A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS

MGM Limited Edition Collection / 1976 / 96 min. / R

MGM’s Limited Edition Collection brings movies to DVD which are not commercially viable enough for a more general release.  These films are pretty much printed up on DVD-R discs as they are ordered by the consumer.  If a movie here interests you, expect to shell out $19.99 for your beloved personal favorite, without benefit of any kind of discount from Amazon or other online retailers.  It’s actually a pretty nifty way to market more obscure titles that would otherwise remain unavailable to consumers.  One of the latest “classics” added to the collection is the 1976 redneck B-movie, A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS.

This production from the prolific exploitation company, American International Pictures, is like a lot of other low-budget fare of its era.  Efficiently made, A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS doesn’t really have anything extraordinary going on in it.  Unlike a lot of titles Roger Corman’s company was churning out at the same time from future notables like John Sayles, Joe Dante, Ron Howard and James Cameron, nobody involved in A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS went on to scale the Hollywood heights.  If anything, just a short while later, the level of filmed action in this picture morphed into the kind of car chase silliness found in network TV shows like CHiPs, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and THE A-TEAM.

The simple, formulaic script by William Norton has young, handsome Poke Jackson (Timothy Bottoms) being released from a five-year jail stint to return to his small, Texas hometown, where he is immediately confronted by his nefarious nemesis, Sheriff Duke (character acting legend, Bo Hopkins).  Duke is now actively pursuing Poke’s old girlfriend, Mary Lee (British Susan George doing a Texas accent), raising Poke’s 5-year-old son, whom Poke has never seen.   As Sheriff Duke tries to run Poke out of town, our hero witnesses the murder of a local politician in which Sheriff Duke and an envelope stuffed with $25,000 are clearly involved.

Helmed by B-movie stalwart, Jack Starrett, who went on to act in and direct many of the aforementioned TV series before his untimely death at 52, A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS exudes its small-budget roots.  With clichéd characters and obligatory set pieces, the Texas scenery gets chewed by the heavily accented cast, and the action never rises above the dusty, car-chase aesthetic.

Still, this is a particular kind of drive-in exploitation fare that certainly had its commercial place in its day.  In fact, when big studios co-opted the genre, they successfully turned out their own run of films like the Burt Reynolds/Hal Needham SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT series and Clint Eastwood’s WHICH WAY… movies.  Somehow, though, it feels like this type of movie is more at home in bargain basements like A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS.

 THE DISC

With a disclaimer at the beginning saying the DVD transfer was made from the best elements available, the print is a bit faded and washed-out, though I doubt it was a rich-looking movie to begin with. 

The mono sound mix is strictly center speaker and serviceable.

EXTRAS

Nada.

MY SAY

A middling example of mid-70’s redneck exploitation fare.

--Reviewed by David Newman