The Tall T (1957)

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (story)
Burt Kennedy (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 April 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Taut! Torrid! Tremendous! T Is for Terror!

Plot:

Having lost his horse in a bet, Pat Brennan hitches a ride with a stagecoach carrying newlyweds, Willard and Doretta Mims...

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Newlywed | Outlaw | Bet | Stagecoach

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Pat Brennan
Richard Boone	...	Frank Usher
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Doretta Mims
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Ed Rintoon
Skip Homeier	...	Billy Jack
Henry Silva	...	Chink
John Hubbard	...	Willard Mims
Robert Burton	...	Tenvoorde
Fred Sherman	...	Hank Parker (as Fred E. Sherman)
Christopher Olsen	...	Jeff (as Chris Olsen)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #18272) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Producers-Actors Corporation

Trivia:

Columbia Pictures released this film on a double bill with Hellcats of the Navy (1957) starring Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As Brennan rides into town, after the meeting with the station keeper and his son, he passes the stage, which is standing in the street. Behind the stage, in the street behind, there is a parked car.

Quotes:

Pat Brennan: I'm going to finish this. If they come, I'm going to finish this once and for all.
Doretta Mims: Oh, but why?
Pat Brennan: Some things a man can't ride around.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) (V)

Fulfilling meal of a movie

There's nothing epic about this well-crafted, workman-like western, and that works in its favor. Randolph Scott is wonderful as the world-weary small-time rancher who's pursuing a better life at an age when most men in those days were either retired or dead. He meets his evil double in the guise of Richard Boone, who finds himself out of place with the heartless thugs he finds himself running with. It's his fate but he yearns for the life that Scott has chosen. Wonderful location work. Dialogue and action are used to service the story and that's all, as it should be. As fulfilling and satisfying a movie as a good serving of stew and a mug of hot coffee.