Tin Star

It's surprising to me to see The Tin Star (1957), directed by Anthony Mann, released on DVD before some of his other, better westerns like The Naked Spur (1953), The Man from Laramie (1955), or Man of the West (1958) but then I know not of all the ins and outs of the processes that go into getting films released on DVDs. I do know studios often set schedules well in advance, dealing with all kinds of legal rigmarole, securing rights or what have you and all that...but I digress...directed by Anthony Mann, the film stars Henry Fonda (Mister Roberts, 12 Angry Men) and Anthony Perkins (Psycho). Also appearing is Betsy Palmer (horror fans may know her as Mrs. Vorhess from the Friday the 13th series), Neville Brand (D.O.A., Stalag 17), John McIntire (The Asphalt Jungle, Winchester '73), and Lee Van Cleef (The Quiet Gun, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral).Fonda plays ex-lawman/bounty hunter Morgan `Morg' Hickman. As the film begins, we see Morg riding into town with another fellow who seems to have gone the way of the Dodo...that being extinct...seems the recently deceased was a wanted man, and is now being brought into town for the bounty. The town is less than hospitable towards Morg's type, offering none of the pleasantries one would normally afford to a visitor, but that matters little, as Morg's just interested in getting paid. He does make friends with a local outcast named Nona (Palmer) and her half-breed son, and they allow Morg to stay until authorization for his payment comes through. Soon after Morg's arrival, the local sheriff, named Ben Owens (Perkins) request help in the form of advice on, well, how to be a sheriff. You see, Ben, a complete greenhorn if you ever saw one, is substituting after the death (by lead poisoning, if you get my drift) of the last sheriff, who also happened to be Ben's girlfriends father...which brings up a whole subplot about how she won't marry Ben until he gives up being sheriff, but Ben is young and idealistic, and refuses to turn his back on his accepted responsibility, despite the complete lack of support from the town elders (they are truly a bunch of jackholes, scurrying at the first sign of trouble). Ben needs sheriffin' lessons bad, as not only does he have to deal with the towns hotheaded, racist a-hole instigator Bogardus (Brand), but the trouble soon to follow. Morg's recommendation to Ben is to quit, but seeing that's not going to happen he does agree to give Ben a few pointers, but will it be enough to keep the young, inexperienced lawman alive (given the formulaic nature of the story, I would guess yes, but you'll just have to watch and see)?While I did enjoy this film, the weakest part for me was the conventional and often predictable nature of the story, which was actually nominated for an Oscar. How many clichés can one fit into a film? The disillusioned ex-lawman, the young, inexperienced, surely to be killed sheriff and his girlfriend who won't marry him because she thinks his profession too dangerous, the crotchety country doctor, the town bully threatening the new sheriff for control, the widowed woman raising her son, ostracized by the community because of his lineage, etc. That being said, the strengths lie in the strong performances of the main actors and the extremely capable direction of Mann. You can't help but like Fonda's character of the disillusioned ex-lawman, telling the younger Perkins to forgo the life he's chosen, but willing to assist as he sees in Ben what he once was, an idealist in a harsh and unforgiving reality (or, to put it another way, young, dumb, and full of...well, you know), fostering a psuedo father/son relationship. Despite his lack of confidence in the young man, he offers his limited assistance willingly, as deep down he feels a kinship with the character, a spark of innocence he thought long extinguished within himself. Have you ever seen a bad Henry Fonda performance? He's just fun to watch, and always makes it look easy. Perkins plays his role very well, not going overboard, but staying in the boundaries of a realistic character. The other actors provide strong support, despite the stereotypical characters. I think my favorite part was when Fonda's character was giving the young sheriff tips on shooting, and just the study of a situation in general, especially aspects dealing with confronting criminals. This is also a common element in a number of westerns, but Fonda pulls it off so well, setting the cliché, rather than following it. Also, there's a decent and capable musical score by the legendary composer Elmer Bernstein (not his best, but then again a good effort by Bernstein is still better than most). I thought the racial theme, with regards to the scene where Betsy Palmer's character reveals her sons heritage to Fonda's character, a little heavy handed, and perhaps a more subtle approach would have worked better, but either way, the point is made. I found the slightly misogynistic undertones funny, but not unrealistic, especially in the scene where the town doctor (McIntire) is trying to convince Ben's girlfriend her duty is to get married, keep quiet, and start making with the babies. And that brings me to the ending...break out the pancakes because there's no shortage of maple syrupy sappiness here...I don't have a problem with happy endings, but to see everything tied up so neatly seemed like the easy out...or maybe I'm too cynical for my own good...if only things in real life worked out so well.The wide screen anamorphic print on this DVD is very sharp and clear, and the audio excellent in restored mono, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Dolby Surround. There are English subtitles, but nothing else in the way of special features. All in all, a very solid, often predictable westerner that takes very few chances, but does entertain, worthy of 3 ½ stars.Cookieman108

