Terror in a Texas Town Reviews

A minor cult classic, the last film directed by a major cult talent, Joseph H. Lewis (GUN CRAZY, MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS). This offbeat, low-budget western casts Sterling Hayden as George Hansen, a Swede who returns home from the sea to find that his father, a farmer, has gunned down by the greedy Johnny Crale (Young), who wants to buy up everyone's land in order to drill for oil. At the final showdown, it's six-shooter vs. harpoon. A leisurely paced, almost hypnotic western, TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN relies more on characterization and form than on plot. Although the film's title and the final confrontation sound campy, this flick is lean, mean, and grippingly serious. Sharp-eyed viewers will recognize Sheb Wooley, who made the charts in 1958 with his immortal hit, "Purple People Eater."