Did you people see the same film I saw?

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

For a western film, it's a pretty fun watch. Two of my favorite actors are in this one which makes it all that much better: Lon Chaney and Deforest Kelley.Tom Rosser is hired to help clean and straighten up a town where some of the folks in the area want to keep the town as wild as possible - and running it the way they want it ran, not the way mayor and law want it to be. It's up to Rosser take the men out get the town back to good.The movie does take a few turns which keeps the story on the interesting side. All the actors give fine performances - so it's worthwhile watching if you like a good old fashioned gun-slinging western film.7.5/10

Having just seen this movie for the first time, I am surprised by the amount of skepticism thrown at it by other reviewers. I found the movie to be quite captivating, not only by virtue of the constant intensity, but also the deep relational intrigue between the characters. The hatred between Dana Andrews and Bruce Cabot is scathing. DeForrest Kelly is excellent as the cowardly, wife-beating "tin-horn" without an ounce of decency. Dana Andrews is gives an appropriately sullen performance, in light of his wife's death the first scene. Silent Star Richard Arlen gives a solid performance as the honorable town doctor. The most compelling performance in the movie without doubt was Lyle Bettger's. The viewer is never quite sure where his tormented character's allegiance lies. Colleen Gray's appearance here is similar to her minor but famous appearance as John Wayne's love interest in Red River. Bruce Cabot is excellent as the perpetually conniving and cold-blooded arch villain. The tension between the two town factions is perpetual, with Andrews character always caught in the crossfire. Solid Western feature with a fantastic cast.

"The Town Tamer" was another of those nostalgic westerns produced by A.C. Lyles featuring a cast of recognizable performers from the past. Modestly budgeted and filmed in color and wide screen they gave many of the performers their last hurrahs.This one was directed by veteran "B" western director Lesley Selander and is the story of a veteran town tamer marshal Tom Rosser (Dana Andrews) who is hired by the railroad boss James Fell (Barton MacLane) to clean up a town that soon will have the railroad coming in.The town is under the control of gambler Riley Condor (Bruce Cabot) with whom Rosser has an axe to grind. The town marshal (Lyle Bettger) also has a past he wishes to hide. Rosser meets Susan Tavenner (Terry Moore) on the stagecoach into town and takes a liking to her. Unfortunately, she is married to a tin horn gambler (Deforest Kelley) who is also a wife beater in the employ of Condor.The town mayor/livery stable owner Charlie Leach (Lon Chaney Jr.) and doctor (Richard Arlen) are trying to raise a vigilante group to take back their town. Condor on the other hand has Deputy Johnny Honsinger (Richard Jaekel)and gunfighter Atkins (Phil Carey) and several allies lined up against them. Rosser not now being a lawman, wants to kill Condor "in his own way".In addition to those mentioned above, several other veteran performers are in the cast. Pat O'Brien, in an all too brief appearance, plays a dishonest judge, Sonny Tufts and Bob Steele as Condor's vigilantes, Jeanne Cagney as café owner Mary Donley, Donald Barry and Robert Ivers as Texas cowboys and James Brown and Richard Webb as railway workers. Veteran stuntman Dale Van Sickel, who plays a bartender, can clearly be seen doubling for Dana Andrews in the fight scenes.There's plenty of action including fights, bushwhacking and gun play to satisfy the viewer. It's better than most of the similar films of the period due in large part to the veteran director and the large cast of seasoned veterans.

I live on the border of the two counties with among the oldest average age in America--seriously. Here in Florida, things are beautiful and you can see why folks retire here. However, because the people are so old, sometimes it gets a bit surreal. About a year ago, I saw a minor accident--and then watched two 80+ year old men get out of their cars and have a fistfight in the roadway...seriously. Part of it was sad and I felt a bit embarrassed. Part of it was incredibly funny--especially when I called the police to report the old crazy old guys duking it out in traffic! Well, to make a long story short, this all reminds me of "Town Tamer"--a film that is embarrassing, at times, for its geriatric cast and at other times, kind of funny. This film is made up of a bizarre assortment of older actors. Dana Andrews is in the lead. Now he was a fine and highly underrated actor--but NOT a western star and not a man to 'clean up the town' when he was clearly pushing 60 (and inexplicably say he's 40 in the film). As for the supporting cast, it consists of the likes of Lon Chaney Jr., Barton MacLane, Pat O'Brien, Richard Arlen and Sonny Tufts--all of which just seemed a bit too long in the tooth for this film. Sure, there are a few 'younger' folks like Richard Jaekel (39) and DeForrest Kelley (in his mid-40s), but they seem to be the exception in "Town Tamer". In some ways, it's like a western that's set in a retirement village! The film begins with Andrews a sheriff in some western town. Almost immediately, someone tries to plug him and kills Andrews' wife instead. A couple years pass. Andrews arrives in a nasty town--a town where the law seems to be amazingly cozy with the crooks. And you know, based on the film's title, that Andrews will eventually bring law and order to this crappy town. But in the meantime, you get to see him beat up folks, get beat up and mosey about the town. It's all very standard--the sort of quickie western film with a familiar plot that you wouldn't think twice about EXCEPT for the extreme age of the actors and the occasional silliness of the production. A few of the funny scenes are the scene where Terry Moore tries to pump Andrews for information (it's badly written and funny when Andrews tries to tip his hat but misses!) as well as the fight between Andrews and Kelley--where it is VERY obvious the guy Andrews is beating up is a stuntman (though I was surprised they DID let Andrews do the strenuous scene). Overall, it's not a terrible movie but it is a funny one.