The Tin Star (1957) User Reviews (58)

A Western for Thinking People...

[tim-764-291856 · 8/10 · 25 January 2013]

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...

The Last Lesson

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 14 August 2018]

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 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 end 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")

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

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 19 February 2008]

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.

Unfairly Underrated Western

[jpdoherty · 7/10 · 10 June 2010]

The Paramount Perlberg-Seaton production THE TIN STAR (1957) is an unfairly underrated and for the most part forgotten fifties western. By no manner of means an action packed sublime example of the genre it nevertheless deserves reappraisal for it is a splendid character driven drama set in the west. The Acadamy Award nominated screenplay by Dudley Nichols just crackles with sparkling dialogue and situations. Beautifully photographed in glorious black & white Vista Vision by the great Loyal Griggs (the only Oscar winner from "Shane") it was directed with considerable flair and panache by Anthony Mann. It is curious that here Mann was making a western without the services of his friend and favoured western hero Jimmy Stewart. This time Henry Fonda - Stewart's own best friend was given the lead. Fonda is just perfect in an inspired bit of casting! Always a solid performer Fonda was one of the great stars of Hollywood during the forties, fifties and sixties. Perhaps never gaining the glamorous status of Gable, Cooper or Flynn he nevertheless always displayed winning character portrayals and was never known to give a bad performance. His laid back softly spoken reserved style with that twinkle in the eyes is ever appealing.

In THE TIN STAR he plays Morg Hickman a bounty hunter who, at one time, was a sheriff. He arrives in a town to collect a bounty on a dead outlaw and comes in contact with a young inexperienced deputy Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins). Since bounty hunters are unwelcome in the town Hickman is shunned and asked to leave at first but when he helps out the deputy in a shootout with the town bully Bogardus (Neville Brand) Owens inveigles him to stay and coach him in the finer points of going up against law breakers. He finds lodgings with an attractive widow Nona Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) and her young son Kip (Michael Ray) and after a while strong feelings develop between them (Looking admiringly at her in one scene he quips "Kip is a lucky boy"). A fine set piece ends the picture with the capture of two brothers who have killed the popular town doctor (John McIntire). With the killers behind bars the bad element of the town - led by Bogardus - attempt to storm the jail to lynch them but armed with a shotgun ("a shotgun speaks louder to a mob" advises Hickman) the now well trained deputy faces up to the errant crowd and kills Bogardus. The final scene sees Hickman leaving town in a buckboard to start a new life elsewhere but he is not alone - by his side is Nona and her son.

Supplying the music and adding greatly to the atmosphere of this most pleasing western drama is Elmer Bernstein. THE TIN STAR was one of the composer's early western scores. There is an exciting main theme first heard in its broadest form under the titles. Then there's a playful cue for the antics of the young boy and tender music underscores the film's softer moments. Of course with THE TIN STAR Bernstein was only three years away from what would be his greatest success in a western with his rattling score for "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). His memorable Coplandesque Americana approach would not only thereafter set the standard but would also set the tone for future American western film scores.

The Western as an Art Form

[sumocat · 9/10 · 12 August 1999]

This film is a classic. Henry Fonda as the lone bounty hunter,

Anthony Perkins as the tyro Sheriff. Fonda plays this one close to the chest, minimal dialog, maximum emotional effect. Only Jimmy Stewart underplays a western tough guy as well as Fonda.

We have all the necessary ingredients for a fine screenplay. We have greed, hate, violence, racism, ignorance, and just plain human decency all exposed on screen with an even pace to measure the morals meted out by Fonda's character as the plot unfolds.

You want both to be a character in this story and yet stay as far away from it as possible.

So it fails as a fairy tale, but succeeds in taking our souls for a walk outside our values and qualifies as a fine tale of human endeavor.

See this film, the western context only enhances the plot line.

I highly recommend it.

One of Fonda's Best Westerns...

[terenceallen · 24 June 2004]

...and that's saying a lot when you consider that he was in Fort Apache, My Darling Clementine, and The Ox-Box Incident. But this western, directed by the always dependable Anthony Mann, is a good example of a good story told without a lot of smoke and mirrors. The acting is dead-on, enough to convey character and emotion, but not too much to cheapen or overwhelm the story.

Great performances by Fonda as the grizzled veteran lawman/bounty hunter, Tony Perkins as the green, inexperienced town sheriff, John McIntyre as the town's doctor, and Neville Brand as the town bully. It is thoughtful and powerful, and displays a sense of right and wrong that is strong and uncompromising.

