jadedalex It is very little wonder that the Roger Corman production of 'The Intruder' is a very rarely seen 1962 film about integration in the South. The usually affable William Shatner plays a prototype David Duke character, he's even seen cavorting with KKK members in their motorcades.The dialog is full of words certainly too 'offensive' by today's PC standards. The dreaded 'n' word is repeated countless times. Along with 'jigs' and 'coons', the dialogue, though 'offensive' to today's ultra-hip millennials, is gritty and real for its time. I would suggest that 'The Intruder' is a very honest, hard-hitting film, where 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is sentimental and romantic. (I am quite aware that 'Mockingbird' is on so many people's 'favorite' lists. Excuse me.)Personally, I think this no holds barred story about the days of school integration is totally believable and I'm impressed with the fine screenplay of Charles Beaumont, who is more famously noted for his brilliant short stories and 'Twilight Zone' scripts. He has a small role towards the end of the film. As far as our beloved 'PC' world, the internet is a valuable tool for finding films of this ilk. For all I know, the movie may be available on DVD. But I personally had never heard of the title, and I'm familiar with much of Beaumont's and Shatner's work.It doesn't have a happy ending. Why would it?

jfarms1956 The Intruder is not a film for young children. School age children from the fifth grade on may find the film educational as the film depicts a period of American history and views. However, the film reminds us how easily it is to point the finger at our fears and things we hate. The film also reminds us to give us hope that real truth will somehow emerge in time to save ourselves from ourselves. Additionally, no matter how much reason and truth there is in the world, hate and fear will always remain. Hopefully, hate and fear can be removed with understanding and respect of our fellow man/woman, no matter race or religion. It is not an entertaining film, rather a thought provoking film. It is interesting to see William Shatner in one of his earlier film roles and in an acting role other than a starship captain. He does a good job in his role. It is different to see him as the villain after watching him for years as the hero as an Enterprise captain. This is not a prime time film. It is a film that should be watched in daytime with full attention.

OldAle1 Due to my overall ignorance of both Roger Corman's career outside of his usual horror/exploitation stuff, and William Shatner's outside of Captain Kirk, I'd never seen this 1962 racial drama, nor really even heard much about it until recently. But it's a film that seems to be growing in stature with the years, and after finally watching it recently, I can see why.Shatner is Adam Cramer, apparently a member of the Patrick Henry Society and a hard-core racist who shows up in a small Southern town that has quite recently been compelled by court order to integrate its high school. Cramer is, from his very first scene as he gets off a bus and takes a hotel room, here to sow the seeds of discord. The white townspeople of Caxton don't want integration, but they're more-or-less resigned to it, until Cramer shows up and tries to motivate them into resisting, apparently in as violent a way as they can without bringing the Feds down on them.Shatner is actually quite good in this role, relative low-key for the first quarter hour or so until he has made his presence known and makes an impassioned declamation from the courthouse steps to most of the whites about how their town, and eventually their state and the whole South will be delivered into the hands of the negroes if they don't resist - at this point and for most of the rest of the film he becomes the over-the-top Shat that we know and love, but it's probably appropriate here to the not-too-subtle screenplay and his rather strangely put together character. We get intimations throughout that he's mentally ill or at least emotionally unstable, and his wooing of both a very underage high school girl and his married neighbor shows that this is just as much a pleasure trip for him as anything else. We never really see any evidence in fact that he is who he says he is, and it might be wondered whether or not he's a member of the group he claims is funding him, or acting on his own. He seems to exhort violence, yet be upset when the townspeople resort to it without his say-so.It's not just in Cramer's psychology but also in that of the town as a whole that the film has problems, painting its citizens as essentially a mindless mob hell-bent on violence but able to just as easily be swayed by a couple of more rational voices (Frank Maxwell as newspaperman Tom McDaniel and Leo Gordon as cuckolded husband Sam Griffin) as by Cramer. Though the finale, where one of the black high school students seems about to be lynched through a deliberate smear on Cramer's part, is directed with punch and works on an emotional level, much of the story falls apart if you think too much about it.Still, all in all, this is one of the better racial dramas of the 1960s, fluidly and starkly directed by Corman in crisp black and white, with a very realistic feel and generally at least decent performances out of the large supporting cast, many of whom I'm guessing were nonprofessionals. Though the politics are blunt as a hammer, the blows are delivered more forcefully and articulately for my money than in most of the bigger films from later in the decade like "In the Heat of the Night". It's really a shame this film didn't have more of an impact when it was released. I guess we weren't ready for it...

merklekranz "The Intruder" is a good movie, only great, if you compare it to some of Roger Corman's other films. The flames of racism are happily fanned by William Shatner, and this drama does not pull any "not politically correct" punches. I would classify this as a perfect double billing with another tense racial drama "Paris Trout". Probably more of a curiosity than anything else, "The Intruder" is worth a peek. There are some fabulous 1950s cars, reasonable acting from many "non-actors", and good location photography. The only downside would probably be that once you have seen it, I doubt you would be in any hurry for repeat viewings. - MERK