Showdown (1973 film)
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| Showdown | |
|---|---|
.jpg?lang=en) 1973 Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | George Seaton |
| Screenplay by | Theodore Taylor |
| Story by | Hank Fine |
| Produced by | George Seaton |
| Starring | Rock Hudson Dean Martin Susan Clark |
| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo |
| Edited by | John W. Holmes |
| Music by | David Shire |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Showdown is a 1973 American Western film produced and directed by George Seaton and starring Rock Hudson, Dean Martin and Susan Clark.
Plot
[edit]Childhood friends Billy Massey and Chuck Jarvis go in opposite directions after Chuck ends up married to Billy's former sweetheart. Billy becomes a bank robber, Chuck a lawman. But they end up joining forces against common enemies in a final showdown. A series of life circumstances put two close childhood friends pitted against each other. The seemingly inevitable ending takes a twist that allows the friendship to continue after Billy commits an act of bravery that he knows is suicidal but saves Chuck's life.
Cast
[edit]- Rock Hudson as Chuck Jarvis
- Dean Martin as Billy Massey
- Susan Clark as Kate Jarvis
- Donald Moffat as Art Williams
- John McLiam as F.J. Wilson
- Charles Baca as Martinez
- Jackson Kane as Clem
- Ben Zeller as Perry Williams
- John Richard Gill as Earl Cole
- Philip L. Mead as Jack Bonney
- Rita Rogers as Girl
- Vic Mohica as Big Eye
- Raleigh Gardenhire as Joe Williams
- Ed Begley Jr. as Pook
- Dan Boydston as Rawls
Production notes
[edit]It was the final film for Seaton, who three years earlier had directed Martin and an all-star cast in the blockbuster hit Airport. It was also Dean Martin's last western.
In a November 1972 episode of the TV series McMillan & Wife called “Cop of the Year,” McMillan (played by Hudson) visits the set of a Western film titled "Showdown" that is in production (directed by Seaton, who plays himself) to ask the special-effects supervisor about how to make a gunshot wound appear on the chest of a gunman—who, in the shot being filmed, is the victim in a showdown.
Reception
[edit]Quentin Tarantino later wrote that "the slightness of the whole project is surprising. But along with the pairing of Hudson & Martin, who share the screen for the first time, it’s the films low-key modesty that ends up being one of its most charming features."[1] Leonard Maltin awarded this film two-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "agreeable but unexceptional."[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Tarantino, Quentin (December 24, 2019). "Showdown". New Beverly Cinema.
- ^ Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide, p.1270.
External links
[edit]- Showdown at IMDb
- Showdown at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Showdown at the TCM Movie Database
- Showdown at Letterboxd
- Showdown at Rotten Tomatoes
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