I'm not sure how this movie isn't consistently cited as the most archetypal classic in the western movie genre -- as the best, the standard by which to measure all other westerns. It's near perfect. All the tropes -- the saloon scene, the shootout, the steely-eyed hero, the damsel in distress, the perfect villain who gets his just desserts. And every one of them is on display with no cliche feel and perfect execution. This is the platonic ideal of the classic western. The scenery is perfect. The frontier town is perfect. The music is perfect. The acting is exceptional. The writing pulls it off with no hiccups. And you will literally jump out of your seat and pump your fist when the final shootout happens.

I love the morality in this movie. I think this is Henry Fonda's best western!

Just an ol' hardcore Western movie fan here, and Fonda and Perkins make a great team.

Realistic depiction of the old West, especially police techniques and racism against indians.

Always liked the movie. Great addition to my collection.

Item was as described by the seller and even arrived earlier than projected. Will use this seller again.

This is truly a classic cowboy movie of good and bad, but there are some basic ideas of the old days or the start of basic law enforcement with some under tones of just how politics work even back then then they didn't back the sheriff when the chips were down.

Prime example of a good, well acted and well written western, directed by Anthony Mann; who employs wonderful camera angles and clever editing to conjure up atmosphere and drama in this excellent tale. Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins are exemplary in their roles, ably backed up in supporting roles by the rest of the cast, notably John McIntire and Neville Brand. Any western fan won't be disappointed watching this and definitely worth shelling out for. Someone said on here that they couldn't take to it and you could tell that it was constrained by it's original form as a novel. Not so, I watched it without knowing that it was written as a book, only thinking that it was extremely well scripted, well acted and with imaginative camera work and direction. Excellent. 5 stars.

I'm arriving late to these reviews, so I'm aware how highly the film is already rated in these columns. I see the film has a wide appeal, but I just can't go along. In cinematic terms, the film's strong point is the opening 25" where the antagonism is set up between the bounty hunter and the townspeople, and we see a vulnerable young sheriff living on borrowed time. This gets fine cinematic treatment. But the remainder of the film constantly comes across as a story that doubtless was a great read, but was never given THE CINEMATIC IMAGINATION THAT CAN CONVERT IT TO THE DIFFERENT REALM OF THE SILVER SCREEN. I could never throw off the feeling that I'm watching something still trapped in the pages of a book and I'm getting a non-cinema paraphrase. I learned from the other reviewers here that it won a prize for scriptwriting, but I suspect this was a recognition of literary merit by judges who read it as a literary piece separate from the film. One notices that the film won no awards in cinematic terms. This bookishness crucially compromised the film for me and I can't help thinking a greater insistence on cinematic/dramatic elements would've lifted the film beyond the 3* rating I give it here.

This is a fantastic old mono chrome western from the 1950s, a time when the Americans still made good movies.Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins' acting is super. Would give more stars than 5 if it were possible.

Here we have Henry Fonda handing over the reins to the new generation of actors represented by Anthony Perkins. Perkins comes across as an adolescent teenager given the job of a sheriff. Fonda's role is to be mentor Perkins into a man, and he gets the opportunity to prove himself a man by the end of the film. Although the act was a mature one, I was not convinced that his character matured into a man.Lee Van Cleef plays a villain.

This film should have been better ,what with Fonda and Perkins in it and a good premise for a story however things come a bit askew in the reality department and to be honest I don't think Anthony Perkins looks comfortable at all in this story line. Add to the fact the film is in black and white and it just seems a bit of a drag from middle onwards.