The Tall T (1957)

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

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Burt Kennedy (screenplay), Elmore Leonard (based on a story by)

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Having lost his horse in a bet, Pat Brennan hitches a ride with a stagecoach carrying newlyweds, Willard and Doretta Mims. At the next station the coach and its passengers fall into the hands of a trio of outlaws headed by a man named Usher. When Usher learns that Doretta is the daughter of a rich copper-mine owner, he decides to hold her for ransom. Tension builds over the next 24 hours as Usher awaits a response to his demands and as a romantic attachment grows between Brennan and Doretta.

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Plot Keywords:

deserted way station | way station master | way station | stagecoach relay station | arizona | 

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Taglines:

Taut! Torrid! Tremendous! T Is for Terror!

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Genres:

Romance | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Captives

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Scott-Brown Productions, Producers-Actors Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia Pictures released this film on a double bill with Hellcats of the Navy (1957) starring Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan.

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Goofs

When Scott gets thrown by the bull he throws himself in the water trough. When Scott surfaces and gets out you can see bulky elbow pads in his shirt, one sleeve is pulled up over the white pad and Scott pulls his shirt sleeve down to cover it.

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Quotes

Billy Jack: You'd never know she was around, would you, quiet like she is?
Chink: Them's the kind yuh gotta watch, Billy. I had me a quiet woman once. Outside she was as calm as Sunday, but inside wild as mountain scenery.

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Connections

Referenced in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

User Reviews

"There Are Some Things A Man Can't Ride Around"

Borrowing elements from Stagecoach and Rawhide, The Tall T is one lean and mean collaboration from director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott. It's one of the best of the seven films the two men did together in the Fifties.

Scott's lost a horse on a bet with his old boss Robert Burton and is walking back to his place, a good 15 miles carrying saddle and other western gear. A stagecoach stops and driver Arthur Hunnicutt offers him a lift. It's not the regular stagecoach run, it's been hired by John Hubbard for him and his wife Maureen O'Sullivan. She's the only child of a millionaire mine owner and Hubbard was the bookkeeper for her father. It's made quite obvious from the beginning this is not a love match.

When the stagecoach gets to a way station, it's been taken over by outlaws Richard Boone, Skip Homeier, and Henry Silva. They think it's the regular coach run, but when they hear how O'Sullivan's father is worth millions, they decide on a kidnap.

The T in The Tall T might just stand for tension because that's what the film bristles with. Once Scott, O'Sullivan, and Hubbard are taken prisoner, the film's suspense doesn't let up for a minute. Scott is at his most forthright as a western hero in The Tall T.

Homeier and Silva play their usual punk roles to perfection. Boone is lean and mean as their leader, a worthy adversary for Scott. Of course it's the other two with their more than human weaknesses that leads to their downfall.

The Tall T is one of the best of Randolph Scott's westerns required viewing if one calls thyself a Randolph Scott fan.