The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
A conniving henchman stokes a lethal feud between two ranching families while a young couple from the opposing sides fall in love and set out to expose him. The twist is entirely in the casting: every role in this otherwise standard singing-cowboy Western is played by little people, who ride Shetland ponies and walk beneath the saloon's swinging doors.
Producer Jed Buell’s novelty Western The Terror of Tiny Town was sold hard on its gimmick, billed above the title as “Jed Buell’s Midgets,” and has been argued over ever since as either a good-natured curio or an exploitation piece at its cast’s expense. Several of its performers had toured as Singer’s Midgets and would turn up the following year as Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz; the film lapsed into the public domain in 1966 when its copyright went unrenewed.
Background
The Terror of Tiny Town is a 1938 Western produced by Jed Buell and directed by Sam Newfield. Every role in its cast is played by little people, and the film was billed above the title as ‘Jed Buell’s Midgets.’ The plot is a standard singing-cowboy story of two ranching families in a bitter feud, with a scheming henchman stoking the conflict and a young couple from opposing sides trying to expose him. Its only real gimmick is the casting. Several performers had worked in Singer’s Midgets, a touring troupe, and some would later appear as Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz the following year. The film runs about sixty-two minutes.
What to watch for
Look at how the production adapts Western conventions to performers of small stature: the saloon’s swinging doors, the ponies, and the props are all scaled to fit the cast. The film plays its action and romance straight, as though the story were ordinary, and that choice is what makes the novelty so noticeable. Modern viewers will want to consider the exploitative billing and the limited opportunities available to these performers in 1930s Hollywood. The film has been argued over ever since as either a good-natured curio or an exploitation piece, and watching it with that debate in mind is useful. The film’s standard plot gives the performers the same roles a conventional Western would, which is part of its strangeness.
