Tall, Tan, and Terrific

Tall, Tan, and Terrific (1946)

** (out of 4)

Duke (Dots Johnson) and Harry (Monte Hawley) are rival gamblers and soon a few bad words lead to some violence.

TALL, TAN AND TERRIFIC has a pretty basic story line, which is what I just described but don't let that full you. This forty-two minute movie really doesn't have that much of a story and instead it's more of a showcase for Mantan Moreland's stage routine. While the budget is ultra-low and there's nothing ground-breaking here, fans of Moreland will still want to check this out.

Moreland was a good character actor in a time when blacks weren't really given lead roles unless it was in a picture known as "race" pictures. Moreland made a great career at playing sidekicks, butlers and various comic relief parts in Hollywood so what makes this film interesting is that it gives us a glimpse of the routine he would do on stage when he was touring or playing small clubs.

I will freely admit that I enjoy Moreland's movie appearances but I thought the comedy routines here were rather bland to say the least. They certainly weren't funny, which is really too bad because the actor certainly had some comic talent. There are other routines as well including some music numbers and these two aren't anything great but they're entertaining enough as a time capsule to this era.

TALL, TAN AND TERRIFIC is a mildly interesting film that film buffs will want to check out. Others probably won't see too much appeal