The Tin Star (1957)

A cynical former sheriff turned bounty hunter helps a young, recently appointed acting sheriff with his advice, his experience and his gun.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Joel Kane (story), Dudley Nichols

Stars:

Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Fonda	...	Morgan 'Morg' Hickman
Anthony Perkins	...	Sheriff Ben Owens
Betsy Palmer	...	Nona Mayfield
Michel Ray	...	Kip Mayfield
Neville Brand	...	Bart Bogardus
John McIntire	...	Dr. Joe McCord
Mary Webster	...	Millie Parker
Peter Baldwin	...	Zeke McGaffey
Richard Shannon	...	Buck Henderson
Lee Van Cleef	...	Ed McGaffey
James Bell	...	Judge Thatcher
Howard Petrie	...	Mayor Harvey King
Russell Simpson	...	Clem Hall
Hal K. Dawson	...	Andy Miller
Jack Kenney	...	Sam Hodges

Storyline

Veteran bounty-hunter Morg Hickman rides into a town in danger. The sheriff has been killed, and young inexperienced Ben Owens named a temporary replacement until a permanent can be found. Ben wants to be that permanent replacement, so needs to impress the townspeople with his skill. When he finds that Morg was a sheriff for a long time before he became a bounty-hunter, he asks the older man to teach him. Morg thinks that being a sheriff is a foolish goal, but agrees to instruct Ben in handling people, more important to a sheriff than handling a gun.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | county sheriff | agony | shotgun | indian | 

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Taglines:

In the tradition of "The Country Girl," "The Bridges at Toko-Ri," and "The Proud and Profane", Perlberg and Seaton produce another masterpiece in western entertainment!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Tin Star

Filming Locations:

Morrison Ranch, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Perlberg-Seaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Stewart was originally supposed to play Morgan Hickman.

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Goofs

When Morg climbs up to the cave chasing the McGaffey brothers, there's a full camera shadow across him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sheriff Ben Owens: Uh, ju-just getting the feel of these guns.
Morg Hickman: Where's the sheriff?

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(uncredited)
Melody: "Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre"
Traditional

User Reviews

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

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.