Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Steve Skafte I expected "The Intruder" to be a great film. I'm not sure what I based that assumption on. It certainly wasn't director Roger Corman, who never showed much promise for drama. And it wasn't the fact that it was filmed in the same era in which it takes place. And it wasn't the cast, which, save for William Shatner, I'd never previously heard about. But, still, I wasn't disappointed. A combination of all these factors make it a lean, straightforward film. Corman brings a B-movie sensibility in the best possible way. Budget and time constraints make for quick scenes, edgy attitudes, and a feeling of extreme immediacy.Most of all, this film rests on the terrifying performance of William Shatner (as the "social worker" Adam Cramer). He is unstable, he is inflammatory, he is seductive. He is an almost unbearably intense on-screen presence in this film. He has the unnerving ability to play a character who overacts, who is unhinged, without appearing to be so as an actor. Not that it would matter. Even if he truly was as unstable and complex as the character he portrays, it doesn't take away from the stunning performance.There are artifacts of the time present of course, things which place it in the time in which it was filmed. But these are at a minimum. The actors are remarkably restrained, and straightforward. People speak conversationally, like friends you might know. This is especially evident with Frank Maxwell (Tom, the newspaper man) and Leo Gordon (Sam, the traveling salesman). Both men play men of deep intelligence and a way with words. They are immensely identifiable in their respective roles. The most powerful scene in "The Intruder" is, perhaps, the hotel room confrontation between Maxwell and Cramer. It is the first hint of both Maxwell's strength, and of Cramer's weakness. It is a reversal of sorts, the exposing of the man behind the curtain. There's a dramatic quality to this revelation that hits with real force."The Intruder" is worlds above what its pedigree might suggest. Unlike other, higher-budgeted films on this subject from the era, this one holds up. It's in the trenches, so to speak. In your face, and under your skin. Few films can do that, and do that believably. This one does. Feel free to disagree, but be certain to see for yourself.

johnc2141 I had recently seen shame(aka:the intruder,aka;i hate your guts)and must say i believe its one of Roger Cormans best movies ever,it tackles a very controversial subject,integration in the south during the sixties,well Mr.Shatner plays this racist who goes from town to town stirring up trouble,being a real jerk,i would say being a hate monger,that would make Adolf Hitler proud,i always hear stories that Roger Corman lost money on this film,it flopped.and he blamed William Shatner,which explains why he never cast shatner in any more of his films,well Shatner in a few years from this movie would go on to play Capt Kirk on Star Trek,in 1966,shame is however very well made and realistic,too much use of racial slurs but i guess that makes it what it is.the other actors in shame would go on to play in other Corman films like the haunted palace and other films.i am a big fan of Roger Corman films although he had a few bad ones like carnosaur and the sequels.but this one is one of his best films.10 out of 10

