L'amazone aux yeux verts

Several things make this B western look and act like an A picture. Not least is the obvious 'chemistry' between Wayne and Ella Raines.For once a female dishes it out and Wayne loves it. But, the most important aspect of this film is the characterization Wayne imbues in his role as 'Rocklin', a somewhat mysterious cowpuncher. He seems able to make men stop in their tracks by a certain glare or tone of voice. He is no longer a sweet natured cowpuncher who somehow stumbles into his predicaments.This time he's rather mean and if he can answer you in one or no words he does.

In later years Wayne developed this "loner"/ "don't mess with me" type to such a degree that it has become part of movie lore.We take it for granted .This was the film where it burst full fledged on to the screen.And I believe the "macho walk" for which Wayne is so famous was displayed as never before in a showdown with his old nemesis in many 1930's films, Harry Woods. For me this was the obvious lead-in to his monumental performance in "Red River"

One of the best of John Wayne's westerns is Tall In The Saddle which came out in 1944 for RKO. Good characterization with a little more plot than the usual western.

Wayne is the straight arrow Joel McCrea-Gary Cooper like hero who's come to town because he's been sent for by Red Cardell, a local rancher who's concerned about an outbreaking of cattle rustling. When Wayne arrives he finds Cardell murdered and a few others occur before the truth comes out.

Wayne has two leading ladies, prim and proper easterner Audrey Long and hard riding Ella Raines. Raines in those tight cowboy outfits is something to see. Her scenes with the Duke have some real spark to them. Raines had a Lauren Bacall-like appeal and should have risen higher as a movie sex symbol.

Old friends of the Duke like Ward Bond and Paul Fix are in the cast as is Gabby Hayes. Hayes, who was the quintessential cowboy sidekick was never better than as Dave, the old stagedriver who befriends the Duke and sticks with him when it gets pretty dark for him. I remember Gabby Hayes with his television show for kiddies in the 1950s and supposedly he was anything but the illiterate old coot he normally played. During his pre-Stagecoach period, Hayes appeared in several films with Wayne. In fact my title quote is one of two favorite lines he says in Tall In The Saddle.

The other favorite line is a piece of wisdom that's just as valuable today as in 1944. When the Duke asks Gabby how he feels about law and order, Gabby replies "depends on who's dishing it out."

Perfectly paced film. Many older films as well as new ones are not as successful as they could be due to poor pacing. It's hard to define pacing - it is maybe in the editing, the director rushing or slowing down the actors, or the way the camera shots are set up. Whatever "pacing" is, this film is a good example of it.

This film makes very good use of character actors (Fix, Gabby, and the others). The producers trusted them enough to really feature them in some scenes, and they deliver. It seems that most producers (in the 1940's as well as today) are afraid to take the camera off the film's star for fear of not making big box-office.

Wayne does a great job in a no-nonsense, straight-arrow role. It is amazing how he could make such a character charismatic, rather than wooden. Ella Raines and Wayne should have made more movies together because they had good chemistry. More importantly Raines was capable of portraying one of the major character traits of the western United States expansion- strong women.

Film buffs can view "Tall in the Saddle" as good movie-making, but anyone can just view it as good entertainment and not even stop to analyze anything. Perhaps that is the genius of a film like this.

This is one of the old movies I watch year after year. John Wayne in his prime & Ella Raines seems to be ideal for her role. I do not remember seeing her in another movie where she is as beautiful as she is in Tall In The Saddle. To see all the old timers such as Gabby Hayes, Ward Bond, & Paul Fix among others is a treat for an old western fan. The back ground viewed from the the wild stage ride is sort of phony, but have to remember this was in 1944. Still I enjoy it each time I see it. It brings back memories of a simpler time when I use to go to the Rialto Theatre on Saturday afternoon, pay 15 cents for admission & spend a dime on popcorn & drink

There are better Westerns than 'Tall in the Saddle', but very few that are as much sheer fun. The plot is conventional, but the performances elevate the film above the ordinary, especially that of Ella Raines as the wild-spirited ranch operator. Raines is simply a hoot to watch, especially in the three way meeting between her, John Wayne, and Audrey Long in which she makes it clear that Wayne's expectation that no woman is going to "hogtie and brand him" is already in trouble. Watch her face; she manages to pack coyness, bravado, sensuality, wit, and smugness into a comparatively brief scene without ever overreaching herself. She's handy with a gun, with a knife, and with Wayne. The result plays off and balances Wayne's traditional laconic approach very effectively, and thus helps give Wayne's character more depth than was often the case in his mid-40s Western programmers (notice his reaction after his first encounter with Raines; for once in a Western you feel that there's a genuine reason for the hero ordering a whiskey in the middle of the day). I recommend this film highly; it's unpretentious, crisply made, and very enjoyable.