Terror in a Texas Town (1958) is an odd movie starting with the first scene of a Swede carrying a harpoon down the street of a Western town. The 80-minute movie was the final feature film directed by B-movie director Joseph H. Lewis, and while far from one of the great Western movies of all time, the movie features several unconventional elements that make it worthwhile viewing.
A rough outline of the movie makes it sound like a conventional Western, including similarities to Shane. There is the traditional plot of settlers trying to hold onto their land while a rich man tries to take it away. There is a bad-guy gunslinger. There is a stranger who comes to town who inspires the scared locals to stand up against the bad guys. There is a whore with a good heart. There is the final confrontation. But, if you look deeper, the movie is not your usual Western. Here are eight reasons to see the overlooked classic.
(1) The movie itself has an odd pedigree. Terror in a Texas Town was written by Dalton Trumbo, who was one of the Hollywood screenwriters blacklisted for refusing in 1947 to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Trumbo worked on a number of famous movies, including Spartacus and Papillon, and he wrote the excellent anti-war novel, Johnny Got His Gun. Trumbo was still blacklisted when he wrote Terror in a Texas Town, and the movie also stars two actors who also were called before the Committee: Nedrick Young (who refused to testify) and Sterling Hayden (who testified but regretted it).
(2) Nedrick Young, who wrote the screenplays for Jailhouse Rock and The Defiant Ones and was also blacklisted for a period, plays the evil gunslinger Johnny Crale.
(3) Sterling Hayden, an outstanding actor in several film noir movies as well as memorable roles in The Godfather (1972) and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), speaks with a Swedish accent throughout Terror in a Texas Town.
(4) The movie features Sebastian Cabot, who played the cuddly Mr. French on the TV series Family Affair
(5) The evil gunfighter has a solid steel hand.
(6) The supporting characters may at first appear to be classic Western stereotypes, but as the movie progresses, you realize they have depth and do not follow conventions.
(7) The soundtrack to the movie for the most part sounds like you are in a beatnik nightclub, mostly with a trumpet and drum. Sometimes a little guitar is thrown in.
(8) The final showdown is between the evil gunfighter with his guns and the good guy . . . with a whale harpoon! WTF?
What do you think of Terror in a Texas Town? Leave a comment.
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