Directed by
Joseph H. Lewis
USA 1958
I don't know that there
is a better way to start a film, western or not, than Joseph E. Lewis' Terror
in a Texas Town (the director's last feature production). The noble music
informs us of an impending conflict and we see a tall blonde man (soon
recognized as Sterling Hayden) marching down the center of an old west main
street. Behind him an interested mob follows at a safe distance. Wait - the
blonde man is caring something on his shoulder - a rifle? - no - too large.
Strange - it looks like... a whaling harpoon?! His unseen nemesis is now facing
him - his back to us... taunting, and his gun and holster are easily accessible
on his hip.
This low budget masterpiece achieves cult status with morally pigeon-holed, one
dimensional characters and enough western conventions to approach a caricature
parody... but it easily ranks as the greatest B-western of all time. The sparse
exteriors were a function of the budgetary constraints but fit perfectly for the
rigid and sparse stylistic composition. A typical western tale of corruption and
revenge - one could only imagine how a more extensive and polished financial
production would have ill-fit the atmospheric script by Dalton Trumbo (not Ben Perry) and B-master
Lewis' uncompromising style that approaches an Ophuls-like exaggeration. One of
the genre's best hidden gems.
Poster
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Theatrical Release: September 1958
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DVD Review: MGM - Region 1 - NTSC
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution | MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:20:48 | |
| Video | 1.85:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.49 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, None | |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Trailer
(1:55) |
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| Comments: |
The digital noise is quite thick and there is a lot dirt on most of this MGM image but it holds together for an acceptable, if unremarkable, transfer. There is a black bar circumventing the frame limiting the horizontal resolution on this 1.85:1 aspect ratio film. The 2.0 audio is consistent and clear and the optional subtitles are a disgusting bright yellow. Only a trailer surfaces as an extra feature. Weak, if standard fare from MGM but the film and price makes it an essential DVD - western fan or not. |
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Recommended Reading for Western Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in
the Hollywood Western (Cinema and Society) by Michael Coyne |
The Invention of the Western Film : A Cultural
History of the Genre's First Half Century (Genres in American Cinema S.) by Scott Simmon |
The Searchers (Bfi Film Classics) by Edward Buscombe |
The Western Genre by John Saunders |
Westerns: Films through History (AFI
Film Readers) by Janet Walker |
The Encyclopedia of Westerns (The Facts on File
Film Reference Library) by Herb Fagen, Tom Selleck |
Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in
Twentieth-Century America by Richard Slotkin |
The Western (Inside Film) by David Lusted |
Red River (Bfi Film Classics) by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues |
Check out more in "The Library"
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| Distribution | MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC | |
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