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:

For $40 a month and a shiny Tin Star... the young sheriff faced the mob alone... except for the angry ex-sheriff who couldn't watch him die and a hero-worshiping boy who lived only for the day he'd wear a TIn Star of his own!

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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 are more temporary then you think'

Directed by Anthony Mann, The Tin Star is quite a remarkable Western that revisits a classic pattern of the genre though deviating from it a bit by introducing some new models. It features superb performance from Henry Fonda as an experienced ex-sheriff Morg Hickman who recently lost his wife and only child and travels to a small town where the newly appointed young and ambitious sheriff Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins) faces quite a strong opposition from much older and tougher Bogardus who has a shot at occupying his post.

The two of them soon become friends and Morg starts to give a valuable help to the young man passing him his vast experience in practicing sheriff's job. Meanwhile Morg finds a place to live at home of a widow Nora Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) who lives with her young son and is treated like outcast among the town's population, especially Bogardus and his gang because of her previous marriage to an Indian. Promptly they develop quite a deep attachment for each other primarily based on their similar nature of being quite different from the other people surrounding them and the bonding fact that both of them suffered a deep personal loses of husband in Nora's case and wife and son in Morg's.

The confrontation between the two parties ensues when one of the town folks is attacked and killed by a couple of unknown men and the next day the same fate riches the most respectable and loved Dr. McCord (John McIntire) whose entering the town on a carriage at the day of his birthday scene is probably one of the most remarkable in the Western's history. The town's people join Bogardus and form the party to find and lynch the murderers while young sheriff Ben wants to capture bandits alive and give them a fair trial and is joined in this undertaking by Morg.

The Tin Star is undoubtedly a very important Western featuring some of the most memorable and heart-warming moments of the genre's history and a wonderful performance from Henry Fonda. 8/10