Terror in a Texas Town (1958) ranks among the oddest Westerns made during the classic Hollywood era. Sterling Hayden stars as George Hansen, a Swedish whaler who comes to the American West (still carrying his trusty harpoon) to join his homesteader father, only to discover that the latter was murdered by a psychotic young gunman (Nedrick Young) who is employed by an oil baron (Sebastian Cabot). Hansen bonds with his Mexican-American neighbors—fellow outsiders who have been intimidated into silence about the murder—and the climactic showdown puts a unique twist on the classic gunfight on a dusty frontier street, pitting a one-handed gunslinger against Hansen's harpoon (a scene teased in the film's prologue). Although not an overtly political film, it does set outsiders against the corrupt and powerful in a sly way that challenges the ‘50s Communist blacklist: screenwriter Ben L. Perry was actually a front for blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and actor/screenwriter Young had also been blacklisted (both, incidentally, won Oscars while writing under fronts). This was the final feature film for cult director Joseph H. Lewis, who—working on a budget just barely above B-movie—gives it a noir-ish flavor and dynamic style, with long takes and ominous shots of objects looming in the extreme foreground. A minor but interesting cult Western, this newly restored film is accompanied by extras including an introduction and select scene commentary by Western movie historian Peter Stanfield. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)
Terror in a Texas Town
Arrow, 80 min., not rated, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.95 Volume 32, Issue 5
Terror in a Texas Town
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