SYNOPSIS: Mistakenly shackled to a chain gang in the border town of Adonde, Chris and Bert are forced to steal securities and escape with a bandit named Lavalle who holds Chris hostage whilst Bert converts the securities into cash.
COMMENT: Could be improved by trimming. 79 minutes is too long for a "B" anyway and Showdown will cut down to around 64 minutes with ease. Getting rid of a lot of that dull dialogue - all directed in an extremely dull fashion, mainly in close-ups - not only improves the pace but focuses attention on the movie's best features: namely, its smartly handled action spots (all set against striking natural terrain), its tightly edited shoot-outs and whip-cracking special effects. The basic plot is overly familiar, but it's laced with enough action to please the fans. All of it freshly staged too, - no stock material. Acting just gets by. No performances stand out, and alas, Miss Crowley (in a key role) is unable to make her abrupt change of character convincing. Characterizations tend to be one-dimensional anyway, though the script does try to fill in a bit of background for Drake and Crowley. But the subsidiary people are very sketchily treated indeed. Production values benefit from a good deal of actual location lensing. Technical credits are slick, if undistinguished. However, unlike Universal's previous Audie Murphy releases, Showdown was photographed in black-and-white. It's possible - as Variety's critic observed - that "color could have made a stronger impact."
COMMENT: Could be improved by trimming. 79 minutes is too long for a "B" anyway and Showdown will cut down to around 64 minutes with ease. Getting rid of a lot of that dull dialogue - all directed in an extremely dull fashion, mainly in close-ups - not only improves the pace but focuses attention on the movie's best features: namely, its smartly handled action spots (all set against striking natural terrain), its tightly edited shoot-outs and whip-cracking special effects. The basic plot is overly familiar, but it's laced with enough action to please the fans. All of it freshly staged too, - no stock material. Acting just gets by. No performances stand out, and alas, Miss Crowley (in a key role) is unable to make her abrupt change of character convincing. Characterizations tend to be one-dimensional anyway, though the script does try to fill in a bit of background for Drake and Crowley. But the subsidiary people are very sketchily treated indeed. Production values benefit from a good deal of actual location lensing. Technical credits are slick, if undistinguished. However, unlike Universal's previous Audie Murphy releases, Showdown was photographed in black-and-white. It's possible - as Variety's critic observed - that "color could have made a stronger impact."