Stand-out Western marvelously performed and stunningly directed by expert Anthony Mann

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 10 November 2010]

¨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 .

"You are more temporary then you think"

[IlyaMauter · 8/10 · 26 May 2003]

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.

Sheriffing School

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 October 2006]

The Tin Star was one of many film projects that Anthony Mann projected for James Stewart. When the two of them came to a parting of the ways on the set of Night Passage, this particular film fell to Stewart's good friend Henry Fonda.

Fonda plays a former sheriff turned bounty hunter who decided it was far better and easier to just bring 'em in any which way and collect a reward. As we all know from the many westerns we've seen bounty hunters were not respectable, but they certainly were necessary and they didn't have the same constraints as regular law enforcement.

Anthony Perkins is the new sheriff in a town where Fonda's come to claim a reward. But he's pretty green and nearly gets killed by town bully Neville Brand, but for Fonda's intervention. He asks Fonda for some lessons in how to do the job. Turns out he gets them in the nick of time.

The Tin Star is not as good as some of the westerns Mann did with Jimmy Stewart, but it's passable enough entertainment. Both Fonda and Perkins have love interests, Fonda with widow Betsy Palmer and Perkins with Mary Webster the daughter of the previous sheriff.

Palmer was previously married to an Indian and is raising a son by him played by Michel Ray. She's shunned by a lot of the 'respectable' folks in town like Brand who has a mean and vicious racist streak in him as well. The Tin Star raises an issue of racism that Mann had not tackled in any of his films since Devil's Doorway.

John McIntire is in the film as well as the beloved town doctor. McIntire was a regular in several Mann films and usually was a villain in them. His murder by Lee Van Cleef sets off the events for the climax of the film.

I like The Tin Star except for the finale. Try as I might, I can't conceive of Neville Brand taking a couple of slaps from Tony Perkins. What I think would have been the case was Brand would have duked it out instead of shooting it out with Perkins. And in a battle of fisticuffs, somehow I think Neville Brand would have taken Perkins.

But maybe I'm just being picky.

Mann's most underrated western

[MOscarbradley · 8/10 · 30 March 2017]

Anthony Mann made this superlative western after completing the last of the Jimmy Stewart westerns, ("The Man from Laramie"), and before he made the Gary Cooper starring "Man of the West" and somehow it got lost along the way despite having been nominated for a BAFTA Best Film award. Instead of either Stewart or Cooper, Mann cast Henry Fonda as the laconic, decent bounty hunter who take a greenhorn young sheriff, (a beautifully cast Anthony Perkins), under his wing.

It's a very simple, traditional piece, shot in black and white by Loyal Griggs and dealing very much in black and white issues. It is a movie with straightforward heroes and villains, (Neville Brand is principal among the bad guys), a strong heroine, (Betsy Palmer), and even a sweet, likable kid, (Michael Ray). If it lacks the psychological undercurrents of other Mann westerns it more than makes up for it in good old-fashioned action and suspense and of all his westerns this may be the most underrated.

Not bad, for a Western

[Horror-yo · 7/10 · 17 July 2016]

This is better than one would expect looking at the poster and cast and what not. Obviously running in at about 1h30, and given its plot, it's not meant to be a masterclass in film making either, but it's always at least interesting to have a watch of Anthony Perkins or Henry Fonda on screen. Here, we're even given a pretty entertaining flick with interesting scenes and fine moments of sensitivity. There's a nice subtly to the film that helps instill a certain sense of fairness, respect and ultimately justice. It's not done in the cheesy way you'd expect though. The characters are good: the film is complex enough in its actors to not be the utterly straightforward affair these often become. Sure it could've had a bit more development, depth, and quality overall, and it really did have potential for more - but this is good enough.

Never Disappointing; Solid, Tough-Minded and Intelligent Drama

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 20 July 2005]

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.

A western that holds up well

[btkh · 7/10 · 27 August 2015]

American's tend to look towards the Clint Eastwood westerns for "gritty realism," in their westerns, yet here is a film that is more realistic than any of Clint's with the exception of Unforgiven.

In his role as a former law-man turned bounty hunter, Henry Fonda shines as the voice of life experience trying to imprint itself on the soul of naive, young Anthony Perkins. Fonda gives Perkins advice that police are still given today by law enforcement training. Exchanges like this one are still true today:

Morg Hickman/Fonda: A decent man doesn't want to kill, but if you're gonna shoot, you shoot to kill.

