User Reviews

In the world of 1962 television, Westerns were a staple for prime time viewing and the networks were over-loaded with them. In this Hollywood insider spoof of the genre, Larry Blyden plays Rance McGrew, the star of a western series who can do no wrong and wins every gun battle...on the screen. Off camera, he's a pampered untalented egomaniac who can't pull his gun out of his own holster without the aid of a nearby stuntman. McGrew is also a royal pain in the neck to everyone he works with and worse than a nightmare for any director and his crew. His demands are endless and he spends most of his time arguing with his agent, his director, his co-stars etc. If anyone needs a quick trip to the Twilight Zone it's Rance McGrew. AND THEN...in the blink of an eye, Rance is transported back to the REAL Old West where he encounters the REAL Jesse James (Arch Johnson). To put it mildly, Jesse is plenty mad that Rance is beating him to the draw in every episode and making him look like a pansy. In fact, Jesse has some ideas of his own that he wants inserted into Rance's scripts. His intentions are for the show to be closer to the truth and become far more realistic. Naturally, poor cowardly Rance is shaking too severely in his boots to dissuade his show's new "technical adviser."

"Showdown with Rance McGrew" is played for laughs and there are quite a few in this episode. When Rance meets the real Jesse James for the first time, all he can do is shrink away and yell "CUT!!" Rance soon finds out that "CUT!" doesn't cut it in 1880. There's no ironic or surprise ending in this one, but the performances make up for it. Larry Blyden does his usual fine work as the totally plastic and over-indulged Rance McGrew. Obviously, writer/creator Rod Serling knew quite a few "McGrews" around the Hollywood scene although there are no specific references to anyone in particular. Arch Johnson exudes just the right ominous tone as the indignant Jesse and he's the perfect foil for his Hollywood counterpart. The episode is handled by prolific TV western director Christian Nyby. He's also noted for directing the original "The Thing From Outer Space" back in 1951 with his mentor Howard Hawks. As the curtain closes on this episode, viewers may sense that Hollywood is now ready for the arrival of the "Revisionist" western.

TV western star Larry Blyden is a complete phony, a total klutz, and extremely temperamental. He's playing a fictional marshal up against Jesse James who suddenly turning into the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson) who somehow knows that Blyden is "a play-actor", offering him advice while assailing him verbally for being a wretched western actor. How is all of this going on, with Johnson able to watch all of this from the great beyond, or wherever great bandits from the old west end up in the afterworld?

Decent, fairly entertaining light hearted episode of "The Twilight Zone" is not a classic, but there's enough amusement to keep the viewer interested. Blyden is delightfully clumsy as his befuddled character (the fictional actor apparently nominated for an Emmy) continuously makes a fool out of himself. The twist isn't anything earth shattering, but is appropriate in keeping with the episode's mood.

Larry Blyden is Rance McGrew, hero of a TV Western along the lines of "Wyatt Earp", "Gunsmoke," "Have Gun Will Travel," and a dozen other shows that were popular at the time. All of them had one thing in common. They didn't resemble in the slightest what we've now come to accept as the "real" Old West.

Blyden is the spoiled star, whining and complaining, calling for his stunt double, accidentally smashing furniture. The cast and crew bury their faces in their hands every time Blyden befouls a shot.

Then, quite suddenly, taking a swig of the ginger ale that passes for whiskey, the cast, crew, and equipment disappear and Blyden finds himself back in the future. He's surrounded now by authentic Westerners who are complete strangers. Instead of the scene in which Jesse James was being played by another actor, he faces the real Jesse James, who is masterful, burly, and ten feet tall. James, Billy the Kid, and the rest are irritated with the phony way their characters have been treated on the show and they've all chosen James to come down and straighten things out.

The situation has some comic potential but little of it is realized. For one thing, the "real" West looks very much like the "phony" West of the Rance McGrew show. The clothes are clean, the men are clean shaven, the actors hit their spots and speak their lines.

