The Tall Texan (1953)

A group of travelers in the Southwest band together to search for gold on Indian burial grounds. Convict Ben Trask attempts to maintain order within the group as they are faced with greed and danger.

Director:

Elmo Williams

Writers:

Elizabeth Reinhardt (additional dialogue), Samuel Roeca

Stars:

Lloyd Bridges, Lee J. Cobb, Marie Windsor

Cast

Cast overview:
Lloyd Bridges	...	Ben Trask
Lee J. Cobb	...	Capt. Theodore Bess
Marie Windsor	...	Laura Thompson
Luther Adler	...	Joshua 'Josh' Tinnen
Syd Saylor	...	Carney (as Sid Saylor)
Samuel Herrick	...	Sheriff Chadborune
George Steele	...	Jaqui
Dean Train	...	Jerome 'Jerry' Niblett

Storyline

A quintet of travelers journey in a wagon through Comanche county includes a tinhorn and his woman, a sheriff escorting an accused murderer, and a sea captain with a checkered past. After a renegade Indian tells them about a virgin gold field as thanks for saving his life, the group becomes fixated on the gold as greed becomes their prime motivation.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | greed | sea captain | indian burial ground | sheriff | 

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Taglines:

He had the..... Lure of Danger! Love of adventure! Lust for Gold!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der lange Texaner

Filming Locations:

City of Rocks State Park - State Rt. 61, Faywood, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$102,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lippert Pictures, T.F. Woods Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The locals threw a barbecue for the guests, the movie people, but Lee Cobb objected to the slaughter of the calf.

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Goofs

There is a violation of the 180 degree rule during the card game scene.

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Quotes

Laura Thompson: A man's dying doesn't mean very much to you, does it?
Trask: On the contrary, a man's dying means a lot to me.

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Soundtracks

"Yankee Doodle"
(uncredited)
18th Century Anglo-American folk song
[hummed by Luther Adler]

User Reviews

He ain't all that tall....but the film still is very good.

Lloyd Bridges was 6' tall. Not short by any standard but hardly the 'tall' you see in this film's title.

"The Tall Texan" is sort of like taking the movie "Stagecoach" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and reworking it just a bit. Just like in "Stagecoach" you have the guy who is in trouble with the law--but instead of John Wayne, it's Lloyd Bridges. It also consists of a group of folks in a stage coach on their way from one town to another. It's a lot like "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" because this group of folks stumble upon gold--and spend much of the rest of the film losing their souls in pursuit of this treasure.

There is a bit more to the movie--but basically it's almost exactly what you'd expect from the mergers of these two films. This isn't a bad thing--the movie is entertaining and like the best sci-fi and westerns (in my opinion), the film has a lot to say about human nature today just like in the 1800s. And, it also is excellent because the American-Indians are not all mindless killers but you understand and appreciate their position in this film. Well worth seeing--especially Luther Adler's highly entertaining portrayal.