The Tall Texan

That's a pretty good little western, pulled by a prestigious editor and producer, Elmo Williams. I like this little flick, mainly because of a cast very surprising in such a B picture: Lloyd Bridges, Lee J Cobb, Marie Windsor.... I really enjoyed it, thanks to some good action scenes and an adequate characters study, again not that foreseeable for such a little budget film. I don't remember having seen it before. I guess it is not widely known among western buffs and it's a bit shame because I think it deserves better. Try it if you have the opportunity to. The plot, though, has nothing special to offer.

Considering that this movie is almost 50 years old, it holds up quite well. Bridges, Adler and Cobb give striking performances in a tale set amongst a group of barren rocks in the Southwest. The plot moves slowly, building to an exciting climax. One of the best western movies of the 50s with a great musical score.

I'm a big fan of B movie westerns, but this one just put me to sleep. I tried it again the next day, with not much better results. The acting is fine, but there's little action until the last 20 minutes or so. The tension does build up towards the end & it gets pretty good at that point, but not enough to make up for the slowness of the rest of the movie. There are some interesting turns in the story, but too much camera time is spent watching the characters slowly ride from one place to another, then slowly walk from one place to another, then slowly unmount their horses, then talk, then slowly move on to something else. I guess the word I'm looking for is "pacing." And to sum up the pacing of this movie in a word: slow! The interpersonal conflicts are not enough to keep my interest. I rate it only 5/10, & the 5 is for the acting & the character development, nothing for plot or "pacing."

The Tall Texan succeeds because of a fortuitous combination of elements-setting, background music, romance, suspense, and characterization. Although termed low budget, the photography amidst impressive rock formations successfully creates the illusion of taking place on the edge of sacred Indian burial grounds somewhere northwest of El Paso in New Mexico's City of Rocks. The background music has the flavor of Aaron Copland as motifs for the Sea Captain (Lee J. Cobb) ,the crooked peddler Tinnen (Luther Adler) and Ben Trask,the Tall Texan (Lloyd Bridges) recur throughout the drama.The Tympani throbs create tension near the close as Ben Trask fights for his life. An intriguing romance develops between a free spirited woman (Laura Thompson-Marie Windsor) and a prisoner accused of a crime he didn't commit (Ben Trask- Lloyd Bridges). A rapid metamorphosis of contempt to admiration to affection develops as Laura discerns Ben's honest unassuming character. Ben Trask's rival, a hot tempered former sea captain wins the hearts of the audience by developing latent altruistic characteristics. Robert Lippert and Elmo Williams have masterfully and tastefully combined these elements into a well-made drama.

Despite a muddled script and a barrel bottom budget, this stark little b&w western remains oddly fascinating, even among today's color fests.

Check out that barren New Mexico desert that never leaves the eye for the hour-plus runtime. It's a perfect backdrop for the six guys and one gal trapped by Comanches in the lonely spaces. The travelers are basically on-foot now that their wagon's been overturned by the warriors. Good thing a more peaceful Indian group just wants to keep them off their sacred burial grounds, but otherwise just keeps them under a watchful eye.

Worse than the Indians, the guys find gold dust while rooting around for water, thus introducing a fresh and maybe more ominous set of complications. So now they're trapped not only by Comanches but by their own mounting greed, especially when Adler finds nuggets on the sacred burial ground -- no wonder the Indians keep watching them. It's that combination that really distinguishes the plot, even though the connecting threads are often obscure (or maybe that's just me).

Anyhow, it's a distinguished cast, laid low by looming Hollywood blacklist, and willing to take on even bottom barrel Lippert Pictures and a rapid 8-day shooting schedule. It's a strappingly adventurous Lloyd Bridges, a forceful Lee J. Cobb, a sneaky little Luther Adler, and an unexpectedly compliant Marie Windsor, a long way from her usual heartless vixens. Anyway, none are particularly likable or dislikable, sort of like many everday encounters.

Note too the underlying subtext of how the panned gold and nuggets should be distributed among the six men and maybe the woman. Should it be an equal division or should each keep his own findings, or maybe even extract from others, that is, if they can agree on amounts, or, worse, just plain get away with stealing it. I'm not surprised, given the political climate of the early '50's, that such a distribution question would be raised ( competing modes of socialism or capitalism). Doing it, however, within this context is especially distinctive.

No, the flick doesn't rise to the level of hidden gem, but does manage a sort of primitive earth spell. So, don't pass it up. The compensations are there.