Chris_Docker Have you ever met anyone who maybe isn't what they seem? People do sometimes pretend to be something they're not. For all sorts of reasons. The con-man, the undercover policeman. Is deception per se wrong? More basically, I think it's about whether you're true to yourself as a member of the human race. Any persona intruding on that, will mislead you and others. Whether it comes from them or inside.Adam Cramer. Well-spoken, mild and temperate manner. Qualities that maybe occupy a default 'trust' position. The local hotel is honoured. A clean cut, educated gentleman staying with them – a prize guest, no less! Attractive, too. And did I mention his skin colour? It's white. Not that that would influence you of course.Things seem to change whenever Adam mentions his line of business. 'Social reform,' he says. An out-of-town do-gooder? Messin' with what they know nothing' about? Dominant social ideology can be good. We trust police. Priests. Those sorts of people. Custom, or social pressure. The Intruder is about racism. That it packs so much punch is aided by there being less than half a dozen professional actors. The rest are locals. (And many of a racist persuasion themselves perhaps.) Had they known the film's ending, it might not have been finished. The leading man reported genuine fear and terror on some locations.The NY Times called it, "A major credit to the entire American Film Industry." The Intruder was released in 1961. A time when the Klu Klux Klan, violently opposed to desegregation, would intimidate and attack black people who travelled with white volunteers on 'Freedom Buses'. (It made me ponder anew the biggest segregation question of modern times – the Middle East – where currently the civilised world's answer is nothing less than segregation.) No-one dares appear racist – then or now. It had become suddenly unfashionable (and illegal). But most whites in this Missouri hick-town want things back to how they were. Peaceful like. (In real life, the government had to deploy 500 Federal Marshals to protect the Freedom Riders.) In this setting (moved from the buses to school integration), our story sees how different levels of mob mentality are aroused. Watch for the clever linking of racism with abuse of gender dominance. Both stem from inner weakness, a lack of feeling comfortable with who one really is, a lack of knowing oneself. The Intruder demonstrates, by analogy, how personal insecurities intrude on people's lives. And how they are probably the basis of most crime and moral turpitude. Including, of course, crimes 'blessed by the Lord' – be sure to check out the roles of two different clergymen in our story.The religious angle – in one case the abuse of a religious symbol - is also played out as the night-gowned Mrs Griffin reluctantly entertains her pushy neighbour. Hubby is away. They gaze – almost romantically - out of the window. At a burning (KKK) cross."I didn't know you were a religious man?""You have to admit it's dramatic!" "So is a lynching," she says."That's old-fashioned," he replies. Disingenuously saying, he is there, to "save" lives – not to take them.Mrs Griffin retorts: "And I'm the Empress of China!" She is not so easily wooed by this wolf in sheep's clothing.Racism is abuse of power. This film crew had little power to abuse. Shooting on a mere $80,000 (the director re-mortgaging his home to finance it). But it is powerful stuff. Photography is crisp in black and white, beautifully edited, and the film never for one second looks dated. Superlative scripting, a riveting Adam Cramer, and pitch-perfect grappling with moral issues make it one of the best films of the period. As well as one of the best ever made on race relations.The big downside is this. You may be put off by the names associated with it. Director, Roger Corman: in spite of many good works for people in the industry, is mostly known for trashy horror (which enjoys a considerable cult following). Likewise, leading man William Shatner. None other than Captain Kirk of Star Trek TV. Don't let any prejudice put you off, or you will indeed miss out. The film is in a different category – and class - to anything else either of these gentlemen have ever done.For most civilised countries, things have moved on since the Spanish Inquisition, Hitler's segregation of Jewish people, or the segregation of black people in South Africa / North America. But the film is a salient warning not simply to adopt more sophisticated methods. "Remember," says the rabble-rouser after whipping the mob to a murderous fury, "no violence." That, sadly, is not as old-fashioned as it perhaps should be.

bkoganbing The Intruder was Roger Corman's attempt to be topical and socially significant in 1962 with the Civil Rights movement. The man should have stuck to what he knew best, be entertaining.That's sad because The Intruder had some possibilities and William Shatner wasted a great performance as a racist demagogue. FOr those who want to see Captain Kirk before he became the noble explorer of where no man had gone before, this is your chance. Shatner's anything, but noble in The Intruder.The film is in a small town in the deep south which is finally going to be integrating its schools as per the Supreme Court. Shatner comes to town and starts to whip up the latent sullen racism underneath the town's surface. He recruits leading citizen Robert Emhardt to his cause, but newspaper editor Frank Maxwell is not such an easy sell. Maxwell has a daughter about to enter high school herself so the impending racial crisis hits him right at home.Shatner's also stirring a little domestic crisis of his own by moving in on Leo Gordon's nymphomaniac wife Jeanne Cooper while Leo the salesman is on a business trip. I guess Corman figured if civil rights didn't bring them in at the box office a little infidelity and a steamy sex scene never fails.Well it did fail actually, but mainly because of a muddled script, some unbelievable characters and a bad ending I won't reveal lest people be tempted to see Captain Kirk. I'm still trying to figure out whether Shatner was an advance man for the John Birch Society or the Christian Crusade of Reverend Billy James Hargis. His Patrick Henry Society which he represents in the film seems an amalgam of both.Unless you're determined, this is one film of William Shatner's that beat be left unexplored.