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A pre-superstardom Charles Bronson plays a US marshal in Showdown at Boot Hill. Tracking down a wanted murderer to a small town, Bronson kills him in a shootout. It develops that the dead man, whose criminal past was unknown to his fellow townsfolk, was a popular and highly respected member of the community. The decedent's friends refuse to identify the body, thereby denying Bronson the opportunity of collecting the reward money. At first angered by this, Bronson is gradually won over to the townspeoples' point of view.

Luke Welch, a United States Marshal turned bounty hunter, comes to the town of Mountain City in search of his prey, the killer Con Maynor. After scouring the register of the local hotel, Luke determines that Con is a guest there and finds him seated in the hotel dining room. Throwing down his wanted poster, Luke serves a warrant for Con's arrest. When Con refuses to surrender, Luke challenges him to draw his gun or face the hangman. Goaded by Luke, Con draws his weapon, but is no match for the marshal's speed, and Luke guns him down. When Sloane, Con's friend who witnessed the fight, accuses Luke of forcing Con to draw, the sheriff orders an inquest into the shooting. Although the judge rules that the shooting was justified, he refuses to identify the body as Con, thus prohibiting Luke from collecting his reward. Con, who never exhibited his violence in Mountain City, was well regarded by the townsfolk, who also refuse to identify the body. To prove that he apprehended Con, Luke hires a photographer to take the deceased's picture, but his plan is thwarted when several of Con's friends shatter the camera with gunfire. Determined to collect his reward, Luke decides to stay in town and checks into the hotel. When he signs the register, Luke notices that Con's name has been blacked out. Luke then visits Sally Crane, the hotel's waitress, in hopes of convincing her to identify Con. Sally refuses, asserting that Con never had a chance against Luke. To avenge Con's death, several cowhands decide to notify his hot-tempered brother Charles about the killing.

Gary Tooze

June 13th, 2013