Best movie of this year hands down!

So much average

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

"Rebel in Town" was an unusual low budget western for its time. It contains two graphic scenes which were not normally seen in the westerns of the day.Following the Civil War, John Willoughby (John Payne) and his wife Ruth (Ruth Roman) and son Peety (Bobby Clark) live on a small ranch where Peety likes to play soldier (Union of course). A gang of ex-Confederates is roaming the area robbing banks in order to survive.The gang is led by Bedloe Mason (J. Carroll Naish) who along with his four sons: Gray (Ben Cooper), Wesley (John Smith). Frank (Ben Johnson) and Cain (Sterling Franck) is looking for its next score.One day Frank Wesley and Gray ride into town for water. Young Peety, who has just received a pair of cap pistols for his birthday, sneaks up behind the men and is shot (in a gruesome realistic scene) by the trigger happy Wesley. Wesley and Frank flee but Gray is shocked and feels remorse, but he too is forced to flee.Willoughby and his wife are devastated by their loss and he vows revenge on the killers. Back in the rebel camp dissension among the gang develops as Gray decides to leave and go back to town to see if the young boy was killed or not and to try to atone for the tragedy on behalf of his family.Before he can go, Wesley confronts him, stabs him in the back and takes Gray's share of the loot. Believing Gray dead, Wesley ties him to his horse and drives them off. Willoughby comes upon the wounded Gray and takes him home to be treated for his wound unaware that Gray is one of the gang who murdered his son. But Ruth had met Gray briefly on that fateful day and recognizes him.Eventually, Willoughby finds out who Gray really is and becomes enraged to the point of taking an ax to him only to be stopped by Ruth. Gray tries to convince Willoughby of his remorse and desire to return to town to take his medicine. The two proceed to town where Gray is immediately arrested by Sheriff Adam Russell (James Griffith). A lynch mob forms led by Willoughby but the Masons arrive and......................................................John Payne, in my opinion, gives one of his best performances as the vengeful father out to bring down his son's killer(s). The scene where he attempts to take an ax to Cooper is unexpected. He goes from a peace loving farmer to a man filled with hate seamlessly. Ruth Roman is also good as the wife who tries to clam her husband down in spite of her own sorrow.J. Carrol Naish, complete with southern accent, makes a fearful leader of the confederates. Ben Cooper also stands out as the sympathetic and remorseful Gray. John Smith as the trigger happy "Cain like" brother also stands out. Unfortunately, Ben Johnson, whose performances I always personally liked, has little to do in this one. Sterling Franck, for some reason, is billed as his character Cain Mason. Watch for sagebrush veteran Kermit Maynard as a Deputy.Great cast, grim humorless story well mounted.

Small scale western that holds together well despite unoriginal situations and a low budget.Most of that can be attributed to the lean direction by the little known Werker and the competence of the players. John Payne is brooding and bitter in the lead occasionally going overboard with with the righteous indignation but by and large he does well. Ben Cooper is also solid as a conscious stricken young man but it's Ruth Roman who stands out with a well balanced performance as Nora Payne, weighted down with grief but compassionate enough to remain clear eyed and level headed while all around her are losing theirs.Another asset of the film is the use of natural sounds to underscore scenes adding to their import without a lot of intrusive musical cues.No prize winner but a better than average western.

I was able to watch "Rebel in Town" (1956) & gave it 8 out of 10. I have looked for this movie for ages.I remember when the Bedlow Mason (J. Carrol Naish) family showed up in town to water the horses, get supplies & check into staging a robbery.It was there that John & Nora Willoughby (John Payne & Ruth Roman) lost their only child Petey when he startled outlaw Wesley. Wes turned & blew Petey away. This becomes bad for the baby brother of Wes & worse for John & Nora.John was filled with grief, anger & revenge. Nora's was grief, loneliness & sorrow. Her forgiveness became stronger when she realized John had brought home an injured young man, Ben...Ben Mason! The boy she saw at Petey's murder.There is so much that you will miss if you don't take time for this film. Will there be any peace between the Willoughbys & the Masons? Will the "sad", then, possibly, "understanding" emotions be overwhelming for all? If 'Pro' is the opposite of 'Con' then what is the opposite of Progress?

Rebel In Town is set in the post Civil War west where the surrender at Appomattox hasn't ended conflict in the minds of some. One of those is John Payne who was a Union Army major in the war, but now has settled back on his ranch with wife Ruth Roman and son Bobby Clark. Payne feels we've got a big law and order problem with a lot of former Confederates turning outlaws to survive and is the first to volunteer for any posse to track them down.But when the Mason family, J. Carrol Naish and his four sons come riding into town for supplies it's a recipe for trouble. When little Bobby Clark shoots at the family from behind with a cap pistol, one of the Masons turns and returns fire killing the kid instantly. The Masons beat it out of town.The rest of Rebel In Town concerns the actions of Payne and the rest of the town in apprehending the criminals and the Mason family who are torn with what to do.The Masons are a whole lot like the Hannesseys in The Big Country. The budget for the B western Rebel In Town is a fraction of what The Big Country was, yet William Wyler seems to have been influenced by the relationship of family patriarch Naish with the most reckless of his sons John Smith in creating the characters that Burl Ives and Chuck Connors played in The Big Country.As for Payne, he's in his vengeance quest persona, something not seen in him since his highly rated performance in the noir classic Kansas City Confidential.Rebel In Town is no frills B western with some nice performances from the cast. John Payne's fans will like his work here.