The Showdown *** (1950, Bill Elliott, Walter Brennan, Marie Windsor) – Classic Movie Review 9699

There is plenty of wild Western ‘man’s gotta do’ power in this sturdy story of a former sheriff, Shadrach Jones (Bill [William] Elliott), hunting his brother’s killer, who hoves up in a dodgy gambling saloon, in directors Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E McGowan’s 1950 Republic Western film The Showdown.

Elliott is on fine form as the hero and the estimable Marie Windsor, as the 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 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.

Wild Bill Elliott (1904–1965) was born Gordon Nance in 1904 on a farm in Pattonsburg, Missouri.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9699

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