Sheriff Ben Owens/Perkins: How about hittin' them in the arm?

Morg Hickman: That hokey-pokey'll get you killed fast. There're a lot of guys bragging about shooting a gun out of somebody's hand. They're lying. They shot to kill. A wounded man can still kill you.

This is a movie about standing your ground when the majority are against you and learning hard lessons through bitter experience even when the voice of experience is trying to help you avoid having to learn it the hard way.

If you're in the mood for an older western that is truer to life than you might think, this is a movie for you.

Somewhat disappointing Anthony Mann Western

[doug-balch · 4/10 · 23 July 2010]

Unlike the Stewart/Mann Westerns, this one doesn't seem to have much of a critical fan base. I can understand why, although it's not bad at all.

Here's what I liked:

• Henry Fonda makes a super cowboy. A shame he didn't make more Westerns. A juicy part here as a retired, all-knowing "super-sheriff" who has turned bitter bounty hunter after losing a wife and child in the line of duty. (Randolph Scott played a very similar character in Budd Boetticher's "Ride Lonesome" a couple of years later. Lee Van Cleef also played the heavy in that film).

• Excellent acting by the always reliable John McEntire, once again exhibiting his remarkable range by playing a man 25 years older than himself - and nailing it.

• Nice job by Neville Brand as an Indian hating heavy. Interesting that I had just watched Brand play an Indian character in a comic relief buddy role with John Wayne in "Cahill, U.S. Marshall".

• Morg's romantic interest isn't gratuitous. Women and son are key to the theme of Morg's redemption from "dead only" bounty hunter/loner to family man, with a real job and responsibility.

• Very effective scene where the dead body of Doc McCord is carried into the middle of his 75th birthday celebration by his buggy. This is Anthony Mann at his macabre best.

Here's what kept the movie from being better:

• The plot dragged. I got bored watching this. Dual climaxes of shootout with McGaffeys and confrontation with Bogardus was awkward.

• Parts of the plot seemed blatantly derivative from a couple of very successful movies released a few years before this i.e. Morg's relationship with the little boy ("Shane") and the sheriff being left to fend for himself by the town elders ("High Noon").

• Theme of virtues of "dead or alive" law enforcement didn't interest me and didn't seem relevant to anything.

• Yet another uncomfortable age issue in romantic subplot. Fonda's over 20 years older than his female costar and looks every year of it.

• As usual in Mann's movies, minimal comic relief.

• Black and white "town" Western, mostly filmed in the Burbank back lot with occasional field trips to San Fernando valley. At least everybody got to sleep in their own bed every night.

• Anthony Perkins seems miscast and looks very out of place in the Old West. His character was annoying and implausibly naive.

• Lee Van Cleef underused again. Thank you for coming along, Sergio Leone!

• Civil rights racism theme seems tacked on.

• A myriad of typical Anthony Mann plot holes, including:

How does a single mom invite a complete stranger into her house to share a bedroom with her young son? She knows nothing about Morg when he rides up, except that he's followed her son home. Is she comforted later when she finds out he's considered a vicious bounty hunter? I know she's an outcast in the town too, but she seems a very normal protective mother.

Why do the McGaffey brothers abandon their ranch and hide in the canyon? They couldn't have known Doc's journal would incriminate them, or they would have destroyed it. Without the journal there is no reason anyone would suspect them of killing him.

Assuming that for some unexplained reason they found out the posse was coming for them, what are they accomplishing hiding up in a cave anyway? How long can they last up there? Maybe they have food, but what about water? One brother was just seriously wounded.

Morg has been a smart guy from the beginning, always playing the odds right. Yet he decides to go up against two guys with rifles who have the high ground and know he's coming.

The fact that he vanquishes the dug in McGaffeys with ease - even takes them alive - is almost as implausible as when James Stewart takes out Robert Ryan in the climax of "The Naked Spur".

How could Anthony Perkins be so stupid to think the McCaffeys won't shoot him if he tries to walk up and arrest them. They're guilty! They're going to hang! Why possible motive could they have to turn themselves in?

I could go on, but watching this guy's movies exhausts me.

