The Tin Star

Scripted by Dudley Nichols, a Western in the traditional mould, much more predictable than Mann's marvellous series with James Stewart, and a little too overtly didactic in detailing the relationship between a disillusioned sheriff turned bounty-hunter (Fonda) and the young greenhorn (Perkins) to whom he becomes a father-figure, teaching him the hard facts of a lawman's life and regaining his self-respect in the process. But Mann directs with an impressive classical elegance, and the performances are fine, even if (as David Thomson remarked) 'Fonda and Perkins look like business executives dressed up in cowboy togs'.