When the experienced bounty-hunter and former sheriff Morg Hickman (Henry Fonda) arrives in a town to claim his bounty for killing a wanted outlaw, he meets the rookie temporary sheriff Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins). Hickman befriends the boy Kip (Michel Ray) and is lodged by his widow mother Nona Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) at home. Meanwhile Ben asks Hickman to teach him to be a sheriff since he wants to be assigned by the residents to the position. Ben faces problem with the scum troublemaker Bart Bogardus (Neville Brand) and when a prominent dweller is murdered by two criminals, Bogardus organizes a posse to hunt them down. But Ben has decided to capture the killers alive and give a fair trial to them. "The Tin Star" is a great western directed by Antony Mann, with the 52 year-old Henry Fonda in excellent shape and Anthony Perkins in one of his first features. The bitter Hickman has a sad past that has certainly affected his behavior and Anthony Perkins is perfect in the role of the insecure Ben Owens. The happy end is a counterpoint to "Shane" that has similar situation of a stranger involved with a boy and a widow. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "O Homem dos Olhos Frios" ("The Man of the Cold Eyes")

It's nice every once in a while to run into an underrated, under the radar Western like this one. At about the middle of his screen career, Henry Fonda delivers a solid performance as a former lawman turned bounty hunter who becomes embroiled in a town's troubles when it turns out the untried temporary sheriff seeks his help to become a better lawman himself. I have to say, seeing Anthony Perkins in the role of Sheriff Ben Owens was a little disorienting; his lack of self confidence and relative youth didn't seem to recommend him for the lawman role, though his persistence wound up paying off in the end.The film is rife with racial tension as town bully Bart Bogardus (Neville Brand) displays a bitter hatred against Indians, and to a lesser degree the town's citizens spurn rancher Nona Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) and her half breed son because of her former relationship with an Indian husband. Fonda's Morg Hickman works through an early misunderstanding with Ms. Mayfield by befriending her son, and their own relationship warms up to a somewhat predictable finale.The green sheriff's resolve is tested when the town's beloved doctor (John McIntire) is murdered on the same day they're throwing a major celebration bash for his seventy fifth birthday. Bogardus riles the town's citizens into a fiery mob against a pair of half-Indian brothers (Lee Van Cleef and Peter Baldwin) and remains undaunted in his fury even after Hickman brings the men in to stand trial. In a confrontation with Ben, the sheriff hangs tough and forces Bogardus to back down for a moment, until he's forced to draw fire in a face saving effort that doesn't go well. Owens applies Hickman's sage counsel throughout the story to earn his tin star for good.

One of the last few Anthony Mann westerns and perhaps less noted than his work with James Stewart, The Tin Star is still pretty classy stuff. Its a lively tale of duty, authority and progress, bound by quality performances and a warm hearted feel. Anthony Perkins plays young sheriff Ben, new to the job and somewhat green, who tustles with local tough Bart Bogardis (Neville Brand) and is helped out by travelling bounty hunter Morg Hickman (Henry Fonda). The film is largely about Ben and Morg, opposites coming together and how they change each other. Ben is a young idealist, he seeks to do his job not by dealing death but bringing to justice, he aims for the surly swagger of the elders he aspires to but lacks the understanding or caution and at heart is heading for a new order. Perkins brings an effective eagerness and naiveté to the role, though there's a certain inherent deviousness about his looks that prevents him from fully sinking into the performance, he hooks but doesn't truly transport. Morg is more the older cynic, he's seen it all before and is out only for himself, but having seen it al before knows people, and comes to find purpose again. Henry Fonda does very well here, imparting just the right tough grizzled charm. So its a matter of a young man with a sense of duty, learning what authority really means, and an older man with authority returning to duty. But the world itself is moving too, away from violence and racism, towards a more reasonable, personable territory. This can be seen in the time spent on Morg and his lodging with a lady pariah (sweet turn from Betsy Palmer) and her half breed son, or that given to beloved town doctor "Doc" McCord (John McIntire) and his business. This is a world becoming more concerned with healing and reconciliation than guns, its methods changing. But as methods change the remains of the old inevitably clash in the form of Bart Bogardis. With a mean, sneering turn from Neville Brand he's effectively slimy and a decent villain. It all rises to a decent two punch finale (with a neat appearance for Lee van Cleef) in part reminiscent of Winchester '73 and a pleasing capper. Perhaps not as stirring as it might have been, this one has a bit of a lack of plot focus until the final half hour or so and gets by mostly on charm until then but its still solid entertainment, so 7/10 from me.

The Paramount Perlberg-Seaton production THE TIN STAR (1957) is an unfairly underrated and for the most part forgotten fifties western. By no manner of means an action packed sublime example of the genre it nevertheless deserves reappraisal for it is a splendid character driven drama set in the west. The Acadamy Award nominated screenplay by Dudley Nichols just crackles with sparkling dialogue and situations. Beautifully photographed in glorious black & white Vista Vision by the great Loyal Griggs (the only Oscar winner from "Shane") it was directed with considerable flair and panache by Anthony Mann. It is curious that here Mann was making a western without the services of his friend and favoured western hero Jimmy Stewart. This time Henry Fonda - Stewart's own best friend was given the lead. Fonda is just perfect in an inspired bit of casting! Always a solid performer Fonda was one of the great stars of Hollywood during the forties, fifties and sixties. Perhaps never gaining the glamorous status of Gable, Cooper or Flynn he nevertheless always displayed winning character portrayals and was never known to give a bad performance. His laid back softly spoken reserved style with that twinkle in the eyes is ever appealing.In THE TIN STAR he plays Morg Hickman a bounty hunter who, at one time, was a sheriff. He arrives in a town to collect a bounty on a dead outlaw and comes in contact with a young inexperienced deputy Ben Owens (Anthony Perkins). Since bounty hunters are unwelcome in the town Hickman is shunned and asked to leave at first but when he helps out the deputy in a shootout with the town bully Bogardus (Neville Brand) Owens inveigles him to stay and coach him in the finer points of going up against law breakers. He finds lodgings with an attractive widow Nona Mayfield (Betsy Palmer) and her young son Kip (Michael Ray) and after a while strong feelings develop between them (Looking admiringly at her in one scene he quips "Kip is a lucky boy"). A fine set piece ends the picture with the capture of two brothers who have killed the popular town doctor (John McIntire). With the killers behind bars the bad element of the town - led by Bogardus - attempt to storm the jail to lynch them but armed with a shotgun ("a shotgun speaks louder to a mob" advises Hickman) the now well trained deputy faces up to the errant crowd and kills Bogardus. The final scene sees Hickman leaving town in a buckboard to start a new life elsewhere but he is not alone - by his side is Nona and her son.Supplying the music and adding greatly to the atmosphere of this most pleasing western drama is Elmer Bernstein. THE TIN STAR was one of the composer's early western scores. There is an exciting main theme first heard in its broadest form under the titles. Then there's a playful cue for the antics of the young boy and tender music underscores the film's softer moments. Of course with THE TIN STAR Bernstein was only three years away from what would be his greatest success in a western with his rattling score for "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). His memorable Coplandesque Americana approach would not only thereafter set the standard but would also set the tone for future American western film scores.