The Intruder (Roger Corman, 1962)
May 13, 2024 2:43:30 GMT
therealcomicman117, stephen, and 1 more like this
Post by pupdurcs on May 13, 2024 2:43:30 GMT
In remembrance of Roger Corman, I watched his 1962 film The Intruder, a searing, brutal character study about the danger and infiltration of hatred. William Shatner stars as Adam Cramer, a Northern outsider who arrives in the Southern town of Caxton, well spoken and charming....but his agenda to incite racial hatred creates chaos in town that was already primed for a racial powder keg because of recent laws enacting desegregation in the town's formerly white only high school.
Even by today's standards, it's an uncomfortable watch. The language used is not something you'd typically expect from a drama made in this time (The N-word is used repeatedly). This is a serious minded film, directed with confidence and assurance by Corman. Anybody who thinks of Corman as primarily a genre filmmaker of B-movies, will see in this movie someone who could easily have been a "prestige" director.....Stanley Kramer with a lot more edge. This film actually makes the similarly themed, but far more successful In The Heat Of The Night look a bit tame.
Lots of fine performances from an ensemble cast of character actors, but the main acting plaudits have to go to Shatner, playing a very difficult role with skill and restraint. In his white suit and ability to convince others with his words, he is almost the dark, white supremacist side of Henry Fonda's Juror 8 in 12 Angry Men. It's probably the best performance Shatner has ever given on film and he would have been a worthy Best Actor Oscar nominee in a year that had Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird and Peter O'Toole in Lawrence Of Arabia. Anyone who claims Shatner has never done Great work as a film actor should probably see this.
Excellent movie and well worth watching.
The film is available to watch for free on YouTube.
Even by today's standards, it's an uncomfortable watch. The language used is not something you'd typically expect from a drama made in this time (The N-word is used repeatedly). This is a serious minded film, directed with confidence and assurance by Corman. Anybody who thinks of Corman as primarily a genre filmmaker of B-movies, will see in this movie someone who could easily have been a "prestige" director.....Stanley Kramer with a lot more edge. This film actually makes the similarly themed, but far more successful In The Heat Of The Night look a bit tame.
Lots of fine performances from an ensemble cast of character actors, but the main acting plaudits have to go to Shatner, playing a very difficult role with skill and restraint. In his white suit and ability to convince others with his words, he is almost the dark, white supremacist side of Henry Fonda's Juror 8 in 12 Angry Men. It's probably the best performance Shatner has ever given on film and he would have been a worthy Best Actor Oscar nominee in a year that had Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird and Peter O'Toole in Lawrence Of Arabia. Anyone who claims Shatner has never done Great work as a film actor should probably see this.
Excellent movie and well worth watching.
The film is available to watch for free on YouTube.
