Wood) is preparing a speech when he meets Baron Bender on the train. The Baron is in town to talk to the Colonel about buying some of his horses...but the Baron is a fraud. He's no baron and he plans on stealing the Colonel's prize racing horses! Now everyone SHOULD have known this as Morris Ankrum plays this character...and he ALWAYS played bad buy in the many Hopalong Cassidy films in which he appeared. In fact, it would have been very funny had Hoppy said something to this effect! Instead, the normally cautious Cassidy spots that the Baron is a fraud when he marks some money....and finds it later in the Baron's possession after Hoppy is robbed! And, surprisingly, the Baron isn't the only one who is committing fraud...which leads to a second and unrelated plot.

This is an interesting film because Hoppy was such a 'perfect' cowboy. He never drank alcohol, nor smoked, nor seriously chased women and he never gambled...or almost never gambled. In this one, he plays Poker with the Baron. It is important to the plot....just a bit unexpected since Cassidy was usually so squeaky clean.

So is it any good? Yes. I am not as fond at seeing Britt Wood playing the third sidekick as Gabby Hayes ('Windy') or Andy Clyde ('California')...his Speedy just wasn't quite an interesting character by comparison...which is probably why he appeared in far fewer films than the other two. But I could look past this since the rest of the movie was quite good...though Lucky's actions late in the film are pretty nonsensical.

By the way, among the supporting actors in the film are Kermit Maynard and Eddie Dean...both who both were minor B-movie stars themselves when they weren't playing various characters in other stars' films. Dean plays the Sheriff and Maynard plays Johnson...one of the Baron's henchmen. Finally, Jan Clayton played Lucky's love interest...and in real life she and Russell Hayden were actually married at the time.

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.

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.