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Truly Dreadful Film

A lot of fun.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This filim is from the' C' rated "wild west category not even reaching the lofty heights of 'B' western. It's the time when men were men and anyone who was'nt a white anglo saxon male knew it. A nuts and bolts western with the baddie even wearing the obligatory black hat. The very squared jaw hero is played by Randolph Scott with a grimace, some very run of the mill lines and very little else.When I was growing up these kind of movies were very much Sunday afternoon TV fare. Scott was never one of my favourites lacking the humour in his roles that Wayne, Widmark and Stewart could provide. Age was also taking its toll in this movie, Scott looking too old and stiff in the action sequences compared to someone like the great Kirk Douglas . Dorothy Malone plays the weepy eyed love interest who just goes thru the motions, but the second female role is handled with confidence and strength by Peggie Castle making a lot of what she is given.

Tall Man Riding is directed by Lesley Selander and adapted to screenplay by Joseph Hoffman from the novel written by Norman A. Fox. It stars Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Peggie Castle, William Ching, John Baragrey, Robert Barrat and John Dehner. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Wilfred M. Cline.Petty routine Oater that retains watchable factors due to Randolph Scott, location photography (in Warnercolor) and some straight backed action. Larry Madden (Scott) returns to the town of Little River seeking revenge on the land baron (Barratt) who publicly humiliated him with a whipping. Madden's crime was to date the man's daughter (Malone). Soon enough Madden is dealing with all sorts of problems, liars and cheats, murder, hired assassin, an ambush, prison escape, betrayal, corrupt law and of course affairs of the heart. All wrapped up in under 85 minutes.There's some interesting characterisations about the place, but the screenplay doesn't have time to capitalise on the potential (eg: one key character is going blind but barely anything is made to add dramatic worth to this issue). Selander does a competent job of directing, but the over all feeling is that the makers were happy to settle for a "B" Western and just chock the play with formula staples guaranteed to please all the family looking for an unassuming afternoon at the theatre. Which on the face of it is enough for Western fans who know what they are getting with these 50s "B" level Oaters.When you got Randy Scott in square jawed antagonist mode, Dottie Malone batting her eyelids, Peggie Castle showcasing beautiful thighs that could crush walnuts, and Wilfred Cline photographing the Calif Ranch locales, well it's impossible for genre fans to hate really. 6/10

Not many westerns feature two girls in the feminine lead. Here it's Peggie Castle (Reva) and Dorothy Malone (Corinne), each playing a good girl. Now you know the manly Scott (Madden) will end up with one of the two but which one. It's a non-formula screenplay with a couple of interesting twists. Okay, Scott, heck-bent on revenge, is not exactly new, but the rest remains an interesting variation on land ownership, along with shifting alliances and an Oklahoma style land-rush.Scott is his usual uncompromising self, showing again why his cowboy career endured into his sixties. (Here he's 57! but trim and agile as ever). Then too, Baragrey (Pearlo) makes a sleekly calculating rival and saloon owner. I just wish Warner's had hired a more imaginative director than the thoroughly pedestrian Selander; his list of "shoot-it fast and under-budget" Westerns looks to run to nearly 100 or so. Maybe that's why Paul Richards (Peso Kid) doesn't get to project his usual amount of quirky evil. There's one really eye-catching and acrobatic brawl. However the showdown shoot-out amounts to a flatly staged disappointment. Anyhow, it's a good cast in one of Scott's entertaining mid-level westerns.

This is a good Randolph Scott western , good plot, good scene of the Land Rush plenty of action scenes, colorful, two pretty actresses Dorothy Malone and Peggie Castle, where Castle outshines Malone. If you saw this western in the fifties you would certainly agree that you got your money's worth, it sure delivers all you could expect from a pre Boetticher Scott western. Scott gives one of his best performances as Larry Madden, a tough, quiet, well developed character the ideal western hero. Paul Richatd as "The Peso Kid" makes us nostalgic of the "bandidos" in the old westerns. Lesley Selander, the director, had a lot of practice in this genre, remember Hopalong Cassidy?