FuzzyTagz
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
dweilermg-1
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.
Cosmoeticadotcom
The Terror Of Tiny Town is not a classic, nor even that good. The Shetland pony riding is rough, the singing (especially by Buck- it's dubbed) is rougher, and the 'small' jokes roughest, but the film is enjoyable. It's not a 'so bad it's good' film, but it is a cute film that never takes itself seriously, and as anyone who has read my criticism before knows, pretense is the ultimate killer. The acting is not good, and the screenplay loaded with mediocre dialogue, but, on the positive side, there are a few moments when one is sucked into the film's world; the best example being when Bat and his gang try to rob the stagecoach that brings Nancy to town. After Buck and his boys chase off the bad guys, Buck goes to stop the runaway stage (again, not exactly original), and there is some genuine serial-level excitement. Not bad for a gimmick film, and certainly something that lifts the film up beyond mere exploitation. Also, while most film fare at this level- think The Beast Of Yucca Flats or Santa Claus Conquers The Martians- are loaded with many moments a viewer says, 'That makes no sense,' from a logical standpoint. There are no such moments like that in the narrative, although there are throwaway bizarrenesses, like the appearance of the penguin, or Otto's pursuit of the duck, or why a blacksmith's horse, about to be shoed, is the only normal sized horse in the film, when others are Shetland ponies, and the odd breaks into song. That all said, it is amusing, it is guileless, it is sweet, and it is utterly unpretentious (from its opening 'intro,' to its cartoonish credits, to its almost Harold Lloydian ending). There are far better movies, and there are many worse films. The Terror Of Tiny Town, though, is a film that any fan of the medium should see, at least once, if for no other reason than its utter uniqueness in film history, especially contrasted against so many other western musicals of its day. It may not have many, but it does have charms.
zardoz-13
Prolific B-movie director Sam Newfield helmed this serviceable outdoors oater "The Terror of Tiny Town" with a cast completely consisting of vertically challenged tykes. Actually, this musical western is the first all-midget cowboy musical done during the era of the singing cowboys. Bat Haines ('Little Billy' Rhodes) pits two ranches against each other so they will wipe each other out and he can step in to pick up the pieces. Buck admits that he is the bad guy. "I'm the villain. I'm the toughest hombre that ever lived, and I ain't afraid o' the biggest one o' you. I'm the Terror of Tiny Town, and that's the star part." Good guy cowboy Buck Lawson (Billy Curtis of "High Plains Drifter") is the hero who saves the day. The romantic interest, Nancy Preston (Yvonne Moray) meets Buck when he pulls over the runaway stagecoach that she was riding in after Bat's gunslingers killed Peter the driver and the Wells Fargo shotgun messenger. Bat is a thoroughly obnoxious outlaw who has no qualms against shooting down anybody and he bushwhacks Nancy's father, Tex (Billy Platt) as he is riding across a pasture. Bat implicates Buck for the killing of Tex and coerces the local sheriff to arrest him. Entertaining and offbeat fun, even though there are several murders. The finale is appropriately explosive!
babeth_jr
This movie is a cult classic. The main reason it is a classic, of course, is that the cast is made up entirely of little people (or midgets, as they were referred to back in the 1930's, when this movie was made.)I can only imagine some bigwigs in Hollywood sitting around the boardroom table, and someone saying, "Hey...let's make a western musical with an all midget cast!" and everyone chiming in and saying, "Yeah, that's a great idea!". I mean, what were they thinking? Now let me start off by saying I have nothing at all against little people. But the premise for this movie is pretty bizarre. Was it meant to be serious, or taken as a joke? It is exploitation of the midget actors, making fun of them, or was it meant to be a serious attempt at a western musical, just starring little people? These questions go mainly unanswered.I think the actors performed with all seriousness in their roles, even though it seems to me that the script was poking fun at them, having them ride miniature ponies (which is hilarious to see) and having them walk under normal size barroom doors and the like.Other than the cast being made up entirely of little people, there is nothing to distinguish this movie from the hundreds of other westerns made during the 1930's...low budget, cheap sets, terrible acting and atrocious songs (The song, "The Wedding of Jack and Jill", is unintentionally a howler). I think everyone should see this movie at least once. It happens to be a part of a 20 movie DVD compilation put out by Mill Creek Entertainment entitled "Cult Classics". It has the notorious movies "Reefer Madness", "Cocaine Fiends", "Sex Mad" and "Terror of Tiny Town", as well as many others included in the set. Most of these movies are exploitation films of the thirties and they are a gas to watch.
