William Shatner has never again been as incendiary as in the role of this racist provocateur, who drifts into a Southern ghetto and charges the atmosphere with a lynch mob mentality. Shot with the urgency of a guerrilla documentary, and originally denied an MPAA rating, Corman’s scathing film survives as a greyscale critique of the power of hate and latent prejudices toward race and social change. Still the finest film on racism. Still worryingly relevant.

Print courtesy of the Joe Dante and Jon Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive.