The Terror of Tiny Town
Using a conventional Western story with an all dwarf cast, the filmmakers were able to showcase gags such as cowboys entering the local saloon by walking under the swinging doors, and pint-sized cowboys galloping around on Shetland ponies while roping calves.
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- Cast：
- Billy Curtis , Yvonne Moray , 'Little Billy' Rhodes , Billy Platt , Karl 'Karchy' Kosiczky , Jerry Maren , Stephen Chase
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Reviews
A lot of fun.
It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
The Terror Of Tiny Town could have just as easily been made as a regular grade B western starring a cowboy star such as Gene Autry or Roy Rogers. However making this movie with an all little person cast was indeed brilliant giving these people a chance to do serious movie acting.
THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN enjoys something of a cult reputation as one of the "worst films ever made" and is notorious for being a musical western enacted solely by dwarf actors (or midgets, as they're credited in the opening titles). However, this isn't that bad at all; it comes across as a distinctly average but mildly enjoyable western with the added novelty of having the entire cast populated by dwarf actors.It's fair to say that the acting isn't a strong point here, but the dwarfs certainly are enthusiastic performers and you can't fault their efforts in that respect. The musical scenes fare less well due to the high pitched nature of the voices, but the cattle rustling plot is more interesting and there's even a little romance to be enjoyed here. THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN is a unique film, yes, but in many ways it's all rather predictable and ordinary for the era. There are far, far worse films out there too.
Fun little western with an all-midget cast. I first saw clips of this back in the '90s in the Hal Ketchum music video for "Small Town Saturday Night." The plot's pretty standard stuff about cattle rustlers and the like with a Romeo & Juliet romantic subplot. But no one is watching this for the plot. They're watching for the novelty of seeing midgets play cowboys, riding little ponies and such. It's all terribly cute and fun with some nice songs, to boot. Apparently the "Oh my stars & garters" crowd have their knickers in a twist over the exploitation of these midget actors. Whatever. They are all having a good time acting and making a living. No one is humiliated in this and I fail to see how it hurts anyone, living or dead. But you know how some people got to have something to whine about. Anyway, it's a cute little B movie that isn't supposed to be taken too seriously. A nice way to kill an hour.
The standard issue plot consists of the title villain rustling cattle and sparking a range war between two rival ranchers, who each suspect the other.This is the first and only all little person musical western film. Once the novelty wears off though, The Terror Of Tiny Town starts to look like a typical 1930's poverty row programmer, of which director Sam Newfield is strongly associated.Billy Curtis, who went on to co-star alongside Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter, makes an appealing hero. The musical numbers (some of which were dubbed) are well done and the climax is surprisingly good.The producers should have cast Mickey Rooney as a giant!
