Cheyenne (TV Series) Border Showdown (1955) User Reviews

Forerunner to "The Magnificent Seven" ?

[pepe-46 · 7/10 · 23 October 2006]

Even though the classic western "The Magnificent Seven" is attributed to have been a copy of Japanese epic "The Seven Samurai", I am sure that Producer/Director John Sturges must have been a Cheyenne Bodie fan because everything about "Border Showdown" has elements that Sturges reproduced 5 years later in the Yul Brynner/Steve McQueen blockbuster.

Cheyenne and his sidekick Smitty are on the trail of bank robber Thompson, played by one of the great western bad-guys, Myron Healey.

Thompson has killed one of the townsfolk during the robbery and hightailed it with his gang to a remote Mexican border town where he soon has the inhabitants under his control.

Cheyenne becomes involved because the man that died was an old friend of his and decides to go after Thompson and to bring him back for trial.

When Cheyenne and Smitty arrive....the fun begins!!!

"Nice lookin' buncha boys." "Their mothers prob'ly love 'em."

[ben-thayer · 14 December 2021]

Border Showdown was the third script produced for Cheyenne, and was aired as the fourth episode of Season 1. It was the last appearance of sidekick Smitty (L. Q. Jones), who was originally slated to appear in 8 more episodes according to the Cheyenne fandom wiki. Personally I enjoy Smitty's appearances and I would've loved to see him drop in a couple times in later seasons, but that's all history now.

Cheyenne and Smitty head south of the border to apprehend notorious bank robber Carl Thompson (Myron Healey), who killed a friend of Cheyenne and Smitty's during his gang's latest holdup. In Mexico they find Thompson ensconced in a small town his gang has commandeered, where the local citizens are afraid to oppose them for fear of their lives. Cheyenne and Smitty must free the town of Thompson's rule and take him back across the border to face justice, which becomes even more difficult when Thompson gives them an hour to leave town.

For me this is the best of the Smitty episodes. The story is a good one with ample doses of action and humor, and the end result is one heck of a fun ride. Director Richard L. Bare threw out the stops for Smitty's last appearance and it shows. The action starts in the first scene and there's plenty more to offer throughout the story. Although the sponsors took issue with the Smitty episodes early on as being juvenile, I personally don't think this episode can be labelled "kiddie fare" whatsoever. There is some humor, but it's not overdone. Not to mention that the plot has a serious tone, as we learn that 14 young men were killed attempting to take back the town from Thompson and now the remaining townspeople are too frightened to try again. It doesn't help that Thompson confiscated all their guns and the people have nothing to fight with other than farm tools or their fists.

Smitty actually seems to be fairly level headed in this one, as he tries to convice Cheyenne that the odds are stacked against them severely and they should leave. It appears likely that the accusation of the series being aimed at kids was related to the second aired episode, Julesburg.

My favorite scene would have to be when Cheyenne and Smitty confront the Thompson gang in the cantina. The dialogue is just great, with both Cheyenne and Smitty not holding back and delivering some of the best lines of the series. "This your man?" "He runs errands for me." "Better keep 'im away from me or you'll be runnin' 'em yourself."

The final shootout is one of the longest of the series, clocking in just short of 15 minutes. The legendary "Wihelm Scream" sound effect can also heard when Smitty targets one of Thompson's gunslingers.

As to the cast, Myron Healey plays Carl Thompson in the first of five appearances in the series. He's not remembered too much these days, but starting in the late 40s and throughout the 50s and 60s he was extremely busy, especially in westerns. Healey portrayed good and bad characters equally well, but he excelled in villainous roles, as in this episode.

Ah, the very lovely Adele Mara...always great, and extremely good looking. Apparently she enjoyed playing the bad girl as she was cast frequently in those roles, of which I've seen a couple other examples on Maverick and Tales of Wells Fargo. Two of her three appearances on Cheyenne were bad girls, with the third being a beautiful but "mean when she wants to be" wife. As per typical I couldn't take my eyes off her every time she appeared in a scene. And of course, the production code would not allow her to go unpunished and demanded she pay for her transgressions at episode's end.

Richard Reeves appeared as henchman Cliff Bartow, and oh boy what a role. Reeves rises to the occasion and turns in a great performance as one of the nastiest henchmen of the series. During the fight in the general store with Cheyenne he was extremely dirty, and I loved every second of it! Bartow attacked Cheyenne with anything he could get his hands on...a sledge hammer, a pick axe, firewood, a chair, pots and pans, and a lot more.

Lisa Montell was one of the cast credited in the opening scenes. Her brief star was on the rise at the time and she was both busy and popular, but she gave it all up a few years later in 1962 and never appeared again onscreen.

The only other cast member I recognized - by his inimitable voice of course - was Lane Chandler as the Marshal. Chandler appeared 10 times on Cheyenne in mostly good-guy type roles, and was a familiar face (and voice) on scores of westerns. He was always reliable as a sideman.

In closing I'll say this one is darned fun, and is extremely important as the final appearance of L. Q. Jones as Smitty.

"Tell your boss, if he wants my hide, come get it himself."

[faunafan · 10/10 · 11 July 2022]

Ultimate screen heavy Dick Reeves (as Cliff Bartow) delivered the message to his boss Carl Thompson (perennial bad-guy Myron Healey) after failing to kill Cheyenne and losing a decisive fistfight in the process. Cheyenne and Smitty (L. Q. Jones) are in Paso Alto, Mexico, to bring Thompson back across the border to face justice after his gang's bank robbery resulted in Cheyenne's old friend being killed. In the final showdown, the men of the town rally to Cheyenne's defense, as we all knew they would.

Predictable or not, it's satisfying to see how Cheyenne Bodie confidently and doggedly pursues the man responsible for his friend's death and to know that justice will be meted out in the end. That's one reason these old Westerns are still so satisfying. More often than not, justice prevails, which in this day and age seems to be only a charming remnant of the distant past.

Clint Walker is his usual imposing self, not really acting because in real life he had all the characteristics Cheyenne Bodie represented---honest, capable, diligent, loyal, and honorable, not to mention tall, dark, and handsome. Sadly, this is Smitty's last appearance as Cheyenne's amiable sidekick. I wish he'd turned up a time or two more as Cheyenne continued on his lonely quest to find that piece of land and gal that made him want to settle down. But as we'll find out in the next 100+ episodes, Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie cut a most convincing figure as a loner with heart who took us all along with him on a very enjoyable ride.