Larry Blyden gives a performance that's wimpy enough but not very funny. One can only imagine what Bob Hope would have done with a role like this -- or rather "did" with such a role in "Alias Jesse James." Finally, the script itself lacks much in the way of wit. I mean there aren't that many funny lines, either from Blyden or the rest of the cast.

Still, it's interesting to see how Blyden could confuse his persona with the character of Rance McGrew. The audience does the same thing. If an actor plays a hero often enough on the screen, he gets airports named after him, or he can be elected mayor, governor or even president. I don't believe we'll ever hear of a Bela Lugosi International Airport, not even in Transylvania.

This episode could have gotten a lot more mileage out of better casting. Earlier in Season Three, you had 'The Grave' with Lee Marvin, James Best, Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin. 'Showdown' didn't have any recognizable character actors from the TV or movie Western genre, and that brought the show down (pun intended) considerably.

Here's what I would have done. James Best back for the Rance McGrew part, Van Cleef as Jesse, and guys like Glenn Strange, Paul Fix and Claude Akins in various supporting roles. Makes no difference, they handled 'em all. Throw in a saloon gal like Beverly Garland or Peggy Castle to liven things up a bit.

I know Serling was going for laughs with this episode, but it didn't quite work. Probably the best scene was the set up when the cowpokes were discussing how Rance was going to get shot when he pulled into town, and then he shows up in the big old convertible. Had they carried that Mel Brooks sensibility through to the rest of the story it would have worked a lot better.

But did you notice the reaction of the horse when Rance came flying through the window? That was the best acting sequence of the entire episode. Trigger would have been proud.

Here's a pretty interesting setup. We start off with an actor who plays someone who fights outlaws in the Old West. He's suddenly teleported to the actual Old West. The episode he was working on featured him fighting Jesse James. He meets up with the real one. He easily outclasses him in gunplay.

I'm such a "Pokémon" fan that I kept thinking of Team Rocket when hearing his name. I'm just more used to Jesse being spelled with an "I". What I didn't like was how Jesse James gets to humiliate the guy forever. I mean, it doesn't sound much like justice. Criminals deserve to be portrayed as losing, right? Team Rocket should watch this. ***

Arrogant and difficult Western television show star Rance McGrew (well played to the hilariously pompous hilt by Larry Blyden) fancies himself as a real tough guy. However, after McGrew gets transported to the actual Wild West and meets legendary outlaw Jesse James (a fine and hearty portrayal by the imposing Arch Johnson), he soon realizes that he's anything but the swaggering macho dude he pretends to be on his show.

Director Christian Nyby relates the enjoyable and inspired story at a snappy pace and maintains an engaging lighthearted tone throughout. Rod Serling's witty script pokes wickedly amusing fun at the ridiculous phony baloney posturing of Western TV show stars who are basically all talk and no walk. Veteran character actor Robert Cornthwaite has a nice supporting role as a long-suffering director. Excellent crisp black and white cinematography by the always reliable George T. Clemens, who makes neat use of a crane in a few scenes. A total hoot.

Showdown with Rance McGrew is mildly amusing due to its humorous lead in Blyden, but the ending's weak. The episode's also out of show's framework. It would work better if James wasn't aware of McGrew and just happened to tangle with him in a natural setting.

A TV cowboy star is in actuality a wussy egomaniac who doesn't know the first thing about the Old West. Miraculously, he is transported from the set to the REAL Old West where he meets all the outlaws who his character has killed and bested in his series. Not only do they prove to him that they are MUCH more manly but they threaten him until he promises to return to the present day and correct this silly stereotyped cowboy hero image--allowing the bad guys to win and revealing to America that cowboys like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were just pretty boys who NEVER would have survived the rigors of Western life!

I have noticed something in reading through the Twilight Zone episodes on IMDb. In general, the serious episodes of the show are rated much higher than the comedic episodes--even though I think that the occasionally funny episodes are a great relief from a constant barrage of overly serious themes. This episode, like so many others, is great fun to watch because it didn't take itself very seriously! Do yourself a favor and give this one a watch.