The Tall Texan (1953)

Director:

Elmo Williams

Writers:

Elizabeth Reinhardt (additional dialogue)
Samuel Roeca (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

WHERE THERE'S GOLD AND A WOMAN...YOU'LL FIND THE TALL TEXAN (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Native American

Cast

Lloyd Bridges	...	Ben Trask
Lee J. Cobb	...	Captain 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

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16245) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Lippert Pictures

Trivia:

Shot in eight days.

Quotes:

Tinnen: How do we know we can trust the Indians to keep their word?
Trask: You got a point there. Indians got a point too. They've had dealings with whites before.

Classic, low budget western action

Fresh off his success as award winning editor on "High Noon", Elmo Williams takes the Directors chair here for the first time. Often compared to Ford's "Stagecoach" this character study of lust and greed is more reminiscent of "Treasure of Sierra Madre." Bridges is superb as the tight lipped convict, Trask(the Tall Texan), however the real acting kudos go to Adler and Cobb as sniveling peddler and sadistic sea captain, respectively. The picture slowly builds to an action packed climax and a deliberately inconclusive ending. This is perhaps the finest picture from Lippert Inc.