The Intruder

With 100 times the budget ($80K) of Roger Corman's The Intruder, lesser directors have created thousands of films with less than a hundredth of the intelligence, sensitivity, entertainment-value and raw power of this film. Charles Beaumont, the unfortunately short-lived author and screen-writer, was contracted to produce a screenplay from his novel (and appeared in the film as the beleaguered but morally just principal of a newly integrated school), a young but accomplished William Shatner was hired, and a few veteran character actors were brought on board. Most of the actors and crew were locals who, according to Corman, didn't know very much about what they were getting into. The rest is legend.

Corman indulged in a form of guerilla film-making to make a statement that he felt needed to be made. Corman, the cast and the crew were thrown out of two locations, worked under constant threat of physical violence, and wrapped this lean, tight, morality play in a grand total of three weeks. Most of the cast had literally NO acting experience. Does it show? Occasionally - but in the end the odd representations of some of the extras in the mob only adds to the film's realism.

The Intruder is a story which examines the ease with which a charismatic leader with a pernicious all-consuming hunger for power can exploit fear to rally otherwise normal people into irrationality, violence and hatred. William Shatner stars as Adam Cramer, a northern hate-monger who has just arrived in the small southern town of Caxton to sow the seeds of racial violence just as the town has begun to integrate its schools in compliance with federal law. Cramer preaches non-violent resistance, but is unwilling to stand in the way when his followers escalate the issue in their own way. His powerful and dramatic speaking ability and his cunning turn most of the town's white minority against their black neighbors, culminating in his orchestration of a vicious frame-up of an innocent student.

Cramer is, in one way or another, behind almost everything that happens in this film. Yet the film does not permit facile scape-goating of this single sociopath. Rather, it indicts ignorance in general, and racism, hatred and intolerance much more specifically. Amazingly, it does so without exploiting stereotypes of southerners, yankees, blacks, whites, or anybody else. The Intruder deals with its subjects without reducing them to anything that could be wholly represented or analyzed in the hour and half of intense drama the film gives us. Instead, the Intruder leaves its subjects wide-open and raw. If you view this film about once every 6 months, you might just take something different away from it each time.

I do not believe the rumor that Roger Corman has ever, in any way, suggested that William Shatner's performance destroyed this film's box office potential. In interviews, Corman has consistently given Shatner a great deal of praise for his award-winning portrayal of evil incarnate. And rightly so. Shatner is nothing short of incredible in this film. He clearly dedicated everything he had to this film, and it shows. Other noteworthy performances are given by Frank Maxwell, Robert Emhardt and Charles Barnes.

The film is pristinely directed - lean and economically edited, even for Corman. The cinematography is straightforward and clean. And the locations are entirely appropriate - another Corman trademark.

Possibly the best truly low-budget film I have ever seen. Would-be film-makers, even some established big-budget purveyors of modern junk-food-film should learn a great deal from a careful study of the Intruder.

After years of debate, the courts have finally ordered the desegregation of the nation's schools. A small (and fictitious) Missouri town must deal with the issue as black students go to the previously all white school for the first time.

Enter Adam Cramer (Shatner), a representative from Washington of the Patrick Henry Society. He claims to be a social worker, but it turns out that this society is a racist organization opposed to desegregation. Cramer hopes to interfere with the court-ordered policy and begins to stir up the community with fiery rhetoric and bold tactics. Cramer soon discovers that the mob he has helped create is beyond is ability to control.