Mentoring

[sol- · 6/10 · 20 March 2016]

Once a respected sheriff, a cynical bounty hunter takes to mentoring the nervous, inexperienced young sheriff of a sleepy town in this western drama starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins (in the time before he became typecast in psychopath/horror roles). A common criticism of the film seems to be the casting of a timid Perkins as a sheriff, but his uneasiness in the role is very much deliberate and the chemistry between Fonda and Perkins works every step of the way. What does not quite work so well is a subplot with Fonda finding a surrogate son in a local boy of mixed ethnic descent. While a stranger to the town, Fonda is incredulously invited by the boy's single mother to stay at their house, and sleep in his bedroom (!), and when the boy later goes missing, Fonda's search for him is too obviously metaphorical to click (it is revealed that he lost his own son years ago). The entire second half of the film - not just the search for the boy - is weaker than the first half though with more action than acute dialogue exchanges between Fonda and Perkins. The second half does, however, feature a memorable final scene for John McIntire, who is great throughout playing a character one and a half times his actual age. The final showdown is not half bad either. The juice of the film though comes from the first half with the bond between Fonda and Perkins in the spotlight. Fonda almost seems to see a little of himself in Perkins at times, and he curiously seems to admire how genuine Perkins is about a job that he long ago dismissed as not worth the trouble or shiny, bright tin star.

As classic as you can get!

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 9/10 · 30 May 2000]

The contribution made by Henry Fonda to classic Westerns is incredible : he made his point early with "The Oxbow Incident," his potent presence in "Drums Along the Mohawk"... He was excellent as Wyatt Earp in "My Darling Clementine," even better as the stubborn, mistaken lieutenant-colonel in "Fort Apache " a legendary gunman in "Warlock" and the hardened gunfighter-tutor in Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star."

Fonda plays a solitary-bounty hunter ("I'm not the law. I work inside it for money!") who had once been a sheriff, and who had given up the badge in disgust of the shameful way he had been treated by the citizens in a decisive tragic moment of his life—for which he lost his wife and son...

Fonda is quiet, sure, polite, sincere and appealing... Teaching Michael Ray, it was clear that he knew not only his guns but human nature... He is human, kind, anxious, worry and tender with the young boy...

Anthony Perkins is attractive in his doubts about taking action or decision... He is naïve and innocent, also incompetent for the job of an officer responsible for law and order... He always looks to Fonda for leadership, but he is eager to be a firm sheriff...

The conversation between Fonda and Perkins are the heart of the movie, which deals more with character than Gunplay: "You got to keep cool and have absolute confidence. You lack confidence." "A decent man does not want to kill. But if you're gonna shoot, you shoot to kill." "Study men. A gun is only a tool. You can master a gun if you got the knack. Harder to learn man."

The film had racism: When Bogardus kills the Indian, in the back, outside the saloon, he says: "No sheriff will disarm a white man for shooting a mingy Indian.You, an Injun lover?"

Betsy Palmer plays Nona Mayfield, a woman compelled to live outside the town because she married an Indian: "I'm just so used to everybody hating Indians."

The film had also intuition and humor:

• Kip Mayfield to Fonda: "Don't I look like a sheriff?" And Fonda replying: "You look more like a sheriff than the sheriff does."

Abbe Pickett, after being a father for eleven girls and now to a boy, asks: "You sure it ain't another girl?" and the doc replies: "Well, I hope I'm not too old to know the difference."

John McIntire is fine as the old doc whose big dream was: "I wish you two to get together."

Neville Brand enjoys oppressing, intimidating and persecuting...

Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star" is strong on location work, tense, realistic, technically competent... The film had dusty action, and a picturesque old town with its bank, hotel, saloon, jail, hanging tree and all the cowardly citizens turned out to watch...

With elements of "Shane," and "High Noon," the film is a very good Western, 'as classic as you can get.'

good Western

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 19 July 2021]

A fine Western about a middle-aged bounty hunter teaming up with a young and inexperienced sheriff in order to bring law and order to a frontier town. Together they need to fight both criminals and fans of lynching justice...

"The Tin Star" is well-written and suspenseful. It is also brave enough to tackle the theme of racism aimed at Native Americans, by showing the devastation caused by cruel mantras and callous generalizations. Sadly the movie suffers somewhat by its determination to reward the deserving and punish the guilty : its happy ending is too happy to be entirely credible. In real life, it's likely that the story being told would have ended with a number of innocents disappearing into hastily dug graves.

Still, "Star" contains at least one memorable scene worthy of a horror movie, what with a festive crowd throwing a surprise birthday party for a much beloved citizen and receiving a VERY nasty shock instead.

