Showdown at Boot Hill

Better known as a film editor over five decades, Gene Fowler Jr. earned himself a decent resume as a cult director, with seven titles over a three year period, none truly outstanding, but all deserving of praise for one reason or another. 1957's "Showdown at Boot Hill" was preceded by his debut, "I Was a Teenage Werewolf," and followed by "Gang War" (also with Charles Bronson), "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (his best known), "Here Come the Jets," "The Rebel Set," and lastly, the mediocre Western "The Oregon Trail" (again with John Carradine). "Boot Hill" is chiefly remembered, if at all, as Bronson's very first starring role in a feature film, quickly followed by Roger Corman's better known "Machine-Gun Kelly," and already at this early stage, finds himself immersed in a role which allows him to be gritty and short on talk. Bronson's Deputy U. S. Marshal Luke Welsh arrives in Mound City with a warrant for the arrest of wanted outlaw Con Maynor (Thomas Browne Henry), guilty of killing three men in other territories. He quickly finds his man dining at the hotel and flirting with waitress Sally (Fintan Meyler), hardly batting an eye when the Marshal makes his presence known, almost bragging about his exploits as he gets ready to leave. Determined to collect the $200 bounty on Maynor's head, Welsh allows the outlaw to draw now or journey to St. Louis to be hanged; the expected result has Con Maynor dead, but the hostile townspeople unwilling to identify the corpse. Forced to stick around to try to collect his hard won bounty, Welsh learns how charitable Maynor was in this territory, and how protective they feel toward him, even acknowledging his murderous ways. Bronson's romance of waitress Sally tends to slow down an already actionless Western, but the top notch script by Louis Vittes, low key but sharp, allows the entire cast to shine (incredibly, "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" was the only Fowler title not written by Vittes). Robert Hutton gets second billing as Maynor's number one defender Sloane, praising the dead man for restoring his lost herd of cattle with one he no doubt stole himself, but allowed Sloane two years to pay off. Paul Maxey's part as the de facto judge makes the inquest appear as legal as possible considering everybody lied! Best of all is John Carradine, an old friend of the director's father (all part of the John Barrymore Rat Pack), playing the challenging role of Doc Weber, town barber, who does more shaving and undertaking than he does doctoring. Looking fairly dapper in moustache and beard, Carradine simply lights up the screen, and develops a wonderful rapport with Bronson, working together again in Carradine's very last Western, 1977's "The White Buffalo," again as an undertaker (with Irish accent). Perhaps their best scene together is in the barber shop, Weber informing the Marshal about the dead man's brother arriving at Boot Hill for the funeral, despite the protestations of his customer: "now, I didn't mention any names did I?" He had fine roles in other Westerns of the 50s ("Johnny Guitar," "Thunder Pass," "Stranger on Horseback," "The Kentuckian," "Hidden Guns," and "The Proud Rebel"), but "Showdown at Boot Hill" ranks on top as his best. As for Charles Bronson, this late 1957 production began a brief starring spree, with "Machine-Gun Kelly," "Gang War," and "When Hell Broke Loose," followed by his one TV series lead, MAN WITH A CAMERA. His feature career continued with supporting roles for another decade, but at least his vehicles would grow in stature ("The Magnificent Seven," "Battle of the Bulge," "The Dirty Dozen") before European stardom beckoned with Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West."

As with most films that "miss", it almost always comes down to a bad script...as it does here. The subject matter the movie tries to deal with is potentially interesting, and could have had some real emotional impact, but the slow, meandering pace and some goofy dialogue undermine what could have been a good psychological Western. It's really a shame because the directing is actually pretty good, the score feels just right, most of the actors hold their own, and the sets actually look remarkably authentic considering what an extremely low budget this movie clearly had.

