Movies I've Missed Until Now: Showdown at Boot Hill (1958)

SHOWDOWN AT BOOT HILL is another Western that I’d somehow never watched or even heard of that I saw recently. From 1958, it’s considered to be Charles Bronson’s first starring role, although I believe there’s some disagreement about that. But either way, it’s pretty obscure. Bronson plays a deputy U.S. marshal who shows up in a small town to arrest an outlaw. The ensuing shootout results in a dead owlhoot, but Bronson doesn’t care since he can collect the reward money whether his quarry is dead or alive. Unfortunately, he has to have proof that the man he killed is the same one on the reward poster he carries, and nobody in town will confirm that for the record. Because, you see, the dead man was well liked thereabouts and carried out all his crimes elsewhere.

Well, that’s an odd but intriguing setup, no doubt about that. What follows is a rather set-bound piece with a lot of talking and psychological angst (Bronson’s character became a bounty hunter because he’s short and was picked on) and a few bursts of action. The title showdown doesn’t amount to much, either.

Don’t get me wrong, though. SHOWDOWN AT BOOT HILL is an interesting and enjoyable little film. The black-and-white photography is excellent, the exteriors were filmed at Old Tucson, which is my favorite Old West town location, and Bronson does a good job. Veteran character John Carradine shamelessly steals the whole movie as the town’s doctor/barber/undertaker. He turns in a restrained, excellent performance, one of the best I’ve seen from him.

SHOWDOWN AT BOOT HILL is no lost classic, but I think it’s worth watching as an example of a 1950s psychological Western. And I’ll always watch Charles Bronson. I’m glad I finally caught up with this one.