A villainous black-hatted cattle-rustler tries to forment range-war between two rival ranches; meanwhile, a 'Romeo and Juliet' romance blossoms when the pretty niece of one of the feuding cattlemen is saved by the handsome (and singing) son of the other. The plot is simplistic, the film full of hackneyed western characters and tropes, the 'humour' strained and silly, and the singing/songs are generally awful (although I actually kinda liked 'The Wedding of Jack and Jill') but, needless to say, the film is best known for its gimmick: an all-midget cast (I realise there is some debate about the term 'midget' but I'll use it if IMBD allows). Most people would consider the film 'exploitation', as the cast is primarily used for their novelty and for the opportunity for numerous (and predictable) size-based jokes and sight gags. Although well-received as an entertaining musical-comedy at the time of release, the film has aged poorly and modern audiences will likely find it more offensive than cute (although at the time, these were professional entertainers and this was work for them when there were likely not many other opportunities). A couple of the actors are pretty good (considering the material they are given), notably Billy Curtis (probably the best known of the cast) as the heroic Buck Larson and Billy Platt as the incredibly wrinkled rancher 'Tex' Preston. As the actors couldn't be easily replaced with stunt people, many of the action sequences and fights are amateurish looking (but Curtis and some of the others seemed to be competent around horses (they were riding Shetland ponies)). A number of the actors were part of the "Singer's Midgets" troupe of vaudevillian entertainers (a year later many of them would appear as Munchkins in 'The Wizard of Oz'), and, as Singer primarily employed actors/singers who were either of very diminutive stature (midgets) or had 'proportionate' dwarfism, sometimes only the unusually high-pitched voices reflect the unique casting. Worth watching as a historical celluloid oddity (although the stories about the cast, and the participation of people with 'unique looks' in the film industry in general, makes for interesting reading).
Review of The Terror of Tiny Town
