Terror in a Texas Town (1958) on Netflix
George Hansen arrives in Prairie City and learns his father, Sven, is dead, though not how or why. The sheriff answers to the wealthy Ed McNeil and will not help him.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb6.8/102,701 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Ed McNeil wants control of Prairie City and the land around it. He sets out to burn out the small ranchers, and he hires the gunfighter Johnny Crale to drive off the rest. Sven Hansen, a Swedish immigrant who once worked on a whaler, and his neighbor Jose Mirada learn there is oil on their land. Sven's son George learns his father is dead, though not how or why. The sheriff answers to McNeil and will not help, so George is determined to take over the ranch his father left and to find out who killed him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Terror in a Texas Town (1958)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay for Terror in a Texas Town, but because he was blacklisted as one of the Hollywood 10, Ben Perry's name went on the credits as a front for him.
- Director Lewis had planned to retire when his friend Young handed him the script hoping to bring him back into the film business; Lewis agreed because, as it was to be his final film, working with blacklisted artists held no risk for him.
- Nedrick Young, who acted in the film as gunfighter Johnny Crale as well as working on the script, and star Sterling Hayden had both been blacklisted and investigated by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
- Like Joseph H. Lewis's Gun Crazy (1950), Terror in a Texas Town acquired a cult following over the years for Lewis's stylistic flourishes, leading some to describe it as a Western film noir.
