Ziglet_mir If you are reading this review than it is probably because you were/are as interested as I was/am about watching 'Terror in a Texas Town.' As the few reviews have already mentioned, yes, this is probably one of the strangest westerns out there but strange in all the right ways. I mean, how often do you see a film start off with the top-billed actor walking intently down the middle of the street with a harpoon in arms, let alone in a western? Then, there is a slight monologue from the opposing man as we face his back (and we don't see his face). We are already hooked and want to know more. Who is that blonde in the crowd? Who are those people and why are they watching? And why does one man carry a harpoon? The film begins with this startling image, provides an alarming western montage, and gives us the title card to then begin guiding us through the events that lead up to the unorthodox standoff we began with.Parts are indeed flawed, but what do you expect from a B-western? The biggest qualms are more than likely the choice of music, some instances of the editing, and Sterling Hayden's floundering Swedish accent. But there is A LOT of good to enjoy which makes this film absolutely worth seeing.We are led to believe that Hayden is the main character when I think there is more to look at through Ned Young's leather-clad gun-for-hire. Some of the previous reviews mention this; that there is a moral grey area this film conveys. Ned Young's Johnny Crale, who does all the dirty work for the greedy fat man McNeill, is troubled from the start. We learn that he and McNeill have had a past and that Crale is not the same person. He has changed, but for better or for worse? What does he seek from their relationship? And I suppose the same question can be asked of Crale's and Molly's bond. And everything that was so wacky about that first confrontation now makes more sense, but not in ways we could have imagined. Now we know who the characters are and where their motives lie and the context of the situation. The Swede wants revenge for his father's death and the townspeople want to watch on like the curious bystanders they are. Society wants its victim, and so gets it. Because we need a bad guy when we know that Crale isn't the only one. As you watched the movie and got back to the confrontation how many other morally inept people were there? And how many does the Swede actually take on? Kinda puts things a bit more in perspective, doesn't it?The loyal Mexican friend, Mirada, played by Victor Millan is the other mention-able part of the film, and the other major contribution to Johnny Crale's character development. Mirada knows, and Crale makes him pay but not without their confrontation changing Crale more than he suspected. During the scene nothing out of the ordinary happens and then the scene ends. It isn't until we watch Crale confront his girlfriend Molly that we see how truly disturbed he has become. "I saw a man this morning who wasn't afraid to die. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND."Highly recommended B-western, with a lot going for it especially if you like a little bit of a change-up to the normal prescription.

LeonLouisRicci The common man, in this respect a Whaler from Sweden, versus slick and soulless Capitalists. The greedy, rich Men representing the System can purchase fancy attire, and expensive and flashy weapons of destruction. But our lower class type of an immigrant sod buster dresses in plain clothes and is forced to use the tools of his trade to defend his honor and exact revenge.There are no subtle representations here and it is all framed like Artful arrogance and what this stylish B-Western presented is nothing less than one of the most unique and classy Proletariat Pictures from a decade that was full of mediocre meanderings from others by the wagon load.This Norish Western was the last for an unsung B-Movie Master Joseph H. Lewis and his underrated work was missed but not forgotten among Film Historians and Movie Lovers. This is not as good as The Big Combo (1955) or Gun Crazy (1950), but very few Films are. He was great at entertaining and messaging with a flat out frenzy of style and pomp that made His Movies, and this one is certainly no exception, quite different and much better than most.

secondtake Terror in a Texas Town (1958)The first five minutes of this movie is fabulous a play of archetypes, with a showdown, some cattle breaking free and stampeding, a raging fire, and some close ups of sad faces lit by the flames. In fact, in the wide screen black and white, it seems most of all like a precursor to the spaghetti Westerns, dramatic and just a hair "arch" in its excess, music, photography, acting and all. It all takes place in a little Texan town called Prairie City.This is a great movie right off the bat, but it isn't sustained. It tries too hard sometimes, and unlike "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" it talks too much for its own good. There is an overweight bad man (Sebastian Cabot of all people) who has a maniacal laugh, a tough guy gunslinger (Ned Young) with a fast draw and a metal arm, and there is a stoic good guy (Sterling Hayden) who depends on his stoicism and morality to stand up against them. Men are strong, women are to be kept in bed (or so the gunslinger tells his dame), and life is hard. In addition to the wood frame one street town and the hardworking farmers there is the discovery of oil, and lots of it, an appropriate twist in this final chapter of the Wild West.The director is a favorite of mine, Joseph H. Lewis ("Gun Crazy" and "The Big Combo" both precede this one), and it has some of the same crudely cut archetypes and stiff dialog. But this is part of the style (he surely knew what he was doing), and adds to the blunt force of the story. There are moments of raw and brutal violence and sections of peaceful bucolic life. People are oddly realistic even if the movie isn't. This is a kind of warm up to about fifty episodes of a classic television show called "The Rifleman" that Lewis directed, playing with simple stories well told but quickly arranged. Sam Peckinpah initiated that show, and we can see some back and forth influence between the two directors.It is a bit odd to hear Sterling Hayden with a Swedish accent. He plays a kind of simple fellow, but good hearted, and neither quality is exactly useful in this rough town. Hayden ends up a caricature, and not a good one. He is filled with such strained affectations, and he plays a "good" person, but he doesn't sweep you into his cause because he's just plain weird. But of course he prevails, and the last five minutes is much like the first, and you see that justice is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve but you have to keep trying anyway. It's a strain, but an archetypal one.

MartinHafer Sebastian Cabot is a rich jerk who wants to buy up all the land because there is oil--though none of the locals are aware of the oil. With the help of an evil gunfighter in black, they kill and terrorize everyone. When the son of a murdered man arrives, he refuses to back down and stands up to these forces of darkness.Wow. As I watched TERROR IN A Texas TOWN, I felt as if I'd seen this film many times before and would probably see something like it again. That's because aside from a few novelties (such as Sterling Hayden using a harpoon on the bad guy), it has a plot that is too familiar. Once again, we've got a rich guy who is trying to drive out all the farmers in order to gain control of all the land. And, to do so, he's brought in hired guns to force people to sell or kill them. Been there, done that in just too many films.I love Sterling Hayden in films, but just couldn't recommend this as anything other than a poor time passer.