"The Intruder" is a little known film written by Charles Beaumont (a core writer for "The Twilight Zone" and a screenwriter for many of American International's classic 1960s horror films) and directed by Roger Corman. It shouldn't be little known. This is arguably the best and most important film ever made by Corman and perhaps by Beaumont as well. Shatner puts in a sterling performance as the racist Cramer and the supporting cast, which included both veteran actors and local citizens from the town of Charleston, Missouri (where it was filmed), is also excellent. Corman and Beaumont took on some seriously volatile subject matter and used both tact and intelligence to tell a story and send a message. For those who are more sensitive to racist language or who are caught up with political correctness, "The Intruder" might be somewhat abrasive or uncomfortable to watch. Personally, I think that this would be ideal for viewing in high schools and colleges that are studying the subject of racism and integration in the United States. Regardless, for those seeking a well made, well acted film

As a white Northerner at 15, I had no idea in 1960 of what rude realities awaited me as I hitchhiked through the South that summer. In Birmingham I was thrown into the two worlds of black/white; I was escorted out of the black's bathroom at the bus station, kindly - gently - but firmly. I witnessed prayer-sayers at street corners extolling salvation and gateways leading away from oppression, people coerced to sit in the crowded back of the bus... whites throwing epitaphs at anyone black who happened to pass by... By the time I reached New Orleans, I had had a complete education in racial prejudice and hate. I was stunned.

So forty years later I watched the Intruder. It left me cold and I begin remembering that trip to the South so long ago. Sitting here in my easy chair in South Carolina today, I can say that some things have changed and some things haven't.

The movie, at least from my experience, presents a milieu that is faithfully true of the South in the early '60's. Of course, it descends from that point into the murky depths of the manipulation of fear and hatred within the human spirit. It is a raw, dramatic expose - hard to watch at times. And I can't respect enough that this movie is so cutting edge and so truly represents the attitudes and motivations of folks during those days.

For the adventurer who has a curiosity of how life was in that period, and for the psychology buff who is interested in the roots of human nature, this movie is a must.

dnk

William Shatner is very good in this film portraying a charismatic white supremacist who drifts into a small southern town to preach hate at the time the local high school is beginning to be integrated.

Extremely bold and brutally honest portrayal of race relations in the South in the early 60's when the film was made. By viewing it I can see it must have been way too inflammatory for its time. Yet, some parts of this flim made me kind of tense/uncomfortable. Therefore, I don't see it getting wide acceptance in today's politically correct world either.

Despite this, the film's theme and moral messages are ageless. The script is so intelligently written coupled with Shatner's convincing performance, I was not given impression that this is considered a "B" movie. OK, well maybe there are a few scenes that may indicate that but they are outnumbered by the compelling drama throughout the film. The final 5 to 10 minutes are particularly tense which may actually be hard to watch.

A commendable effort, I had no regrets in plucking down a few bucks to buy this flick.

Roger Corman is most famous for making cheap movies that turned in a big profit. As you might expect, therefore, a vast number of these were absolute rubbish that made you wonder how they ever managed to make a penny, let alone a profit. It is highly ironic therefore that The Intruder is both Corman's first non-profit making film, and one of his very best. Most of Corman's films, while at times entertaining and fun to watch, don't have much in terms of substance; but this is not the case with The Intruder - a film which both entertains and makes you think. The film focuses on Adam Cramer - public speaker and devout racist, dedicated to turning small towns across America against the idea of social integration. The courts have ordered the policy, and so Cramer sets out about inspiring hatred to create a mob to put an end to social integration by brute force. All is going well for the man and his hateful agenda, but when events start to escalate, he finds that the mob he has created is stronger than its leader.

I know that this film didn't cost much to make because it was directed by Roger Corman, but if you didn't know that; you'd never have guessed. There are no big stunts in the film, but the production values are surprisingly high and the acting surprisingly good. The Intruder is bolstered by an excellent performance from William Shatner. Corman apparently blamed the poor box office run on Shatner - but I have no idea why! Shatner does a great job of providing a great portrait of his character - suitably slimy, yet obviously cowardly beneath his confidant public persona. Perhaps the best thing about this film is its simplicity. Bigger films such as American History X have attempted to make a point about racism with not as much success as Corman has here. The scenes that show the crowds really getting behind Cramer's words of hatred are poignant indeed, and the conclusion to the tale both makes a point about bigots and provides a suitable conclusion to Adam Cramer's character arc. Overall, The Intruder is one of the best and most though-provoking films on the tentative subject of racism that I have ever seen, and it comes highly recommended to all!