The Tall T (1957)

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Burt Kennedy (screenplay)
Elmore Leonard (story)

Release Date:

2 April 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Taut! Torrid! Tremendous! T Is for Terror!

Plot:

An independent former ranch foreman is kidnapped along with an heiress, who is being held for ransom by trio of ruthless outlaws.

Plot Keywords:

Bet | Stagecoach | Outlaw | Newlyweds | Ransom

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Anderson	...	Jace (uncredited)
Dick Johnstone	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ann Kunde	...	Townswoman (uncredited)
Christopher Olsen	...	Jeff (uncredited)
Fred Sherman	...	Hank Parker (uncredited)

Directed by
Budd Boetticher

Writing credits
Burt Kennedy		(screenplay)
Elmore Leonard		(story)

Produced by
Harry Joe Brown	....	producer
Randolph Scott	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Heinz Roemheld

Cinematography by
Charles Lawton Jr.		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Al Clark

Art Direction by
George Brooks

Set Decoration by
Frank Tuttle		(as Frank A. Tuttle)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Nelson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Ferrol Redd	....	sound (as Ferol Redd)

Music Department
Heinz Roemheld	....	conductor
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
David Breen	....	assistant to producer
Henri Jaffa	....	Technicolor color consultant

Production Companies

• Producers-Actors Corporation (as a Scott-Brown Production)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (included in "The Films of Budd Boetticher")
• Comet Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #18272) | UK:U | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG (video rating) (2010) | UK:PG (tv rating)

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:

Chink:[after shooting Rintoon] I was waitin' for that old man to try something.
Pat Brennan:You didn't have to kill him.
Chink:I would have sooner or later.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

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.