Terror in a Texas Town

Name: Terror in a Texas Town
Genre: Western
Released: 1958-09-07
Duration: 1 h 20 min
Rating: 6.8
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot, Carol Kelly

1958
Approved
1h 20m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

Sterling Hayden, Carol Kelly, and Nedrick Young in Terror in a Texas Town (1958)

A Swedish whaler is out for revenge when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land.

Play trailer1:55

1 Video

6 Photos

Period Drama Western

A Swedish whaler is out for revenge when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land.A Swedish whaler is out for revenge when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land.A Swedish whaler is out for revenge when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:55

Preview

Photos6

Top cast29

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Sterling Hayden

George Hansen

Sebastian Cabot

McNeil

Carol Kelly

Molly

Eugene Mazzola

Pepe
(as Eugene Martin)

Nedrick Young

Crale
(as Ned Young)

Victor Millan

José Mirada

Frank Ferguson

Deacon Matt Holmes

Marilee Earle

Mona Stacey

John Breen

Townsman
(uncredited)

Charles Fogel

Townsman
(uncredited)

Byron Foulger

The Minister
(uncredited)

Herman Hack

Townsman
(uncredited)

Marjorie Kane

Townswoman
(uncredited)

Fred Kohler Jr.

Weed
(uncredited)

Richard LaMarr

Townsman
(uncredited)

Gil Lamb

Barnaby
(uncredited)

Patricia Marlowe

Townsman
(uncredited)

Thomas Martin

Townsman in Church
(uncredited)

Director
- Joseph H. Lewis
Writers
- Ben Perry
- Dalton Trumbo
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This was the final feature film for cult director Joseph H. Lewis. He would spend much of the next decade directing television episodes before retiring from the industry. His other work includes: My Name Is Julia Ross (1945), a terse little thriller about a case of mistaken identity, Gun Crazy (1950), a variation on the Bonnie and Clyde story told with gripping narrative skill, and the astonishing film noir thriller, The Big Combo (1955), which is as raw and edgy as any gangster thriller made that decade - all ingenious efforts that prove Lewis was one of the great low-budget stylists of his era.

Goofs
Johnny stands at his hotel room window looking down on Hansen who appears to be walking directly to the front of the hotel yet there's six shots of him striding down the street while Johnny takes his time going down to the bar and having a drink before going outside to find Hansen just approaching.

Quotes
Brady: I don't think you've the guts right now to admit that this fellow McNeil had me burned down.
Deacon Matt Holmes: Oh, take it easy Brady.
Brady: Take it easy, Matt, what are you talking about take it easy? Didn't we agree to stick together? Well I stuck. Whose house got burned down? Mine! Whose barn went up in smoke? Mine! Whose livestock burned up? Mine!

Connections
Referenced in Judd for the Defense: Tempest in a Texas Town (1967)

User reviews47

Review

Featured review

9/10

Gritty Western Noir Worth Checking Out

When oil is discovered on the properties of peaceful homesteaders, fat-cat Sebastian Cabot sends his one-handed gunman to terrorize them into leaving. When stubborn Swedish whaler Sterling Hayden's father is killed by them, he takes on the bad guys with only a harpoon and the truth!

The premise is a bit familiar but the story is artfully told with great acting by all involved. Hayden plays an offbeat, interesting, and unconventional western hero and Cabot is a wonderfully sleazy villain. However, Academy Award winning screenwriter Nedrick Young gives the film's best performance as Cabot's vile hired killer.

Entertaining from start to finish, this is a really compelling low-budget movie that really knows what buttons to push, especially as Hayden tries to get his neighbors to break their fearful code of silence.

The final showdown, glimpsed in the opening scene, is both memorable and exciting