The Intruder/Shame/I Hate Your Guts/The Stranger (1962) - Corman's impassioned political drama

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A fiery cross is outlined against the serious visage of star William Shatner on this stark poster for Roger Corman's The Intruder

A mysterious stranger arrives in the racially segregated Southern town of Caxton; he is a good-mannered rhetorical figure, promoting 'social reform' while actually spelling trouble, - by inciting a race riot.

The Intruder is written by Charles Beaumont (Night of the Eagle (1962)), adapting his own same-titled 1959 novel, and directed by great Michigander filmmaker Roger Corman (Highway Dragnet (1954)).

William Shatner (The Big Bang Theory (2019, TV-series)) shines in the central part of Adam Crane, and this rare, idealistic, topical issue-driven film impresses as an accomplishment in itself as well as in terms of what it succeeds with: The casting of the town's locals is strong, and central scenes will etch themselves into the audience's memory banks. The Intruder is among the best race-themed American films of all time.

 

Related posts:

Roger Corman: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (documentary subject)

Philadelphia (1993) - AIDS and homosexuality acknowledged in great drama (actor) 

Galaxy of Terror (1981) - Clark and Corman's delightful space-set gore-fest (producer)

Death Race 2000 (1975) - AIP's dystopic car smash (producer)
The Wild Angels (1966) - Young biker rebels deliver a counter-culture punch in Corman's hands

Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's Gothic AIP castle horror (producer) 

Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) - Cheap, fast, amusing spoof/spy thriller/creature feature (producer/director)
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

House of Usher/The Fall of the House of Usher/The Mysterious House of Usher (1960) - Corman's exuberant first house of Poeish horror

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 90-100k $

Box office: Unknown

= Unknown but reportedly a flop

[The Intruder premiered 14 May (New York) and runs 84 minutes. Major studios had passed on the adaptation, which Corman and his brother Gene Corman then did on a much smaller budget, partially with their own money. Shooting took place in 3½ weeks in Missouri. The production was careful not to share the script with the locals, fearing getting forced to leave. Still they reportedly encountered threats, sabotage and revoked permissions for shooting due to the film's anti-racism message. Corman later shared that the film, distributed by his own company domestically, was his only film at the time that lost money, which he attributed to its raw 'lesson'. He learned from it to focus instead on entertainment value and relegate themes and messages to subtext. The film was nevertheless also released in at least 14 international markets. Corman returned with Tales of Terror (1962). Shatner returned in 13 short, TV and narration credits prior to his theatrical return in The Outrage (1964). 4.1k+ IMDb users have given The Intruder a 7.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Intruder?

The Butler/Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Whitaker and Winfrey shine in Dainels' cathartic, insightful historic drama

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+ Best Political Movie of the Year

A refined butler shows a protesting world a brave face from a window in the White House on this powerful poster for Lee Daniels' The Butler

A black boy,s whose father is murdered on the cotton farm in the South where he grows up, is later in life accepted as a butler in the White House under president Eisenhower, continuing to serve under the leadership of the seven subsequent presidents, as the country goes through great changes.

The Butler is a distinguished film written by Danny Strong (Game Change (2012, TV movie), based on the Washington Post article A Butler Well Served by This Election by Wil Haygood (Two on the River (1986)), which concerned White House butler Eugene Allen, and directed as the 4th feature by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer (2005)). Although the film is only very loosely based on Eugene Allen's life, which was different in many ways from the film's butler, Daniels' film comes off as a soberly and thoroughly professionally handled historical biopic drama.
It is led by Oscar-worthy performances from Forest Whitaker (Repo Men (2010)) and Oprah Winfrey (Selma (2014)), who are truly moving as the titular butler and his wife. The Butler is eminent storytelling that should heal wounds and contribute to a deeper understanding of the different experiences and circumstances of especially whites and blacks during the 20th century, - in America as in many other parts of the world.
The Butler is emotionally charged without ever becoming too much. Among its fine supporting actors David Oyelowo (Nightingale (2014)) as Whitaker's rebellious son, Cuba Gooding Jr. (Life of a King (2013)) as his work-pal, Robin Williams (August Rush (2007)) as Pres. Eisenhower, Liev Schreiber (Defiance (2008)) as Pres. Johnson and Alan Rickman (David Harbor (1998)) as Pres. Reagan all give commendable, strong performances.

Related posts:

Lee Daniels: 2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
The Paperboy (2012) - Daniels' off-putting and interesting Florida-yarn huffs and puffs

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 176.5 mil. $
= Huge hit
[The Butler premiered 5 August (New York) and runs 132 minutes. Funding for the independent production began coming together in 2011 as something of a puzzle. The title was changed to Lee Daniels' The Butler in North America, because Warner Bros. made a claim to the title due to a now-lost 1916 short of the same title ('The Butler' that is). Filming took place in Louisiana, including New Orleans, from June - October 2012, delayed from a scheduled August end due to Hurricane Isaac. Among the things in the film that were different in Allen's real life is that he wasn't from Georgia, didn't experience the trauma concerning his parents that's in the film, and that his son wasn't a radical. The film's portrayal of Pres. Reagan's stance towards South-Africa's apartheid is also contested. The film opened #1 to a 24.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weeks before spending a week as #2 and one as #4 and then leaving the top 5, grossing 116.6 mil. $ (66.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 16.9 mil. $ (9.6 %) and Italy with 7 mil. $ (4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars, translating to a notch less than this review. The film was nominated for 2 BAFTAs and many other awards and honors, - but not a single Oscar. Daniels went on to work on TV-series Empire (2015-17) and Star (2016-17) as director-writer-producer. He is slated to direct a remake of the 1983 drama Terms of Endearment starring Winfrey. The Butler is fresh at 72 % with a 6.6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Butler?