The Tin Star

Director: Anthony Mann Anthony Mann

Overview

Taciturn marshal-turned-bounty hunter Henry Fonda rides into a small town where greenhorn deputy Anthony Perkins is sole representative of the law. Sensing that the boy could use some seasoning, Fonda makes it his mission to teach Perkins how to protect himself against the criminal element. Though diametrically opposed in personality, the older Fonda and the younger Perkins find they are kindred spirits in their dedication to their work. Using the lessons taught him by Fonda, Perkins is able to prove his worth by taking on town hothead Neville Brand. Directed with a minimum of slack and flab by Anthony Mann, The Tin Star was later spun off into the TV series The Deputy, which starred Henry Fonda and Allen Case.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/11/2020
UPC:	0032429336644
Original Release:	1957
Rating:	NR
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	5,828

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Henry Fonda	Morgan Hickman
Anthony Perkins	Ben Owens
Betsy Palmer	Nona Mayfield
Michael Ray	Kip Mayfield
Neville Brand	Bart Bogardus
John McIntire	Joseph "Doc" McCord
Mary Webster	Millie Parker
Peter Baldwin	Zeke McGaffey
Richard Shannon	Buck Henderson
Lee Van Cleef	Ed McGaffey
Howard Petrie	Harvey King
Russell Simpson	Clem Hall
Hal K. Dawson	Andy Miller
Jack Kenney	Sam Hodges
Mickey Finn	McCall
Walter Bacon	Stagecoach Passenger
John Barton	Townsman
Arthur Berkeley	Townsman
Phil Bloom	Townsman
Danny Borzage	Townsman
Chet Brandenburg	Townsman
George Bruggeman	Townsman
Nora Bush	Townswoman
Frank Cady	Abe Pickett
Frank Cordell	Posse Member
Jimmie Dime	Townsman
Richard Farnsworth	Posse Member
Franklyn Farnum	Townsman
Duke Fishman	Townsman
Fritz Ford	Townsman
Allen Gettel	Sloan
Kit Guard	Townsman
Herman Hack	Townsman
Chuck Hamilton	Stagecoach Passenger
Al Haskell	Townsman
Michael Jeffers	Townsman
Bob Kenaston	Hardman
Snub Pollard	Townsman
Bob Reeves	Townsman
John Roy	Townsman
Danny Sands	Townsman
Rube Schaffer	Townsman
James R. Scott	Townsman
Lucille Sewall	Townswoman
Milan Smith	Townsman,Townsman
Fred Somers	Townsman
George Sowards	Townsman
Ray Spiker	Townsman
Bert Stevens	Townsman
Jack Stoney	Townsman
Brick Sullivan	Townsman
Elmer Bernstein	Composer

Technical Credits

Dudley Nichols

Anthony Mann	Director
Dudley Nichols	Screenwriter
William Perlberg	Producer
George Seaton	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Based on a script written by the aging Dudley Nichols toward the end of his distinguished career, Tin Star has the feel of a man trying to impart a simple lesson before he dies. Director Anthony Mann obviously decided to relegate his formidable talent for capturing rugged Western landscapes to the back burner in a film that was shot mostly on sound stages. Possibly reflecting the cynicism wrought in Hollywood by the blacklist, Fonda's embittered bounty hunter tries to explain to a young sheriff, the reliably neurotic Tony Perkins, how an intuitive understanding of the people he's living among can be more valuable than a fast gun. The film's anti-vigilante sub-theme, a feature of a number of Fonda's movies, also echoes the excesses of the McCarthy era. While it sometimes feels like an inflated version of the kind of TV Western that ruled the airwaves during that time, the film's ambling pace allows for more fully developed characters, and the credibility of the relationship between Fonda and Perkins is enough to carry its familiar homilies.