Š-DR- THE TIN STAR (supplément photos) 2

06/11/2013 07:26 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR (supplément photos)

06/11/2013 07:15 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p28

06/11/2013 07:10 par tellurikwaves

A decent man doesn't want to kill, but if you're gonna shoot, you shoot to kill.

Author: JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom (part1)
21 October 2010

The Tin Star is directed by Anthony Mann and the screenplay written by Dudley Nichols who adapts from a story by Joel Kane & Barney Slater. It stars Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer, Neville Brand, John McIntire and Lee Van Cleef. Loyal Griggs is on black and white photography duty and Elmer Bernstein scores the music.

Bounty hunter Morgan Hickman (Fonda) rides into a small American town with a dead outlaw for company. He's here to claim the reward money put up but finds that most of the town despise him for what he does. However, Ben Owens (Perkins), the town's young greenhorn sheriff, sees something in Morgan that he greatly admires. When Morgan comes to Ben's aid during a run in with the town bully, Bart Bogardus (Brand), it's the start of a friendship that could alter the rest of their lives.

Based on a short story and with no great budget behind it, it was something of a surprise that The Tin Star was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Writing Category (it lost out to Designing Woman - George Wells). Tho classy as a character study, the film has often been criticised for being over talky and preachy into the bargain. This was Mann's first Western movie after leaving behind actor James Stewart and writer Borden Chase after a run of genre defining classics. Here it finds the great director playing safe, producing a Western more in the traditional mould than the psychologically tough edged one he helpedto shape. True enough it is didactic, across the humanistic board, and there's no getting away from the fact that the film reeks with predictability. But Mann still crafts his story well whilst giving it the odd visual flourish; even if it only truly feels like a Mann picture once Ben and Morgan hit the mountains in pursuit of criminals and a wandering boy.
                                                             
It can be argued that The Tin Star is guilty by association with so many similar Westerns of its ilk. It's galling that Mann felt a need to shift from where he was at in the genre to, what? Be accepted? Luckily for Western fans Budd Boetticher was plugging the gap left by the Mann/Stewart fall out with the excellent movies made with Randolph Scott. While Mann returned to arguably great form with Man Of The West (Garry Cooper in the saddle) 2 years later. Fonda here is iconic and every inch the Western dude, eyes like chips of ice and a stubbled face that's home to a mouth that can tell sad tales and impart pearls of wisdom. Perkins is twitchy, amiable and easy to side with as he searches for the skills to solidify his backbone. I don't buy the criticism's of the pair, that they are dressage cowboys, they have a warmth to their pairing, and it proves to be a most engaging father & son like relationship.

Away from the leads, Brand is his customary gravel voiced ball of machismo, revelling in playing another snarly villain. Palmer and Mary Webster aren't asked to do much in the two main female roles, but both are on cue and easy on the eye. While Cleef is only in a small support role but he leaves a marker for better things to come. It 's John McIntire who takes the acting honours as the town doctor, it's a critical role, the catalyst role in fact (I promise you will remember his whole birthday sequence). His turn is a classy bit of glue binding the narrative together.Be it eloquently holding court with common sense chatter,or commanding in his surgical saw bones manner, it's a fine performance from a great American character actor.

I enjoy the film very much, and find on revisits that it has aged better than many other similar themed Oaters. Far from perfect, and certainly miles away from being in the top section of a best of list of Anthony Mann Western's, it's still, however, a film that leaves a favourable mark once the film has reached its memorable conclusion. 7/10

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p27

06/11/2013 06:59 par tellurikwaves

You can master a gun if you got the knack. Harder to learn men.

Author: lastliberal from United States
19 February 2008

It doesn't matter what the genre is, when the writing is great, then the film will usually be great also. This Oscar-nominated film had a superb script that made everything else look fantastic.

Henry Fonda is an ex-sheriff turned bounty hunter that appears in town to collect his reward. He has to wait until it comes, so he ends up befriending the town outcast - Betsy Palmer (before she became Jason's mom), a woman with a half-breed child, and helping the new Sheriff - Anthony Perkins, before he went Psycho and killed his mom.

Fonda gave a measured and stirring performance in a role that was supposed to go to Jimmy Stewart. In the process of helping others, he was able to find himself and turn his life around. In a humorous scene old Doc McCord (John McIntire) had just delivered the 12th child to a farmer that lived in the sticks. It was 2:30 am and he leaned back to sleep in his carriage and told his horse to head home saying, "You probably know the way better than I do." Now, that is the kind of cruise control we don't have on our modern vehicles! A great film that shows how important writers are to the movies.

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p26

06/11/2013 06:53 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p25

06/11/2013 06:49 par tellurikwaves

Stand-out Western marvelously performed and stunningly directed by expert Anthony Mann

Author: ma-cortes
10 November 2010

¨This is the story of the ex-sheriff who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many...the young , novice sheriff he had to teach to wear it- or watch to die and the boy who lived only to wear one of his own ! .. and 40 dollars a month -that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish! The picture deals with a beginner young marshal ( Anthony Perkins ) who persuades veteran bounty hunter (Henry Fonda) to help him to rid a little town of bandits . Meanhile the old gunslinger falls in love with a widow (sensitive acting by Betsy Palmer) who has a half-breed son (agreeable Michael Ray) .

