Rent The Intruder (1962)

Roger Corman’s finest (but least profitable) hour - The Intruder review by KW

To create a movie like this in the deep south in 1961 was a remarkable, daring and dangerous achievement.  Whilst schools in the United States were theoretically desegregated following Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, implementation took many years to be, in many cases, reluctantly completed. Here William Shatner brilliantly plays a racist in a white suit trying to undo the progress of integration who is willing to sink very low to fulfil his aim and boost his ego. It’s a terrific, nuanced performance and for all the scratches, pops and occasionally imperfect reaction shots from a crowd of local extras working from a different script, this is edge of the seat stuff, and its age and historical specificity make it a fascinating insight into the time.