CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

rsternesq I do not believe I watched the whole thing. I tried. I really, really tried. I tried to like something of it but let's face it. This isn't Gary Cooper and this isn't High Noon and no one is going to Yuma. What a politicized mess. tell me something I don't already know. Bad guys are bad and good guys are good and bad girls are good too. Glad we got that straight. Now let's get on to the trashing of normal everyday folks to Dalton can be happy in his red diaper. Feel better now? Good. I think this one belongs back in the drawer. Back of the drawer. If you want to watch a western, there are many better ones readily available. This one is not worth the time. Sterling is better served in his other ventures and so are the others in the cast. Even if you only have one station and this is the only thing on, read a book. Rent Sparticus. Don't bother with this waste of film and effort all around.

johnbmoore This strange, surreal film is unique among westerns of the era. While it contains most of the standard western clichés, every cliché has a twist. The music is bizarre and often doesn't seem to fit, but that just adds to the offbeat feel. The acting is odd but perfectly suited to the film. Hayden's take on a Swedish accent and speech patterns bounces from realistic to annoying to non-existent, but his performance is excellent, as is Cabot's. The story is riddled with moral dilemmas that give it surprising depth. Don't be fooled into thinking this is just another B western. This movie has a quality that is difficult to describe. Strangely great.

st-shot Terror in a Texas Town has the look of a film that was made on the cheap over a long weekend but it's harpoon toting hero and quirky villain make it interesting enough to go the distance with.Swedish immigrant George Hansen comes to Texas with the intention of working on his father's farm. He arrives however to find out his father has been murdered by Johnny Crale a hired gun of greedy and treacherous oil man Ed Neil who is out to steal farmers oil rich property. When Hansen can't get any satisfaction from the law he takes it into his own hands.When you look at Terror's roster of black listed players (Dalton Trumbo,Sterling Hayden, Nedrick Young) you get the feeling this a desperate quickie trying to put food on the table but Trumbo and director Joseph Lewis give this generic western with a twist a lot more bite. Taken as microcosm Terror in a Texas Town takes a swipe at a corrupt capitalist society. The sheriff is in the oil man's pocket and wears his xenephobia on his sleeve thwarting any attempt by Hansen to get the justice he has a right to. The power of big oil flexing its muscle and influence in Terror eerily reflects the arrogance displayed today by BP and the Gulf oil spill that as I write has still not been remedied. Performances are unremarkable save for Young as the rusting gunslinger who does a Bogart/Marc Lawrence hybrid that is inconsistent but interesting. Everyone else looks like they may have had only one take to get it right. Still, Lewis is to be commended for his savvy decision of capturing audience interest by inserting some of the final scene into the film's opening. This B movie king certainly understood the public.

arbesudecon Didn't know this was scripted by Dalton Trumbo , or by someone on his behalf let's say, due to the circumstances which surrounded the guy during the 50's. His script here is not particularly impressive , plot is quite dull indeed ,typical revenge history focused on the clash between the righteous and noble country boy and the hired gun whit conscience troubles who knows that the end of the road is getting closer for him . We have seen this history a million times , so accomplishments of this films are mostly on the visual side, the way it was beautifully shot in black and white , relying on the dark ambiances to make up for the lack of budget ...Lewis definitively knew how to do that . The whole tone of hopelessness and deception given to the film reminds me a bit of Ow Box Incident ( but that was a much better film ) The impression I get after having seen this is that with a tighter script the outcome could have been much better , ( for instance why Sterling and his father are using an harpoon ? it appears this was the only weapon they could find but it's clear that there are people in the village who have guns and ammunition …ok maybe it's just a symbol )Sterling never was a hell of an actor let's admit it. He was quite solid and managed to complete dozens of good films throughout his career but when it comes to acting he was not specially skilled .He knew to play though characters which made him a perfect choice for film noir and westerns , but don't ask him for much acting , his presence was enough . Problem here is that he had to play a Swedish character and his accent is a bit ridiculous , but his impressive presence and his stiff face contribute a lot to the elegiac tone of the film .