The Intruder (1962)

A man in a gleaming white suit comes to a small Southern town on the eve of integration. He calls himself a social reformer. But what he does is stir up trouble--trouble he soon finds he can't control.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles Beaumont (screenplay), Charles Beaumont (novel)

Stars:

William Shatner, Frank Maxwell, Beverly Lunsford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Adam Cramer
Frank Maxwell	...	Tom McDaniel
Beverly Lunsford	...	Ella McDaniel
Robert Emhardt	...	Verne Shipman
Leo Gordon	...	Sam Griffin
Charles Barnes	...	Joey Greene
Charles Beaumont	...	Mr. Paton
Katherine Smith	...	Ruth McDaniel
George Clayton Johnson	...	Phil West
William F. Nolan	...	Bart Carey (as William Nolan)
Phoebe Rowe	...	Mrs. Lambert
Bo Dodd	...	Sheriff
Walter Kurtz	...	Gramps
Oceo Ritch	...	Jack Allardyce (as O.C. Ritch)
Jeanne Cooper	...	Vi Griffin

Storyline

A man in a gleaming white suit comes to a small Southern town on the eve of integration. His name is Adam Cramer. He calls himself a social reformer. But his aim is to incite the people against letting black children into the town's white school. Soon he has the white citizens of the town worked up. He thinks he's leading them; but a man he befriends and immediately betrays knows better. The people have become a mob. The black leader of a church and a white newspaper editor soon feel its wrath. But after a false accusation against a black student, Adam Cramer may find the people are totally and permanently out of his control.

---

Plot Keywords:

church bombing | lynch mob | burning cross | kkk hoodie | racial integration | 

---

Taglines:

He Fed Their Fears And Turned Neighbor Against Neighbor!

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language, some violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1963 (Norway)

Also Known As:

I Hate Your Guts!

Filming Locations:

Charleston, Missouri, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roger Corman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer/Director Roger Corman allegedly blamed star William Shatner's performance for the box-office failure of the movie, and the breaking of Corman's perfect track record of successes. Shatner jokingly suggested years later that the re-release title "I Hate Your Guts!" was probably aimed at him.

---

Goofs

When Adam turns off the light in Vi's room, the "night light" that is supposed to counterbalance it goes on a little too early.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Adam Cramer: [to the little girl he helps out of the bus] There you go... Ma'am.
Little Girl's Mother: Thank you... What do you say to the nice gentleman?

---

Connections

Featured in Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)

User Reviews

One of the best films on the subject of racism ever made

I first took interest in searching this film out after reading brief

descriptions of the plot in film magazines such as Filmfax, if for no

other reason than to witness a strange and lost acting performance by a

young William Shatner. William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, an

otherwise ridiculed actor infamous for his choppy delivery and over the

top hamminess, playing a white supremicist?! Produced and directed by

Roger Corman?! The description was too good to be true, and after

locating the recently released DVD I was prepared to view some fun,

campy, unintentional low budget laugh-riot. What a got was much much

more.

This is easily the finest film Roger Corman's ever made, not to mention

the finest acting performance of William Shatner's career. Anyone who

makes fun of Shatner's acting ability should see this film, not to

mention most of his early-pre Trek performances in the Twilight Zone and

other early television roles. The man's a superb actor! The film is jaw

droppingly shocking and daring, especially when you consider that it was

released in 1961. No doubt segregation was a touchy topic at the time,

but few directors would have had the balls to release this film, and it

took a maverick like Corman to do it. There's no sugar coating of the

subject of racism here, this is hard raw drama that pulls no punches

with a superb script by Charles Beaumont. The dialogue is powerful and

biting, with racial slurs sprinkled throughout and the violence and

imposing threat are portrayed in a realistic and frightening manner.

Unfortunately, while society has arguably come a long way since 1961,

our "political correctness" of late has so homogenized our acceptance of

challenging subject matter that we try to sweep it under the rug and

pretend it never happened instead. Given the power of this film, it's no

wonder that a fantastic and thought provoking film like this has little

chance of being seen on network or cable television today. Offensive or

not (it's funny but the people who seem to be most offended by this film

are white), this film represents an important part of our American

history, and thus should be preserved and viewed for generations to come

so that we never forget. But for now, The Intruder will have to settle

for the title, "cult status" until modern society is ready to view