The Tall T

_**Well done 50’s Western with Randolph Scott, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Sullivan**_ A former ranch ramrod (Randolph Scott) and members of a stagecoach in the Southwest (e.g. Maureen O'Sullivan) are threatened by a trio of ruthless killers (Richard Boone, Henry Silva and Skip Homeier). “The Tall T” (1957) is a quality 50’s Western with likable Randolph Scott in the heroic role. It has achieved a sort of cult status as the prime example of a classic Boetticher-Scott Western. The original story was written by Elmore Leonard, which explains the movie’s similarities to the later “Hombre” (1967), not to mention Boone appears in both as the chief outlaw. There are also parallels to Scott’s “Hangman’s Knot” (1952), which was shot in the same area and shares some story elements. I didn’t recognize Maureen O'Sullivan of Tarzan fame, 23 years after her physical prime in “Tarzan and His Mate” (1934). While the script keeps having the male characters refer to her as a “plain” or “old maid,” she’s obviously fit and still alluring in the second half with her hair down. In truth, most men in the Old West would kill to gain the attentions of such a woman. The film is taut at 1 hour, 18 minutes, and was shot at Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California. GRADE: B+/A-

When "Usher" (Richard Boone) and his two pals hold up the stagecoach, the cowardly passenger "Mims" (John Hubbard) hastily volunteers that his wife "Doretta" (Maureen O'Sullivan) is worth a fortune and that her copper-mining father will pay a hefty sum to get her back safely. Shrewdly, "Usher" sends him and "Chink" (Henry Silva) to negotiate with the father-in-law, whilst settling down to wait with the enigmatic "Brennan" (Randolph Scott) who had only just lost his horse; hitched a ride on this ill-fated coach and is now also a prisoner. As they wait, the dynamics between the two men and between "Brennan" and "Doretta" - who is gradually realising that her husband is a bit of a creep, begin to change. The former becomes quite a tense, cerebral, game of cat and mouse that you know is bound to lead some sort of a reckoning whilst the latter scenario would seem to suggest a romance might be smouldering, even if she is reluctant to ditch her duplicitous spouse. Whilst there is some action here, most of this is really about the taut development of the relationship between Scott and the very much on-form Boone who always managed to imbue his character with a degree of menace that thrived without the need for violence. Hubbard also delivers well with a degree of obsequiousness that gets under your finger nails and O'Hara offers us something far stronger with her "Doretta" than the oft-seen simpering damsel we are more used to from this genre. There is some cunning here and though I did feel the denouement was a little disappointing, this is a superior and characterful story well presented.