The Showdown *** (1950, Wild Bill Elliott, Walter Brennan, Marie Windsor) – Classic Movie Review 9,699

There is plenty of wild West power in Republic Pictures’ 1950 Western film The Showdown, a sturdy story of a former sheriff (Wild Bill Elliott), hunting his brother’s killer.

There is plenty of wild Western ‘man’s gotta do’ power in this sturdy story of a former Texas sheriff, Shadrach Jones (Wild Bill Elliott, billed as William Elliott), hunting his brother’s thieving killer, who hoves up in a dodgy gambling saloon, in writer/ directors Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E McGowan’s 1950 Republic Pictures Western film The Showdown. Jones joins the cattle drive a led by Captain MacKellar (Walter Brennan), convinced the killer is one of its cowboys,

Elliott is on fine form as the rugged hero and the estimable Marie Windsor, as the alluring casino boss Adelaide, heads a fine gallery of support players (including Walter Brennan, Jim Davis, Harry [Henry] Morgan, William Ching, Rhys Williams and Leif Erickson) in this above-average support double feature Western.

Although made by the Republic Pictures studio, renowned for its cost-conscious productions, it surprisingly is not weighed down by low-budget restraints.

Also in the cast are Nacho Galindo, Victor Kilian, Charles Stevens, Henry Rowland, Yakima Canutt, Guy Teague and William Steele.

The Showdown is directed by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E McGowan, 86 minutes, is made by Republic Pictures, is released by Republic Pictures (1950) (US) and British Lion Film Corporation (1950) (UK), is written by Dorrell McGowan, Stuart E McGowan, Richard Wormser and Don Gordon, is shot in black and white by Reggie Lanning, is produced by William J O’Sullivan and William Elliott, and is scored by Stanley Wilson.

Release date: August 15, 1950 (US).

Wild Bill Elliott (born Gordon Nance, October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965)

The 6′ 3″ Wild Bill Elliott (1904–1965) was born Gordon Nance in 1904 on a farm in Pattonsburg, Missouri. Elliott reached his peak of popularity at Columbia Pictures in a series of Westerns teamed with Tex Ritter. Then Republic Pictures put him under contract in 1943 and cast him in a series of Westerns, the first of which, Calling Wild Bill Elliott, gave him his screen name thereafter. He portrayed Red Ryder in 15 films from 1944 to 1946. He moved to Monogram in 1951, back in low-budget B-Westerns, the last one in 1954. His final works are five B pictures as a Los Angeles police detective. He made 277 films from 1925 till his retirement in 1957.

The cast are Wild Bill Elliott (billed as William Elliott) as Shadrach Jones, Walter Brennan as Captain MacKellar, Marie Windsor as Adelaide, Harry Morgan (billed as Henry Morgan) as Rod Main, Rhys Williams as Chokecherry, Jim Davis as Cochran, William Ching as Mike Shattay, Nacho Galindo as Gonzales, Leif Erickson as Big Mart, Henry Rowland as Dutch, Charles Stevens as Indian Joe, Victor Kilian as Hemp, Yakima Canutt as Davis, Guy Teague as Pickney, William Steele as Terry, Jack Sparks as Bartender.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9,699

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