Tall in the Saddle (1944)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Gordon Ray Young (story)
Michael Hogan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 September 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Western | Romance

Tagline:

The Saturday Evening Post Story Comes to Life!

Plot:

When a stranger arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who sent for him has been murdered...

Plot Keywords:

Ranch | Beautiful Woman | Poker | Knife Throwing | Stagecoach

Cast

John Wayne	...	Rocklin
Ella Raines	...	Arleta 'Arly' Harolday
Ward Bond	...	'Judge' Robert Garvey
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Dave
Audrey Long	...	Clara Cardell
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Miss Elizabeth Martin
Donald Douglas	...	Harolday (as Don Douglas)
Paul Fix	...	Bob Clews
Russell Wade	...	Clint Harolday
Emory Parnell	...	Sheriff Jackson
Raymond Hatton	...	Zeke
Harry Woods	...	George Clews

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #10109) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

This was the first John Wayne film to be shown on American network television.

Quotes:

Rocklin: I never feel sorry for anything that happens to a woman.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The John Wayne Anthology (1991) (TV)

Very enjoyable, with a genuinely interesting female character

There are better Westerns than 'Tall in the Saddle', but very few that are as much sheer fun. The plot is conventional, but the performances elevate the film above the ordinary, especially that of Ella Raines as the wild-spirited ranch operator. Raines is simply a hoot to watch, especially in the three way meeting between her, John Wayne, and Audrey Long in which she makes it clear that Wayne's expectation that no woman is going to "hogtie and brand him" is already in trouble. Watch her face; she manages to pack coyness, bravado, sensuality, wit, and smugness into a comparatively brief scene without ever overreaching herself. She's handy with a gun, with a knife, and with Wayne. The result plays off and balances Wayne's traditional laconic approach very effectively, and thus helps give Wayne's character more depth than was often the case in his mid-40s Western programmers (notice his reaction after his first encounter with Raines; for once in a Western you feel that there's a genuine reason for the hero ordering a whiskey in the middle of the day). I recommend this film highly; it's unpretentious, crisply made, and very enjoyable.