This is among the best American Westerns of the 1950s. It does an unusually good job of avoiding the clichés, corniness, and trite sentimentality that needlessly bedeviled too many of its contemporaries, including the films of the much-vaunted John Ford. It addresses touchy, relatively avoided issues at the time, such as US/European relations with American Indians (although admittedly, John Ford did an unusually excellent job for the time in his earlier Fort Apache) and handles them in an intelligent and unusually grey manner, rather than being black-and-white or overly preachy. Of particular note is the story's approach to the half-Indian/half caucasian kid Kip, the outlaw half-Indian/half caucasian McGaffey brothers, and the nasty, Indian-hating Bogardus, the real villain of the film. The storyline is thoughtful and handles the characters well.
Review of The Tin Star
