The Tin Star

This is a western that its makers claimed was "adult", implying many others were not. What they had in mind is that it dealt with prejudices expressed openly that elsewhere , in adventures set in the West, were mostly the subjects of hints. It is a decently-assembled dramatic western, whose theme is "do no run away from what you want the most". Everyone in town is doing just that when Morg Hickman, played ably by laconic Henry Fonda, rides into town with a dead man over his packhorse's saddle. He is a bounty hunter, and no one asks his side of the tale. The young temporary sheriff, Anthony Perkins, shares the attitude of contempt until he starts to observe the man. Hickman can ignore men, go his own way. And when he learns Hickman has been a long-time sheriff, against advice he asks him for lessons. He wants to be a lawman and a good one...and Hickman sees himself in the boy and agrees, while he is waiting for his money. He finds a room in the meanwhile with Betsy Palmer and her boy, who is half-Indian. Her husband was an educated and fine man; but the townsfolk do not deal with her socially. He is kind to the boy, and assures her he does not mind spending some time with him. There is also a crusty old doctor, John Mcintire, who does not approve of Hickman for reasons he will not give; a girl in love with Perkins, pretty Mary Webster, and a town bully, Bart Bogardis, powerfully portrayed by Neville Brand, who the young sheriff knows he will someday have to challenge. The major part of the film shows us the young man unlearning misassumptions under Fonda's tutelage. They meet the McGaffey brothers, while out doing shooting practice, played by Lee Van Cleef and Peter Baldwin. Then on the way into town for a big celebration the elderly Doctor is being given, he is murdered. The rest of the film is in three parts. One is tracking down the men who did it. The second is the young sheriff dealing with Bogardis. And the last is the leave-taking, as Hickman takes Palmer and the boy off with him, and opines that he is going to take up the badge again; he has just remembered why he wore the 'tin star" so long in the first place.The film's music by Elmer Bernstein is subtle and good. The very fine B/W cinematography was by Loyal Griggs, with art direction by J. MacMillan Johnson and Hal Pereira. Joel Kane, Barney Slater and Dudley Nichols provided the script with much above-average dialogue; the period set decorations were done by Sam Comer and Frank R. McKelvy; costumes were designed by Edith Head and they are very fitting additions to a realistically mounted production. In the cast along with the principals were fine actor Howard Petrie as the Mayor, James Bell, Russell Simpson, and Michael Ray as Palmer's son. Director Anthony Mann has little to work with here; this is a claustrophobic town-based western. But by using shots through a large plate-glass corner window and staging the blocking of scenes cleverly, he gives the film variety in its scenes and a consistent style that seems to come from the dust and the board buildings of the town. This is by my standards quietly a very-good western.

When the experienced bounty-hunter and former sheriff Morg Hickman (Henry Fonda) arrives in a town to claim his bounty for killing a wanted outlaw, he meets the rookie temporary sheriff Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins). Hickman befriends the boy Kip (Michel Ray) and is lodged by his widow mother Nona Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) at home. Meanwhile, Ben asks Hickman to teach him to be a sheriff since he wants to be assigned by the residents to the position. Ben faces a problem with the scum troublemaker Bart Bogardus (Neville Brand) and when a prominent dweller is murdered by two criminals, Bogardus organizes a posse to hunt them down. But Ben has decided to capture the killers alive and give a fair trial to them.

"The Tin Star" is a great western directed by Antony Mann, with the 52 year-old Henry Fonda in excellent shape and Anthony Perkins in one of his first features. The bitter Hickman has a sad past that has certainly affected his behavior, and Anthony Perkins is perfect in the role of the insecure Ben Owens. The happy ending is a counterpoint to "Shane" that has similar situation of a stranger involved with a boy and a widow. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem dos Olhos Frios" ("The Man of the Cold Eyes")

Note: On 03 February 2025, I saw this film again.

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.

¨This is the story of the ex-sheriff who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many...the young , novice sheriff he had to teach to wear it- or watch to die and the boy who lived only to wear one of his own ! .. and 40 dollars a month -that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish ! ¨ . The picture deals with a beginner young marshal ( Anthony Perkins ) who persuades veteran bounty hunter (Henry Fonda) to help him to rid a little town of bandits . Meanhile the old gunslinger falls in love with a widow (sensitive acting by Betsy Palmer) who has a half-breed son (agreeable Michael Ray) .

This excellent , meaty Western contains interesting plot , a love story , shootouts and is quite entertaining . This outstanding Mann Western balances action , suspense and drama . It's a classic recounting about teaching an unexperienced marshal in charge of an older veteran ex-sheriff . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the educating scenes between master and pupil along the river and when the medic's carriage- very well performed by John McIntire- rattles back into little town while the citizens are waiting his arrival . Top-notch Henry Fonda as embittered gunfighter and magnificent Perkins as green lawman . The traditional story and exciting screenplay by Dudley Nichols won Academy Award nominations . Wonderful cinematography in black-and-white is superbly caught by cameraman Loyal Griggs . Atmospheric and lively musical score by the classic Elmer Berstein .

This is another superbly powerful triumph from Perberg and George Seaton , producers of ¨The country girl¨ and ¨The proud and profane ¨. The motion picture is masterfully directed by Anthony Mann who realized various Western masterpieces such as ¨The furies , Devil's doorway and Man of the West ¨ and several with his habitual star, James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73 , Bend the river , The far country , Man of the West ¨. Rating : Above average ; in spite of absence his ordinary star , Stewart, being perfectly replaced by Fonda , ¨Tin star ¨ is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . Well worth watching and it will appeal to Anthony Perkins and Henry Fonda fans .

1957 was a good year for movies and amongst all the strong contenders, The Tin Star still managed to get Oscar nominated for best original screenplay, by the same screenwriter that brought that real trail- blazing classic, Stagecoach, to life.

Anthony Mann's black & white Western isn't a long, sprawling John Ford epic, nor does it feature Ford's often comical characters but at a fairly concise 92 mins it feels like a real book - a story that's never hurried and which includes proper characterisation and dialogue. Those wanting John Wayne spitting into the dust and cowboys and Indians need look elsewhere...

I've always liked Henry Fonda - and whilst many have pointed out that Mann's main man had previously been James Stewart, Fonda takes that slim thoughtfulness that Stewart eschewed and added dignity as well as grit - maybe somewhere between a Wayne and Stewart mix. You can never take your eyes off Henry Fonda - tall, dark and brooding if there ever was one. Anthony Perkins is (of course) very different to Norman Bates in Psycho and for those of us who saw him in that long before this earlier work, will not be disappointed. Fonda plays the older, wiser but now turned to bounty hunter ex lawman, who helps out rookie sheriff Perkins, both strategically but morally, too, when an outlaw gang terrorise the town.

The near-silent ending is as tense as you'll find anywhere within any Western - and you will be both too - silent AND tense...

Radio Times gives Tin Star a rare five stars - and you won't see this undervalued and under-known western on TV very often. It does get onto Sky Movies Classics once in a while but I don't recall it ever being on terrestrial TV, at least recently, so the DVD does make good sense. If you like the western genre and not yet seen The Tin Star, you really should...