Terror in a Texas Town

There's a lot more to this little Western than the cheap thrills the title might suggest. The film itself may have been made in black and white, but the off-beat story is shot through with shades of moral grey. Indeed, I'm not sure that it would be entirely baseless to describe it as an implicit indictment of US society.

This picture uses familiar Western stereotypes - the corrupt sheriff, the land-greedy tycoon, the sinister hired gun - in a depiction that subtly undercuts much of the entire genre. I don't think it's too far-fetched to see the long shadow of McCarthy over the townspeople who allow themselves to be cowed and driven off one at a time, only to turn at last as a mob not on the man who bribed their silence, but on the outsider employed as a tool to do his dirty work.

(Having just read the IMDB entry for this film and discovered that the scriptwriter was himself blacklisted by the McCarthy regime, I'm now almost certain I was not imagining this!)

The whole story is framed by that final confrontation and the flashbacks (?flash-forwards?) that follow under the opening titles. After all, it's not every Western that features a man walking the length of Main Street to face down his father's killer... with a harpoon. This one *opens* with that image!

But as we catch up with the flash-back scenes in real-time we soon realise that things are not as they seem. This is no standard Western, there are no stand-up gunfights and no galloping horses; the only quick-draw we see is performed under duress as a humiliating party-trick. Virtue is not rewarded and those who make a stand on principle only suffer thereby. The hired killer is an aging gunman whose trade has lost him the use of his good right hand; the dogged hero is no cowboy or plains drifter but a seaman from a Swedish whaler, and the script makes it very clear just what value he can place on American justice.

Inexorably, driven by the sinister jaunty little tune of the theme music, the story winds on until we reach again that final face-down - and now the close-ups make sense, and they are not what we thought they were. That man with the moustache is not the sheriff; that blonde is not the hero's girl; the crowd is not spilling out of a saloon.

And it is not any longer, for me at least, the clear-cut question of good and evil the genre has led us to expect. When it is all over - when the shots are called and the dice are down - the crowd pours past the Swede without a backward glance. Society doesn't want to know; doesn't want to face its own complicity. It wants a scapegoat to sacrifice, and for life to go on.

Morally, this film is very far from black and white. If it is a B-movie, then it is by far more unsettling than the vast majority of cheap and cheerful productions made in that budget. I cannot imagine what its intended audience must have made of it. Am I the only viewer to find myself drawn as much to the cold-blooded, isolated 'villain' as to the nominal hero?

Joseph H. Lewis was something of a B movie king, with his best directorial efforts coming via Westerns and film noir. After this Sterling Hayden starrer he signed off from Hollywood for good, as a legacy it's difficult to say if it's a fitting point of reference to Lewis and his talents, or entirely apt for his career? It's an often quirky, even bizarre, picture that manages through its surreal like tendencies to detract from its formulaic Western plot.

Set in Prairie City, Texas, the tale revolves around George Hanson (Hayden), a Swedish whaler who after 19 years away, returns to Prairie to find his father has been murdered. As he delves deeper with a staunch undaunted determination, he finds that the law is corrupt and a horrible land baron called McNeil (Sebastian Cabot), aided by gunslinger for hire Johnny Crale (Ned Young), is behind his fathers death. It appears there is oil in the land and McNeil is using force to buy up the land at ridiculously cheap prices. But if he thought George was going to be forgiving? Or going to be easily frightened? Well he and Crale are in for some big shocks.

Shot in stark black and white, Lewis' film throws up the always interesting conflict between homespun virtue and greedy evil. There's compelling villains and some nicely drawn characterisations for the decent citizens of the town, such as those who are on the periphery of the protagonists struggle (note Victor Millan's poor Mexican farmer and Carol Kelly's downbeat girlfriend of Crale).

What of Hayden, though? It's a fascinating performance, where saddled with the task of trying to do a Swedish accent, and wearing a suit a size too short for him, it's difficult to know if he is in tune with the off-kilter nature of the film, or he's just on robotic auto- pilot while Lewis chuckles to himself off camera. Either way Hayden gives us a character to root for with our every breath. Hanson is a bastion of good and well meaning, we ache for him to outdo the lobster eating land baron and the metal clawed outlaw.

There's some controversy in the tid-bids here. The script was credited to Ben Perry, but actually was written by Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted. Hayden, although not blacklisted, appeared before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and simultaneously admitted past communist affiliations and named names. Lewis was not involved in the unsavoury chapter but was a close friend of Ned Young, who was blacklisted for taking the fifth, but whose impact on the film was to not only be in it, but to also be instrumental in getting Lewis to direct it. Boy was that an interesting time in American history.

