Review: The Intruder

White, social reformer Adam Cramer (William Shatner) waltzes into a small town in the American South that is about to follow the recently introduced law of racially integrated schooling. It’s not long before the opportunistic, manipulative Cramer is feeding on the ignorance of the predominantly white townsfolk, whipping them into a racist, hate-filled frenzy. A local newsman (Frank Maxwell) however comes to oppose Cramer and the hateful sentiment he is espousing. Leo Gordon plays another townie who starts to catch on to Cramer’s true nature when finding out that Cramer’s been spending alone time with Gordon’s spouse (Jeanne Cooper).

 

One of the best films director/producer Roger Corman (“A Bucket of Blood”, “Tomb of Ligeia”) was ever involved with, this 1962 racial drama is shockingly unknown in the mainstream. If you don’t think William Shatner can act, this is a must-see experience. A mixture of “Night of the Hunter” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” this is a very serious drama from a normally schlocky filmmaker and hammy actor performing well out of their skins. It’s the film that Corman famously lost money on (he and his brother Gene produced it independently) and steered him away from ever making a film like this ever again. I for one am glad this exists, it’s pretty incredible. Playing a supposed ‘social reformer’, William Shatner waltzes into town in a white suit and with a sleazy, shit-eating grin from the first moment. And what a town. If you don’t know right away that you’re about to meet the worst in humanity, within 6 minutes a nice little old lady uses the N-word twice. Corman’s not messing around here, folks.

 

It may not be as fun as his Denny Crane TV character, but this is unquestionably the best performance of Shatner’s career playing a self-serving, shameless manipulator who preys upon the ignorant and stirs up the racial hatred inside of a lot of the townsfolk. Some of these people are genuinely hateful, most however are just ignorant and gullible. I’ll likely catch hell for this so I’ll keep it vague (even though it’s still obvious), but Shatner’s Adam Cramer reminds me of someone active in the public eye today who whips the ignorant and gullible up into a frenzy and exploits them for his own personal gain. A lot of reviews cite Cramer as a racist, but I’m not so sure that’s what motivates him at least not primarily. Don’t get me wrong, he probably is racist to some degree. He could achieve power and control through other means one would imagine, but he chose this instead. When his character realises he’s bitten off more than he can chew he happily feeds the seething, hateful masses a sacrificial black lamb for the slaughter without much of a blink of the eye. However, above all else Adam Cramer is a power-hungry, self-serving opportunist who would likely sell his own grandmother down the river if he could profit from it. His chief interest is his own advancement in life. So if you want to call him a racist that’s fine, but I think the best descriptor is opportunist or grifter. If you’re used to the hammy, halting delivery Shatner, this is Shatner the real actor, offering up a chillingly calm and snaky who uses language as ugly as his awful-looking teeth. His best scene is an extraordinary sermon delivered to the hootin’ and hollerin’ ignorant masses. Honestly, this depiction of an exploitive opportunist whooping his ‘cult’ into a frenzy of hatred really is believable not only for the time but even now. Shatner’s not even going overboard and I was absolutely stunned by his work here. Cramer is like some kind of evil “Elmer Gantry”. Leo Gordon has an interesting role here as one of the only people in town who can see Cramer for the huckster that he is. It’s really only because of a personal grievance, but Gordon’s character has a great scene where he lets Cramer know that he sees him for who and what he truly is, and that’s he’s not quite as smart as he thinks.

 

Make no mistake here, the point of the film is to show off the ignorance, and ugly racial hatred of the local townsfolk. Shatner’s Cramer is a piece of shit, but the disease of racial hatred itself is the true evil permeating here. Corman does a great job in showing us this disease without it feeling exploitive. Cramer is the exploiter on this occasion, not Corman. Look out for the absolutely stunning scene where the black students make a deeply uncomfortable walk to school. It’s the best scene Roger Corman ever directed. As far as I’m concerned, this film and his best Edgar Allen Poe adaptations rose above the B-level he mostly profited in, and reached a more artistic and worthy level. He’s also working with a pretty solid cast, in addition to Shatner and Gordon there’s also terrific turns by soap veteran Jeanne Cooper and Frank Maxwell, the latter playing the sole (white) voice of reason for much of the film. Character actor Robert Emhardt is also well-cast as one of the more odious, mean-spirited members of the town’s eldership.

 

A startling, ugly, but important and overlooked racial drama. One of the best things Roger Corman or William Shatner have ever been involved with. As uncomfortable as it is (and it sure is), you need to see this film, it’s still relevant to today. The screenplay is by Charles Beaumont (“7 Faces of Dr. Lao”, “The Masque of the Red Death”), who also has a small role in the film.

 

Rating: A-