Very fine, relationship driven western

[coop-16 · 9/10 · 30 July 2000]

Anthony Mann's magnificent pyschological westerns, beginning with Winchester 76 and ending with Man of The West,were among the glories of American film in the nineteen fifties.Tin Star is unique in this series of films for two reasons. First, it is slightly "lighter' and more optimistic in tone that the other, darker, films.Secondly, while the other films center around a single, obsessed,( if not POSSESSED)antagonist, usually played by Jimmy Stewart) Tin star is built around a relationship between TWO protagonists, superbly played by Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins. In any other Mann western, Fonda, disillusioned Sheriff-turned cynical bounty hunter would be the near-pyschotic tragic hero.Here, instead,he is the teacher- in fact, the spiritual instructor- of Perkins' naive, stubborn, but brave and idealistic sheriff. The film ends, not with Fondas character trudging off to "walk the earth", like Ethan Edwards, but rather with him ready to begin a new life with son and a family,. At the way, Perkins has become a man capable of leadership in the community. This is, in short, a remarkably rich, thought-provoking film.

Typical, but superior master and apprentice drama

[shakercoola · 7/10 · 20 July 2019]

An American Western; A story about a town marshal-turned-bounty hunter who teaches a young, greenhorn Sheriff how to protect himself in a town where both men are under threat. The film is directed with impressive classical elegance, the story is superior to many other horse operas of the 1950s and the performances are fine. Henry Fonda is appealing as the disillusioned but commanding gunman and Anthony Perkins in winsome as the hero-worshiping boy peace officer. Neither are entirely convincing in their parts but this mainly down to the script's broad moralistic tone. The plot is traditionally a build up and showdown, but it's the production quality of the film, a good story and narrative, crisp photography and camerawork and the use of Vistavision to enhance these effects, and a rousing Elmer Bernstein score, which raises this at least one notch in its genre. The romantic entanglements are fillers to the main theme of the film which is about personal courage - an ultimate test of ability to earn respect.

Fonda teaches Perkins

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 20 January 2008]

This is a great black and white film directed by Anthony Mann who produced some great westerns. Henry Fonda plays the role as Morg Hickman who is a bounty hunter who brings his dead man into a small western town in order to collect this reward money in the amount of $500.00 dollars. The people in this town do not like bounty hunters and show a great deal of anger towards Morg, because they want their prisoners brought back alive and ready to stand trial. There is a newly appointed sheriff named Ben Owens, played by Anthony Perkins who has no experience in being a sheriff and his girlfriend is very much against his wearing a badge. Morg becomes friends with Ben and decides to teach him how to shoot a gun and all the experiences he had as a former sheriff. The town people do not want Morg to stay in their towns hotel and he has to find lodgings with a pretty young gal by the name of Kip Mayfield and her young son. This story has many twists and turns and is not like any other Western story. Great entertainment and outstanding acting by all the actors and Neville Brand, (Bart Bogardus) gave a great supporting role.

A Polished Star!

[spookyrat1 · 7/10 · 7 June 2020]

Good westerns and director Anthony Mann go hand in hand and The Tin Star is no exception. In a lean, economical 92 minutes it tells a story, quite similar in themes to the later, more well-known John Ford opus, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Henry Fonda stepping into the shoes left vacant by Mann's regular leading man James Stewart, plays an ex-sheriff come bounty hunter, who finds himself playing a mentor role to a young inexperienced sheriff played by Anthony Perkins. Using the lessons taught to him by Fonda, Perkins is able to prove his worth to the town's citizens and to himself, by taking on the town bully boy (Neville Brand). Along the way one encounters sub-stories involving the questioning of the pervading casual racist attitudes directed towards the native Americans, whether they be guilty of criminal behaviour or not. There is also a very low key romance developing between Fonda's Morgan Hickman and Betsy Palmer's widowed single mother Nona Mayfield.

Fonda is excellent as usual in the role of the somewhat cynical, but nevertheless compassionate past lawman, who's just about seen it all, when it comes to dealing with all frontier types, both good and bad. Perkins loses nothing in comparison, as the raw, earnest young "temporary" town sheriff, still to be officially consecrated by the town's elders, who is desperate to carry on the previous (gunned down) sheriff's policy of bringing in desperados alive, rather than dead. Neville Brand leaves a strong impression as this town's Liberty Valence type, Bart Bogardus.

