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Released by: Subkultur Entertainment
Released on: December 20th, 2012.
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: William Shatner, Robert Emhardt
Year: 1962
The Movie:
Roger Corman's finest film wasn't a gothic horror starring Vincent Price. It wasn't a period gangster drama either. It wasn't even one of his great pulpy exploitation pictures. It was a hard hitting "message" picture starring a notorious ham and written by a brilliant talent who's fame came from his fantasy, science fiction and horror scripts. It was also for a long time the only Corman film to lose money.
Say hello to THE INTRUDER. Or more startlingly in this german Subkultur edition WEISSER TERROR.
The early 1960's - somewhere in the Deep South. We open with a young man in a crisp white suit riding the bus into town. Adam Cramer (William Shatner in a brilliant performance) has come to this little hamlet to make trouble. As a representative of "The Patrick Henry Society" he's here to peddle some slick racist propaganda. The town is about to begin court ordered school integration. The overwhelming majority of white citizens are bitterly against this but have resigned themselves to allowing it. But Cramer quickly gains the trust and patronage of wealthy local businessman Verne Shipman (Robert Emhardt). Now he's ready to push some buttons and gin up some racial violence.
There's a blunt intellectual force to THE INTRUDER that gives it power even today. Writer Charles Beaumont - so loved for his Twilight Zone television scripts and gothic Poe films like THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, isn't interested in a lot of subtlety here. Though never crude (Corman's direction and the performances are simply too skilled for that ever to happen), THE INTRUDER isn't all that interested in nobility. Nominal hero and white reporter Tom McDaniel (Frank Maxwell) isn't all that committed to the school integration cause initially. He's more uneasy at the blatant racism of the townspeople. When his initially mild objections are met with increasing brutality his resolve strengthens but he's surrounded by some pretty loathsome individuals.
This is no genteel Steven Spielberg racial harmony summit sugar coated for smug white liberals. Cramer and those white folks (including full on KKK members) are unrepentant hate mongers. Anyone who's seen newsreels of this sordid chapter in American history can also attest to the rage of White Citizens Councils and demonstrators in those days. The fact that Corman shot this using a large number of real townspeople makes this even more frightening. Beaumont goes for the jugular in scene after scene. White mobs surround innocent blacks whose only crime is driving in a white neighborhood. Black male students are falsely accused of rape. Lynchings are always a very real possibility. This was also a time when the KKK was a real force. Cross burnings, church bombings and murder were regular occurrences. There was very little "genteel" about the 60's south - especially if you were black. When these folks are burning crosses, assembling in hateful mobs and tossing around their favorite racial epithet they are downright terrifying. Aside from the school principal (writer Beaumont in a wonderful cameo) there are few white heroes here either. Later films dealing with racial issues like CRY FREEDOM tended to get bogged down in "white savior" tropes. This film avoids that. There's a couple of moments in this that hit brutally hard for me. One is the black family's car stopped by the white mob where you feel the poor guy's rage at this injustice but know that if he's going to live he's going to have to submit to these idiots. The other is the near lynching of the black student at the playground. The actor playing the student was a real student and he's absolutely perfect.
Speaking of the acting, it is superb all around. Shatner infuses Cramer with a predatory slickness as well as a sloppy arrogance that becomes his undoing. This is a long way from the cheesesteak that anchored Star Trek. Shatner has a great scene in the film where he delivers a speech to a huge crowd. He exudes dramatic flair that borders on the grandiose but hits the notes perfectly. He knows just how to play the crowd and stoke their bigotry. In his other scenes he's got a terrific weaselly quality. He's slick but also not able to control things once he gets the town stirred up. The use of Leo Gordon in one of his rare "good guy" roles is another interesting twist. Gordon does terrific work here and is both sympathetic and complex. He's playing a traveling salesman with a pretty wife (soap opera legend Jeanne Cooper) who Cramer winds up seducing. Gordon (RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11) uses his massive frame, deep voice and slightly uncouth manner to confound viewer expectations. The character is smart, honest and not racist. His final scene with Shatner's slimy agitator is terrific.
A truly great film that still holds up today.
Video/Audio/Extras:
German label Subkultur's PAL DVD is framed at 1.85:1 and anamorphic. This is almost certainly the same transfer as the 2007 USA DVD. As far as standard def goes this is a little on the ropey side with frame jumps popping up occasionally and even some minor image wobble. Print damage is also present but not at disastrous levels. Ultimately this presentation is completely watchable but it's a shame no one has bothered to give this film a comprehensive restoration.
The audio is a standard English Dolby Digital mono track with limited range but acceptable fidelity. Subtitles are available in German. As far as extras go, the nine minute retrospective featuring Roger Corman and William Shatner has been ported over from the USA DVD. This is an interesting piece where both contributors talk about how dangerous the set was and various aspects of the production. While Corman can't resist mentioning the film's money losing history, it is clear he's enormously proud of it, as is Shatner. There is also a small photo and stills gallery and a full length historical audio commentary by two German film experts which I sadly cannot comment on seeing as I don't speak a word of the language.
The Final Word:
An important and engrossing film, THE INTRUDER still isn't the easiest viewing. But it is the Corman film I keep coming back too. This is a film about a very nasty period in American history done with admirable honesty and artistic skill. Subkultur's German edition is highly recommended for R!S!P!'s European constituency.