Stylish, odd and certainly different, Terror In A Texas Town has enough about it to make it worthy of a night in. And it gets better on repeat viewings once you buy into the kookiness. 7.5/10

A bizarre, intense, frightening unsung masterpiece filled with original and compelling characters. It's hard to tell what the main interest is: the Swedish hero; the leather-clad Bogie-inspired villain; the brave young Mexican; the callous, quick-tongued fatcat. The cinematography is stylized yet subtle. The dialogue is trenchant. Then, of course, there is the unnerving harpoon showdown. There is no movie quite like this one, folks. A must-see.

Peace-loving Sven Hanson is one of a number of farmers whom Ed McNeil (Sebastian Cabot) wants to run off their land because he knows there's oil on it . While McNeil's gunfighter , Johnny Crale (Nedrick Young) commits grisly killings against villagers and countrymen . Then , Hanson's friend Pepe Mirada (Victor Millan) hides his knowledge of the killer's identity in order to protect his family . When George Hanson (Robert Mitchum) arrives in Prairie City and takes up his dad's cause , not only Mirada but also Johnny Crale start changing their minds . When the Texas Plains Ran With Blood and Black Gold! Harpoon against Six-Gun! A savage duel!..For The Black Gold That Flowed Under The Blood-Drenched Land! Harpoon against Six-Gun !...in the most savage duel the ever ripped the Texas.

An interesting time-passer , where snappy and engaging dialog run through-out . This notable , meaty Western contains attractive plot , intrigue , a fine ensemble cast , along with a non-traditional , minimalistic soundtrack and resulting to be entertaining enough . It starts with the opening credits : The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely accidental and unintentional . Outstanding Western balances action , suspense and drama ; being probably one of the strangest Western in the fifties and sixties . It's a classical recounting about a strange visitor who is really an expert harpoon thrower surrounded by cowards and frightening people . The highlights of the film are the climatic shootouts , and , of course , the final showdown between the harpoonist and the gunslinger . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Dalton Trumbo , who often used pseudonyms as Ben Perry or Millard Kauffman , that's why he had been blacklisted as a subversive , being pursued by House Un-American Activities Committee o House Committee on Un-American Activities or HUAC during the McCarthy Red Scare time . The enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the peculiar relationships among the main characters played by Robert Mitchum , Nedrick Young , Carol Kelly and Sebastian Cabot . Magnificently performed by Robert Mitchum as a Swedish whaler is out for vengeance when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land , while their enemies start reevaluating their attitudes . Mitchum is an awesome expert in the art of conjuring sensational acting without overacting , here he's joined with other nice players , in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople , such as Sebastian Cabot and Nedrick Young . Furthermore , the unknown Carol Kelly , Eugene Martin and the regular secondary Frank Ferguson .

A well made film with perfect cinematography in black and white by Ray Rennahan . As well as atmospheric , exciting musical score by composer by Gerald Fried , it is competently performed , no strings or other big orchestra elements , but consisting of mostly solo horn , trumpet , tympanic sounds , acoustic guitar and percussion. Masterfully directed by Joseph H Lewis who chooses all the right angles for a real impact and never puts a wrong foot . Lewis was a B craftsman who directed a lot of films of all kinds of genres with a penchant for Noir movies, with his masterpiece : Gun Crazy , as he made Drama, Thriller, Action, Western , such as Terror in a Texas town, 7th cavalry, The Halliday brand, A lawless street, Cry of the hunted, Retreat hell, Desperate search , A lady without passport, The undercover man, So dark the night, My name is Julia Ross, The mad doctor of Market Street, The gang of mine and his greatest hits were The Big Combo and Gun Crazy . Rating 7/10. Better than average . Essential and indispensable watching for Robert Mitchum fans and Western aficionados .

In El Dorado John Wayne has occasion to remark to Ed Asner that since he doesn't carry a gun himself he hires it done. And then the Duke went on to make some remarks about the quality of his help.

But the reverse of the coin is when who you hire is too good for you to argue with. That was the problem that Sebastian Cabot has with Ned Young, a brooding killer who he hires to intimidate some farmers to get off land that unbeknownst to them has oil. It was at the end of the frontier days and the great oil discoveries that were to make Texas and oil synonymous were just being discovered.

One guy who won't be pushed is a Swedish farmer who Young kills. His son played by Sterling Hayden comes to town asking questions. Like Hayden in real life, the son is a seaman who's strange in that western environment. He carries no gun, but only a harpoon from his seafaring days.

By this time Hayden was ready to leave Hollywood for Tahiti and was just trying to earn enough money to sail there with his kids. He'd been a friendly witness at the House Un American Activities Committee It must have been a bit strained on the set because the screenplay was by Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten. Trumbo was still writing under pseudonyms though.

Hayden walks through his role, the real acting here is done by Ned Young and Sebastian Cabot. Both of them are a pair of hateful people, Cabot the greedy capitalist and Young the stone killer.

Western fans won't be disappointed however, especially at the final confrontation at the end.