The Intruder (movie review)

The Intruder (drama) (1961) (1 hr 38 mins)

This film directed by Roger Corman came out during the height of racial tension in the American South during the early 1960s. It has largely been forgotten but unfairly so because it is an impressive study of power and prejudice with an outstanding lead performance from William Shatner (years before his days as Captain Kirk in Star Trek). The film is based on a novel by Charles Beaumont, who also wrote the screenplay.

The charismatic Adam Cramer (Shatner) arrives in a fictitious Southern town called Caxton on the eve of black students being admitted to the local high school. Though outwardly charming, Cramer gradually shows himself to be a cunning and ruthless manipulator, wishing to incite violent action against the black population.

Cramer befriends the wife of his next-door neighbour at the motel where he is staying. The neighbour, Sam Griffin (played by Frank Maxwell), is a salesman  whose wife is emotionally unstable. Cramer seduces her while Sam is out working and when Sam returns home, he finds she has left him. His confrontation with Cramer is the central relationship in the film.

Sam sees through Cramer’s personal presence and realises he is at core a bully who uses other people to accomplish what he wants. Sam's strength of character is what ultimately defeats Cramer, who leaves town with his tail between his legs.

Roger Corman went on to direct a number of successful horror films but this early effort is certainly among his very best work. The film was titled Shame for its US release and The Stranger in the UK.

Rating: 8/10