Thanks for the memories!

Nice effects though.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Following a series of flashbacks, boyhood friends wind up on opposite sides of the law in this by the book Western tale. Fans of Dean Martin and Rock Hudson will probably get some enjoyment out of this picture but the story has been done time and time again, so be forewarned if you haven't seen it yet. One thing that caught my interest was the names of both men's horses - Chuck Jarvis (Hudson) had one named Almanac, and Bill Massey's (Martin) mount was named Tops. Both kind of unusual, I'm thinking that those might have been their real names.A couple of other interesting elements popped up as well. After having watched a few hundred Westerns by now, I don't believe I've ever seen a rider mask his horse's footprints by covering them with rawhide the way Jarvis did. That was an unusual maneuver to prevent his being tracked. There was also that bizarre shotgun load being fixed up by attorney Wilson (John McLiam), consisting of busted glass and scrap iron. I was waiting for that tease to play out but it never happened. Probably a good thing.What was really cool though was that 1890's version of a Sears Roebuck washing machine Kate Jarvis (Susan Clark) was using to wash her clothes for the first time. It seemed to me that laundering by hand might have been easier considering the amount of muscle expenditure required. I guess modern appliances had to start someplace.So the showdown of the title didn't turn out the way one might have expected between the former childhood friends. Actually, I had a bad feeling about Massey when Jarvis headed out for the last time to track down his man. Not that I thought the two buddies would have it out between them, but that outlaw posse was pretty single minded about hunting Massey down. Too bad for Dino.

This film would have made a fairly good romantic triangle comedy in a more modern setting, but the western aspects of the film jar against the charming comic rivalry between Hudson and Dino for the female lead's attention. The early-'70s feel of the script didn't gel with the time period. Don't get me wrong, the banter and verbal sparring made me chuckle, but it is dialogue I would expect to take place in a Manhattan apartment between three urban sophisticates.Of course, Dean Martin's amiable charm elevates this, as it always does all his films, above what it would have been without him. Hudson struggles valiantly, but his is unable to muster the star power to compete with Martin's effortless performance playing himself again. Martin's sheer charisma forces everyone else to up their game, but at the same time mutes them in the face of his good-humored zest for life. One thinks that seeing a person playing essentially the same character again and again would become monotonous, but Martin never gets stale no matter how many times he mugs and smirks and breaks the fourth wall.The downer ending is a bit of a deal-breaker, as I'd have preferred Hudson or anybody else to have died than who did, but it is still worth checking out for Dino completists.

this is the last.western the dean martin and i believed what is very underrated. Dean martin now in duel acting with Rock Hudson, in other film of brothers in conflict. where dean is the star in this film. Rock Hudson is fine as opposite a dean. Respect to movie is very nice shots of scenario context to history. wonderful ambientation . very much suspense with elements what i don't view in others westerns in resume an western distinct in the style of Dean Martin what deserve more popularity with the public. this is a film lost in time and very difficult to watch for this reason. very little know in 1973 when its realized.

The plot for Showdown is so ordinary that you might just find yourself asking why you picked this up in the video rental place. But there's enough star power on the first through third tiers that this 1973 oater can't be a complete waste of time.I remember seeing the movie on NBC some thirty years or more ago. I'd never heard of it, it had interesting people, and how badly could it be butchered for television? It was only PG back then.Showdown is one of those movies you should see just so you can say something like, "Hey, I saw this old western with Rock Hudson and Dean Martin, and it wasn't too bad." Of course, if your time is just too valuable, then skip it.But it's a decent excuse to eat some popcorn.