This excellent , meaty Western contains interesting plot , a love story , shootouts and is quite entertaining . This outstanding Mann Western balances action suspense and drama . It's a classic recounting about teaching an unexperienced marshal in charge of an older veteran ex-sheriff . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the educating scenes between master and pupil along the river and when the medic's carriage- very well performed by John McIntire- rattles back into little town while the citizens are waiting his arrival.Top-notch Henry Fonda as embittered gunfighter and magnificent Perkins as green lawman . The traditional story and exciting screenplay by Dudley Nichols won Academy Award nominations.Wonderful cinematography in black-and-white is superbly caught by cameraman Loyal Griggs . Atmospheric and lively musical score by the classic Elmer Berstein .

This is another superbly powerful triumph from Perberg and George Seaton , producers of ¨The country girl¨ and ¨The proud and profane".The motion picture is masterfully directed by Anthony Mann who realized various Western masterpieces such as ¨The furies , Devil's doorway and Man of the West"and several with his habitual star, James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73 , Bend the river,The far country,Man of the West"Rating :Above average;in spite of absence his ordinary star , Stewart, being perfectly replaced by Fonda , ¨Tin star ¨ is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . Well worth watching and it will appeal to Anthony Perkins and Henry Fonda fans .

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p23

06/11/2013 06:41 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p22

06/11/2013 06:34 par tellurikwaves

Author: silverscreen888 (fin)

The rest of the film is in three parts. One is tracking down the men who did it. The second is the young sheriff dealing with Bogardis. And the last is the leave-taking, as Hickman takes Palmer and the boy off with him, and opines that he is going to take up the badge again; he has just remembered why he wore the 'tin star" so long in the first place.

The film's music by Elmer Bernstein is subtle and good. The very fine B/W cinematography was by Loyal Griggs with art direction by J. MacMillan Johnson and Hal Pereira. Joel Kane, Barney Slater and Dudley Nichols provided the script with much above-average dialogue; the period set decorations were done by Sam Comer and Frank R. McKelvy; costumes were designed by Edith Head and they are very fitting additions to a realistically mounted production.

In the cast along with the principals were fine actor Howard Petrie as the Mayor, James Bell, Russell Simpson, and Michael Ray as Palmer's son. Director Anthony Mann has little to work with here; this is a claustrophobic town-based western. But by using shots through a large plate-glass corner window and staging the blocking of scenes cleverly, he gives the film variety in its scenes and a consistent style that seems to come from the dust and the board buildings of the town. This is by my standards quietly a very-good western.

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p21

06/11/2013 06:15 par tellurikwaves

Never Disappointing; Solid, Tough-Minded and Intelligent Drama

Author: silverscreen888 (part1)
20 July 2005

This is a western that its makers claimed was "adult", implying many others were not. What they had in mind is that it dealt with prejudices expressed openly that elsewhere , in adventures set in the West, were mostly the subjects of hints. It is a decently-assembled dramatic western, whose theme is "do no run away from what you want the most". Everyone in town is doing just that when Morg Hickman, played ably by laconic Henry Fonda, rides into town with a dead man over his packhorse's saddle. He is a bounty hunter, and no one asks his side of the tale. The young temporary sheriff, Anthony Perkins, shares the attitude of contempt until he starts to observe the man. Hickman can ignore men, go his own way. And when he learns Hickman has been a long-time sheriff, against advice he asks him for lessons. He wants to be a lawman and a good one...and Hickman sees himself in the boy and agrees, while he is waiting for his money.

He finds a room in the meanwhile with Betsy Palmer and her boy, who is half-Indian. Her husband was an educated and fine man; but the townsfolk do not deal with her socially. He is kind to the boy, and assures her he does not mind spending some time with him. There is also a crusty old doctor, John Mcintire, who does not approve of Hickman for reasons he will not give; a girl in love with Perkins, pretty Mary Webster, and a town bully, Bart Bogardis, powerfully portrayed by Neville Brand, who the young sheriff knows he will someday have to challenge. The major part of the film shows us the young man unlearning misassumptions under Fonda's tutelage. They meet the McGaffey brothers, while out doing shooting practice, played by Lee Van Cleef and Peter Baldwin.

Š-DR- THE TIN STAR de Anthony Mann (1957) p20

06/11/2013 06:07 par tellurikwaves

The Western as an Art Form

Author: sumocat from Cleveland, Ohio
12 August 1999

This film is a classic. Henry Fonda as the lone bounty hunter, Anthony Perkins as the tyro Sheriff. Fonda plays this one close to the chest, minimal dialog, maximum emotional effect. Only Jimmy Stewart underplays a western tough guy as well as Fonda.

We have all the necessary ingredients for a fine screenplay. We have greed, hate, violence, racism, ignorance, and just plain human decency all exposed on screen with an even pace to measure the morals meted out by Fonda's character as the plot unfolds.

You want both to be a character in this story and yet stay as far away from it as possible.So it fails as a fairy tale, but succeeds in taking our souls for a walk outside our values and qualifies as a fine tale of human endeavor. See this film, the western context only enhances the plot line. I highly recommend it.