The Tall Stranger

Leo Gordon too often was given the part of a sniveling villain, but here he gets to show that his talent would let him play almost anything.

Prolific, theater-trained Barry Kelley was on screen possibly more than in any other role, and did he make the most of it!

Virginia Mayo, one of the most gorgeous and talented women in the history of the world, is not just decoration: She has a pivotal role, including being a mother.

Joel McCrea probably never played any part badly. And just his appearance, his bearing, added strength and credibility, including here.

In fact, all the players were so great, the story almost doesn't matter -- but it does. Based on a Louis L'Amour story, this plot is involved but completely plausible. And it has lots of characters who are important to the development, who have their moment on screen.

One is played by Tom London, who first appears as only atmosphere, then stands out in a dangerous moment. (According to one of those "believe it or not" outfits, Tom London was in about 2,000 movies! Usually, as here, not given on-screen credit. Thank the heavens we have IMDb!)

Praise must be given to the prolific -- that means "busy" -- Thomas Carr. He is probably best known as a TV director, including of many of the "Adventures of Superman" entries, but he obviously knew how to present motion pictures.

Only the blah and generic title gets any, and mild, criticism. This is one great movie, which I highly recommend, and point out there is a very good print at YouTube. Enjoy.

The Tall Stranger is directed by Thomas Carr and written for the screen by Christopher Knopf from a story by Louis L'Amour. It stars Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Michael Ansara, George Neise, Whit Bissell, Adam Kennedy, Barry Kelley and Leo Gordon. A CinemaScope/De Luxe color production, film is filmed on location at two ranches in California, Morrison and Russell, with Wilfred M. Cline the cinematographer. Hans J. Salter scores the music.

Plot sees McCrea as Ned Bannon, who has a run in with rustlers and left for dead. Luckily he is found in time by a wagon train heading for California. Nursed back to health, Ned becomes suspicious of two outsiders who are leading the group into a dead-end valley owned by his hostile half-brother. Ned must overcome family hostility to try and avert a range war from occurring.

Solid mid 50's Oater boosted by the reliable McCrea and some dark shades within the writing. Running at just over 80 minutes, picture condenses enough old time punch ups and shootings into the story to stop the routine nature of the plotting dragging the pace down. There's even some messages in here to show the writers wanted something more than just a yeehaw production. Sadly the film is badly let down by the pan and scan process and the lifeless colour. There are very few reviews of the film about, but nobody makes mention of the bad print of the film? Certainly the current print doing the rounds for British TV is so bad it takes much away from the film. Cline's ("The Last Wagon/The Indian Fighter") location photography is barely seen - is this really in CinemaScope? - and periphery characters are heard but chopped in half! Even the normally radiant Mayo looks washed out due to the tired looking De Luxe color. There's a half decent film in the mix, but even with the best of home cinema set ups to play with, it's nigh on impossible to fully immerse oneself in the movie. 6/10

The acting is great , as in all the Joel McCrea films I've seen so far.

It is very watchable - despite the plot.

A group of settlers travelling to California being obviously misdirected by a guide.

Who despite being informed of this , by local man Mcrae , continue with their stupidity.

I'm starting to become a big fan of Joel McCrea. He is a consistently entertaining western hero. He his always believable. He gives a solid, tough performance in "The Tall Stranger", which is a solid, tough movie. It's a fast moving and often a very tense watch. It's well acted by the entire cast, especially Barry Kelley. I should watch this one more often. Honorable mention: a dreamy Virginia Mayo.

Most reviews characterize this Louis L'Amour-based film as an average western. However, by me, no picture featuring Virginia Mayo, especially in several low-cut dresses, is going to be blah run of the mill fodder. We don't usually associate Virginia with Westerns, but this is the 5th western I've seen, in which she was the leading lady, and not simply a saloon floosy. She had her tomboy side, exhibited in some of these films, as well as her inherent talent as eye candy. Some years before this film, she costarred with Joel McCrea, as she does here, in the acclaimed "Colorado Territory". Here, as Ellen, along with her small son, she's part of a wagon train supposedly heading for CA. She helps revive saddle tramp Ned Bannon(Joel McCrea) who happened to stick is nose in the wrong place, discovering a small cattle herd, which he later surmised represented the 84 head missing from Hardy Bishop's spread, Bishop being his half brother. Nearly dead of a gunshot wound and thirst, Ellen nursed him back to health on a bed in her small prairie schooner. She later feeds Bannon a cock and bull story about her background as a Civil War widow. Much later, she admits that she never had a husband, and had been a saloon girl floozy, as oily Mexican rustler Zarata claims. Zarata encounters her bathing in the river, and tries to rape her as she dresses. Bannon happens along in the nick of time to break it up.

Oily Mort Harper joined the train late but, with his charismatic extrovert personality, soon became the de facto leader of the train, rerouting it southward toward verdant Bishop Valley, Colorado Territory. He talks up the advantages of settling in this valley. In contrast, Bannon tells them this land is all taken and there's no through route westward, but they have deaf ears to that message. Clearly, Harper has some ulterior motive in talking up Bishop Valley. Later, we discover that Harper is in cahoots with the cattle rustlers, headed by oily Zarata. Apparently, their plan is to engineer a land war between Bishop and the wagoneers, hoping they will mostly kill each other off, then the rustlers will kill or intimidate the remainder to leave the valley for them. Clearly , the rustlers are taking a chance that their plan will pan out as hoped.

Initially, Bishop hated Bannon, blaming him for the death of his no-good son, executed for his part in Quantrill's raiders. But, gradually, Bishop warms up to Bannon's strategies, realizing that Bannon is trying to diffuse the animosity between him and the settlers in a peaceful way. Eventually, there's a shootout between Bishops men + Bannon vs. the rustlers + some wagoneers. This isn't what the rustlers planned for themselves, and the leaders, along with others are killed. According to standard formula, Bishop and Zarata kill each other, albeit by different methods. Naturally, Bannon and Harper have a final confrontation. Since Bishop left no kin aside from Bannon, presumably, he is now the owner of this valley. He tells the wagoneers (and especially Ellen) that they can stay if they wish, conditions not specified.

This film presently is viewable at YouTube.