Tall Man Riding

Randolph Scott starred in many fine westerns in his decades-long career. His strong, gentlemanly demeanor gave way to steely determination when confronting the villains who were unfortunate enough to face him . This film again finds Scott out for vengeance in what turned out to be a pretty decent shoot-em-up film.

Although Scott & John Dehner give their usual strong performances, the script ultimately lets them both down. It is full of clichéd western characters that hold few surprises for the seasoned viewer.

All of Randolph Scott's films are worth seeing, but this film from late in his career was not his best. An average film from a great actor.

Look fast for an appearance by character actor Dub Taylor !

Some of the same plot elements in the far more expensive James Stewart western, The Far Country which came out the year before are to be found in this fine Randolph Scott B western Tall Man Riding. Like Stewart in his film, Randolph Scott is a tough and touchy guy you don't push too hard and like Stewart he has two leading ladies and you're not quite sure which one he'll end up with in the end.

Tall Man Riding is a range war western and Scott's the loner who's ridden back into town and into the middle of said war. On the one side is John Baragrey the owner of the local saloon and a man pushing homesteaders in on the local Ponderosa owner and Scott finds him repugnant on general principles. On the other side the local Ponderosa owner is Robert Barrat who was making his farewell big screen appearance. Scott was courting Dorothy Malone, Barrat's daughter and Barrat thought him not worthy. He ran Scott out of town after administering a public whipping to him. Malone's now married to William Ching.

The only friend Scott does make is saloon girl Peggie Castle who is the personal squeeze of Baragrey. She'd like to trade up if she can and finds Randy quite to her liking. She even saves him from a bushwhacking.

Tall Man Riding has enough hard riding and gunplay to suit western fans and it is also a harbinger of the westerns soon to be populating the small screen with more adult themes. There are two other roles of note in Tall Man Riding, John Dehner plays a sleazy lawyer and Paul Richards plays a gunfighter on the payroll of Baragrey.

In my description you will also notice some plot similarities to Destry Rides Again and the climax involves a land rush which while not as spectacular as the one in both versions of Cimarron is still exciting enough and done well enough with the small budget this B film had.

Tall Man Riding is a really good Randolph Scott western, one of the better ones he did in the Fifties.

Typical enjoyable Randolph Scott western I used to watch in theaters as a kid. Square jawed Randy always seems to wear nice clean clothes...straight out of the laundry. And he wanders all the countryside with a minimum of supplies tied behind his saddle. That aside, Scott was the likable hero in many popular westerns.

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

This one Lacks the Edge of the Scott/Boetticher Films that were truly Special, but it is Above Average in the absolutely Abysmal Amount of Westerns that were made in the Fifties. Along with Randolph Scott there are Two Strong Female Leads (Dorothy Malone and Peggie Castle).

However the Villains are quite Dull Including the Peso Kid (Yep). Colorful Locations and a lot of Western Style Dialog help the standard Plot. Plenty of Gunplay with one Excellent Expressionistic Duel in an abandoned Ranch House.

Overall, Delivers the Goods for Fans of Western Movies and has Enough Differentness to set it Apart and Thankfully No Stupid Ballad intruding on the Opening.