Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
schwapj
Well, I appear to be out of the mainstream of the limited number of reviewers for this movie, but it was a bit tedious (even though less than 90 minutes) and the story was not compelling. The standard western movie town was in full effect, convincingly dusty, and with the right buildings in the right places. But it was also from scene to scene randomly full of people hanging around in the middle of the day, and then completely deserted other than the main actors. John Derek was his usual hammy self, wide-eyed glowering substituting for any sense of genuine internal emotion. The actors who played Derek's brother and the sheriff were decent, but the lawyer was badly played as a simpering whiner who simply would not have come out west to practice. The love interest was dull and kind of homely.As for the story--the consequence of a negative outcome for the hero was basically that his life would go on as before, and he was such a martyr that I didn't really care one way or the other.Scenery was a solid B, although the cinematographer could have done more with the raw materials. Acting a C-, some better than others. Story, also a C-. Hence the four star review for this somewhat below average movie.
redwhiteandblue1776
This Western had one particular thing going for it that really stood out. Every time there was a wide shot of the town, there were not large numbers of people walking around the streets. Perfect! In most Westerns, there are way too many people all over town. At this time in history, when 95% of the population worked on farms, it is just totally unrealistic the way directors put so many people in town. This movie was right on the mark. Well done. Some reviews say it was too slow. Well, it wasn't a time of the internet and instant everything. Things moved slower as did the pace of the movie, which seemed appropriate. As I have mentioned in my reviews of other Westerns, I still have a problem the way actors are dressed. Costumes seem to be "cowboy" attire taken from the 1930's and put in stories from late 1800s. This includes saddles and bridles. Having it in black and white gave it a nice "old time" feel.
zardoz-13
The United Artists' release "Fury at Showdown" ranks as one of the great unsung westerns of the 1950s. John Derek stars as Brock Mitchell, a combustible young gunslinger who matures over the course of the 75 taut minutes that constitute this well-done tale of revenge. Like most westerns during the 1950s, "Fury at Showdown" emphasizes the message that being a gunslinger is not an appropriate way of living. A young Nick Adams provides solid support as Derek's brother and a pre-"Laramie" John Smith delivers a finely-tuned performance as a slimy gunman. The real scene stealer in this interesting western is naturally the city slicker villain, a well-tailored but older lawyer, Cage Clarke of "The Bad Seed" as conniving Chad Deseasy. Filmed in only five days by "A Kiss Before Dying" director Gerd Oswald, "Fury at Showdown" is a lean, mean western that squanders nary a second. Thoroughly minor in every respect, this movie is nevertheless a very good example of low-budget film-making with spartan black & white lensing by eight-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Joseph LaShelle, who won an Oscar for shooting the 1944 noir masterpiece "Laura" with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. LaShelle's cameras are always in the right place at the right time so that you get a physical feel for Oswald's intricate staging of the action. Get out the way Oswald stages the scene in the doctor's office for Nick Adams death scene. Although "Fury at Showdown" was not a big, star-studded oater, the film emerges as a pressure-cooker of attention with its plot a variation on "High Noon."This frontier saga unfolds in the small town of Buckhorn as the sheriff (Tom McKee of "The Steel Jungle") releases fiery young Brock Mitchell (John Derek of "The Outcast") from his jail after the latter has completed a year's sentence for manslaughter. Friends of the man that Mitchell killed in a gunfight await him outside of the jail along with his unarmed younger brother Trace (Nick Adams of "King Creole") who has come to take his big brother home to the family ranch near Showdown Creek. After they reach the ranch, Trace explains how he was able to run the spread after his father died. He took out a $5-thousand dollar loan from the local bank. It seems that beef prices are up and Trace along with two other local ranchers have convinced a representative of the railroad, Mr. Phelps (Ken Christy of "Utah Blaine") to launch a spur line onto their property so that they can get their livestock to market. Not only with this spur railway help Trace pay off the note, but also they will have money left over from the deal. The villainous Chad Deseasy resolves to destroy the Mitchells. As the director and a stock holder of the Cattleman's Trust Bank, Deseasy doesn't want to renew Trace's note and the deadline to pay off the note is rapidly approaching. In fact, they have three days. Initially, Trace and the others think that Phelps will show up in Showdown Creek and ink the deal, but day after day passes with no sign of Phelps. Our protagonists know that Phelps is in nearby Gunstock, but Trace's partners in the deal are leery of his hot-headed older brother. Bluntly, they don't trust Brock. Simultaneously, Deseasy has hired a bodyguard, gunslinger Milly Sutton, who is already looking forward to his next job in Durango. Craftily, Deasey sets about to turn the entire town against Brock. Brock turns out to be his own worst enemy because he plays into Deasey's hands for easily, arousing the wrath of the local lawman, Sheriff Clay (Robert Griffin of "Gunsight Ridge"), who happens to be the father of the girl that Brock once dated. In fact, Brock got into a gunfight over Chad's nasty younger brother and gunned him down. Now, Deasey wants to exact retribution from Brock and he orchestrates his campaign with shrewd touches. About half way through the tightly drawn action, trigger-happy Brock shed his gun belt and begins to show maturity. He resists the urge to turn to violence unless it is thrust upon him as when Sutton goads him into a furniture destroying fisticuffs in the saloon. The saloon in "Fury at Showdown" is unlike most in that its bar is curbed like the letter W. Brock and Sutton virtually tear the place down. They smash the mirror behind the bar, wreck furniture, and crash through a window. They get tangled up in a horse drawn buckboard and as the vehicle is careening away from the scene we see Brock disengage himself. It looks like Derek and Smith performed their own stunts in the saloon brawl. The saloon brawl is about as far out as Oswald lets this western roam; the remainder of the time he keeps things tightly-knit. The suspense about the arrival of Phelps and the way that the two other partners mistrust Brock fuel the suspense and tension in this nifty little western drama.Derek is in fine shape as the hero who grows over the length of the film, while Nick Adams is the innocent young sacrificial goat. Actually, there isn't a bad performance in this taut western. Gerd Oswald's direction, a sturdy credible cast, LaShelle's exceptional black & white photography, and scenarist Lucas Todd's quotable script make "Fury at Showdown" a first-rate, suspenseful sagebrusher.
Gregor Hauser (gregorhauser)
This western has a very small budget.But the story and the actors are as powerful and motivated as it were a blockbuster.John Derek delivers a convincing portrait of a young man full of goodwill and also full of wrath. He is perfect for the leading part. His supporting cast - although not so well known - is a good one. Especially Nick Adams and the actor who plays the sheriff.Gerd Oswald directed a couple of movies with stories of high morality. This one is his best.The story is about a man who was in prison for manslaughter. He tries to come back to society and to his profession as a farmer but there is a man who wants revenge for the death of his brother...Village people are not very happy too...
