Deja View - Travel Trauma

COVID19 shelter-in-place viewing has led to a reliance on satellite TV to bring obscure, potentially interesting things to my attention. (Yeah, I also have Netflix, but I watch precious little new material.) One of my high-def movie channels recently dredged up the 1973 western movie Showdown, which I swear I never even knew existed! It's stars, Rock Hudson and Dean Martin, are perhaps not my very favorite, but they are interesting enough to me that I wanted to see the pairing (and, they are, after all, members of the imaginary Disaster Movie Club.) While watching the opening sequence of the film, I was immediately struck with a sense of deja vu. What makes that all the more intriguing I will get to in just a moment...

As a train choo-choos its way across the western terrain, Martin is seen wearing a sheriff's badge and transporting a prisoner who's shackled to the overhead luggage rack. When the train is stopped by a pile of logs on the track, it's clear that a robbery is about to happen and Martin stands up to plead with the passengers to hand over their valuables to him for safe keeping. Something about this moment set off a bell in my head (oh, there are plenty up there... Ha ha!) Can you guess where I'm going?

Yes, I have to say that the way Martin stood in the aisle with the passengers on the train turned and looking reminded me of a similar moment in Airport (1970) when Martin, as the pilot of a passenger aircraft, was forced into pleading with a despondent man to resist setting off a bomb he's carrying which would blow the plane and everyone in it to smithereens! Both moments were featured in publicity stills for the respective films. Still not convinced? See below:

But what's more intriguing is that Showdown was directed by George Seaton. It was the final film of the seasoned director (who won an Oscar for writing Miracle on 34th Street, 1947, which he also directed.) He's seen here coaching Martin for the scene in question.

And guess what? Airport was also directed by Seaton! He's seen here on the set of that film giving direction to Martin, who he obviously enjoyed working with enough to bring him back for his next project. How nice for Martin that his blocking didn't wind up being demonstrably different for the first scene in Showdown! He'd already gone through the motions on Airport. Airport was, of course, a gargantuan hit that spawned three follow-ups while Showdown virtually descended into the nether regions. I hope you found this little moment in the cinema firmament amusing. I'll be back soon with something else that grabs me.

Double the Deano. Makes for interesting bookends.