Throughout the entire movie I kept thinking that it reminded me of another project, but couldn't put my finger on it...and then it dawned on me that the whole thing has the feel of a 1950s TV Western...it especially reminded me of the way the first season of "The Rifleman" was shot. Not sure if this movie was meant to be the second part of a drive-in movie double-bill, or (based on the quality and running time) if this might have actually been shot as a potential pilot for a TV series...Bronson looks fantastic here...he is young, fit, handsome, and would have made an excellent TV star had he been given the opportunity. This project might have passed as decent enough TV watching, but it misses the mark as a feature film, which is a shame considering its potential.

Not only did the film have potential, but you can see the potential Charles Bronson had if he'd chosen to become an actor instead of a silent-but-deadly action hero over the span of his career. His early work gave him some really good opportunities to emote, but I guess the other direction he went in paid a lot better. I suppose one can't argue with success, but it is interesting to think of what might have been.

"Showdown at Boot Hill" is certainly not worth paying money to rent or buy, but if it comes on cable, it is definitely a harmless enough way to spend an hour and change.

If you like Western movies then Showdown at Boot Hill will not disappoint.

Yup, it's an old fashioned plot with the usual ingredients of gunfights, good guys, bad guys, sheriff and a love interest (no Indians here though!). That makes the movie predictable but then it was made in 1958, right?

The acting is above average with Charles Bronson delivering on his role. That the movie was filmed in black and white makes events a little more dramatic.

Ok, so it's an old film with a plot typical of its time. Nonetheless, if you enjoy the Western film genre then you can do a lot worse than the short (less than 80 minutes) Showdown at Boot Hill!

In the late 1950s and early sixties, Charles Bronson played character roles in big films, particularly westerns, both good (The Magnificent Seven) and not so good (Four For Texas). On occasion, he also picked up a leading role in some offbeat little movie. And while Showdown at Boot Hill is often listed as his 'debut' as a lead (in fact, it isn't), the minor western entry does rate among his earliest. It's one more of the low-key, adult westerns, with a psychologically troubled anti-hero, that were churned out after the success of first The Gunfighter (1950) and then on an even bigger scale High Noon (1952). In truth, the formula was wearing a bit thin by this time, which partly explains why Magnificent Seven hit as big as it did the following year - a new kind of western for a new decade. Meanwhile, though, Bronson comports himself very well as he rides into a small town, shoots it out with a criminal there, and then plans to head back to headquarters for his bounty money. There's only one problem: As the townsfolk all liked the outlaw, they refuse to sign affidavits attesting to Bronson's having killed the guy. Maybe they can't bring him back, but they can prevent Bronson from cashing in on what he did. This would have played far better if Bronson had been identified only as a bounty hunter, i.e. gun for hire. But the writers made the mistake of having him also be a federal marshal, and take it from me, no one would have messed with anyone who carried a U.S. government badge, no matter how they felt about him. One very intriguing element is that, in the western realm of tall men, Bronson is cast as an extremely short guy who is sensitive about his diminutive height. The female lead is played by the little known Carole Matthews, who is good but nothing more. Far better is John Carradine as one of his lanky old loner types. Not necessarily worth going out of your way to see, but if this rides by your trail, take a look, partner.

In his first starring role, Charles Bronson is a US Deputy Marshal who comes into a small western town, hunting Thomas Browne Henry. There's a bounty on him for killing three men, and when he draws on Bronson, Bronson shoots him down. The town doesn't like it. Henry was a popular figure, ready to sell a string of cattle below price, and wait for his money, so long as you didn't ask where he got them. No one will name him, and so Bronson waits around for a positive identification, so he can collect his bounty money. While he waits, he falls in love with Fintan Mayler, the shy daughter of the town's local bad woman, Carole Matthews. While he waits, there's lots of philosophizing from John Carradine, the town's barber, doctor, and fellow who reads over graves.

Gene Fowler Jr's movie makes its points about violence and loneliness, but does so in too obvious a manner, afraid to let the audience draw its own conclusion. There are plenty of swooping crane shots by cinematographer John M. Nickolaus Jr., straight out of HIGH NOON to make sure we realize this is an important psychological movie.

The performances are good, but everyone tries too hard to make this a superior movie.