The Tall Men (1955)

Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (screenplay), Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) (as Frank Nugent)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Col. Ben Allison
Jane Russell	...	Nella Turner
Robert Ryan	...	Nathan Stark
Cameron Mitchell	...	Clint Allison
Juan García	...	Luis (as Juan Garcia)
Harry Shannon	...	Sam
Emile Meyer	...	Chickasaw Charlie
Steve Darrell	...	Colonel Norris (as Stevan Darrell)

Storyline

Two brothers, Ben and Clint, join a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. While heading for Texas they save Nella from the Indians, and she decides to ride with them. Ben and Nella start to get romantic, but Ben isn't ambitious enough for her, and she soon meets up with the boss of the cattle drive. Will she make the right choice, and, more importantly, will the cattle make it to Montana !

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Plot Keywords:

year 1866 | ex confederate | sioux indian | montana | army | 

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Taglines:

The Tall Men stood tall...fought tall...loved tall...and one man towered above them all!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clark Gable was never on location for the Montana scenes.

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Goofs

When they start driving the herd of cattle to Montana (appr. at 61st minute), in the sand in front of the herd the tracks of a car are visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[pointing to a lynched man dangling from a tree limb]
Colonel Ben Allison: Looks like we're close to civilization.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: MONTANA TERRITORY 1866

They came from the South, headed for the goldfields...Ben and Clint Allison, lonely, desperate men. Riding away from a heartbreak memory of Gettysburg. Looking for a new life. A story of tall men - and long shadows.

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Connections

Referenced in Stonewall Uprising (2010)

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Soundtracks

Tall Men
by Ken Darby

User Reviews

Rough as well as attractive Western with tough action , colorful cinematography and adequate performance

Two brothers , old members of the guerrilla or irregular military forces called Bushwhakers from Quantrell, Anderson leaders -played by Clark Gable and Cameron Mitchell- and being recently discharged from Confederate Army lead a cattle drive from Texas to Montana . The brave brothers along with the boss Robert Ryan heading for Texas and they save the besieged Nella: Jane Russell from the Indians and she , then, decides ro ride with them . Across the rough territory they confront Jayhawkers , Indians Sioux commanded by Chief Red Cloud , savage stampede , angry rustlers , wild rivers , bad weather with snowy storms , assaults with the aim of attrition and many other things .

Nice western with plenty of action , attacks , stampedes , rich dialogue , a triangular romance and with a real feel for the wide open spaces of the west . It has spectacular scenes , impressive outdoors scenarios , and moving set pieces as the stampeding a herd of cattle . It stars three great stars giving meaty roles : Clark Gable , Robert Ryan and Jane Russell . However , the 3 stars were all deemed too old for their characters ; furthermore , the great John Wayne withdrew and Charlton Heston was deemed for the main role . This trio furnished decent interpretation . Features two frontier hands : Gable and Cameron Mitchell , along with a tough boss , Robert Ryan , on rough cattle drive . Along the way confronting Indian Sioux , cutthroats , and the wilderness while vying with each other for the love Russell. And fine support cast with notorious secondaries as Emile Meyer, Harry Shannon, Robert Adler , Juan Garcia and others uncredited as Mae Marsh , Chuck Roberson and Russell Simpson .

It displays a brilliant and rousing cinematography in Cinemascope, color De Luxe by Leo Tover . And an emotive and thrilling musical score by maesto Dimitri Tiomkin , including a sensitive leitmotif .The motion picture was well directed by Raoul Walsh who has an extreme feeling for the wide open spaces of the Far West for which this veteran filmmaker must take most of the credit .Walsh directed masterfully all kinds of genres and he made good westerns such as : They died with their boots on , Distant drums , Pursued , Gun fury , Lawless breed , Band of Angels and The king and four queens also with Clark Gable .Rating : 6.5/10 . Charming and decently made Western. Better than average . Worthwhile watching .Essential and indispendable seeing for Clark Gable and Jane Russell fans .

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

12 December 1955 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Tall Man

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,115,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,714

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (35 mm magnetic prints) Mono (Western Electric Recording) (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1