The Tin Star is a thoughtful western, telling an unhurried, but always engaging story, complete with solid characterisation and mature dialogue. The film's attractions are little affected by it not being shot in colour and Mann's camerawork, through cinematographer Loyal Griggs, is as assured as ever. This is an oater, whose story, rich in depth and detail, presents as entertaining a look today, as it did over 60 years ago upon its initial release.

Excellent mix of character study and action

[mgolfguy57 · 9/10 · 29 May 2004]

When commenting on The Tin Star, one need only mention one name: Henry Fonda. Unquestionably one of the finest screen actors this country has ever produced, he effortlessly weaves an enjoyable blend of wisdom, grit and compassion throughout this interesting and well-acted western. With an excellent supporting cast (including a very young Anthony Perkins), The Tin Star is a western the whole family can enjoy. Its appeal stems from two primary factors that are the basis of any quality film... acting talent at its best and an interesting storyline that is simple to follow yet captivating for its direct approach to the issues at hand. The DVD quality of this Paramount release is very good, although lacking in extra features. But after watching the movie, I found myself not wanting for anything extra... the feature presentation was left to stand on its own and, in my opinion, did just fine. It's amazing that, nearly fifty years after its release, The Tin Star can still speak to us, if we care to listen, of honest, simple values, the importance of loyalty, and how the difference between right and wrong doesn't always have to be as complicated as today's world leads us to believe. And, of course, having Henry Fonda and his incredible talent to present this package to us can only help to improve any film's chances for success. Highly recommended for any fan of Henry Fonda or westerns of the "High Noon" variety.

OK Western

[funkyfry · 6/10 · 5 November 2002]

Quality western with some good moments and themes, but it's full of melodrama and cliches: "Juanito" style cross-breed kid, widow on the range, Fonda as an ex-sheriff, etc. Fonda is very good and I like how Mann has him photographed in the face, especially in the early parts introducing the various facets of his character's personality. Perkins is, as always, unconvincing except in the elements that fit his typically nerdy persona. Solid, but with no real punch.

"Just getting the feel of these guns"

[tieman64 · 11 June 2012]

Anthony Mann could direct the hell out of a western. "The Tin Star" is one of his underrated ones, though like most films in the genre, there's also something sleazy about the whole plot.

The film stars the always lovable Henry Fonda as an embittered bounty hunter who rides into town to find a young sheriff, played by a well-cast Anthony Perkins, struggling to maintain law and order. As he was himself once a sheriff, Fonda decides to hang around town and help the young gun. Much of the film's best moments involve Fonda dispensing wisdom, offering advice, teaching Perkins to shoot, disarm men, shell out justice and keep the citizenry safe.

The film is impeccably shot, with Mann's usual plays on perspective, symmetry (the film opens and closes with the same shot, but from different angles) and "depths of field". It's Mann's sense of slow, mounting tension, and his interesting compositional work (lots of low angles, forced perspectives and shots which stress a kind of three dimensional depth) which would influence Leone's style when shooting duels, showdowns and gunfights. The sheriff's office in the film, with its expansive windows which offer massive widescreen views of the film's town, is also special.

The film has a subplot about racism, the mistreatment of Native American Indians and the ostracising of "half breeds", a trend which began to filter into westerns only in the 1950s. See "Broken Lance" for another early example. The westerns of Mann and other auteurs were always ahead of Ford in this respect. Still, the film's subplots about racism and outsiders "trying to belong" are undermined by the psychic ripples of its very Wild West mentality, in which we're made to grin with glee when cartoon bad guys push our buttons and are summarily gunned down. The film's climactic gunfight practically baits you into lusting after murder, and like most Westerns the film hinges on false choices; either a lawless, anarchic violence perpetuated by psychopaths, or tough guy justice, in which its the white man's burden to keep order with barrels and bullets. Shoot to kill, always, Fonda schools us, because then Chaos comes knocking. By the 60s, Westerns would evolve into fare like "Shenandoah" (starring Mann-Western regular, Jimmy Stewart), which is openly anti-interventionism, anti-combat, before the blood and guts pop-nihilism of the Leone, Peckinpah era, with their oh-so-attractive mixture of dumb nostalgia (a mourning for the passing of those "olden days") and mindless, purgative violence.

"The Tim Star's" score was by the great Elmer Bernstein. It's regarded by hard-core Western-fans as Mann's last classic Western.

7.5/10 – Worth one viewing.