Pulls almost no punches (at least until the end), portraying unfiltered racism in a shockingly cavalier manner. Shatner is dynamite as the snake-oil, smooth-talking instigator of race warfare; kudos to him for opting to play a character without a single redeeming quality to his name. And bravo to Corman for having the balls to make such a blatantly political film about a wildly explosive topic (and for doing it so well).

The maturity with which this film deals with racism and hatred feels tremendously ahead of its time. To think that Crash (2004) is viewed by many as a cutting edge piece of racial drama is absolutely laughable when you see a film like this, made over 40 years prior. Also, Shatner is amazing. His suave, handsome presence makes his evil intentions seem all the more sinister. Like the devil in disguise. It's a daring performance that I don't imagine too many actors would have the balls to attempt.

Intense and unrelenting, this is a very impressive film that is really well made considering its budget.

Would've been better if it had turned out (and that's where I thought they were going with it) Shatner was playing them all against each other, like a kid with red and black ants in a jar.

Set just after schools integration, Shatner plays an organizer (read: provocateur) from the "Patrick Henry Society" (read: John Birch) out to rouse opposition. Shatner plays the role to the hilt, his initially cool exterior crumbling as the townspeople he provokes prove to be uncontrollable. Overall, though, the movie is a little preachy, especially when Shatner isn't on screen.

Great performance from Shatner as a rather despicable racist agitator. The film is a little heavy handed and its low budget nature is obvious, but it nevertheless is a fascinating contemporary treatment of what was then a very controversial issue.

Directed by legendary producer Roger Corman and starring young William Shatner who delivers some very strong scenes, The Intruder is a well-made and engaging film. The script is a bit crude and sometimes cheesy, but nevertheless intelligent, touches a sensitive, politically charged point in history that few if any films before it have, and provokes interesting thoughts about ethics, division of control, responsibility and accountability between leader and mob.