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.
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