L'amazone aux yeux verts

For lovers of black and white westerns, 'Tall in the Saddle' is first rate entertainment. It is good old fashioned fun from beginning to end, and it manages to incorporate elements of film noir, comedy and romance. There is plenty of action along the way too and a number of twists and turns in its' plot. All of which prevents it from being the standard affair it could have ended up as without its' host of top notch performances.

The star of the film is John Wayne and it is I feel a good role for him. Although it lacks the depth of his greatest performances in the likes of 'Red River' and 'The Searchers', it does have the light hearted element of 'Rio Bravo', undeniably one of his career highlights. He stars as Rocklin, a tough cowboy recruited by a rancher named Red Cardell to help stop an outbreak of cattle rustling. He is apparently immune to the charms of women- "I never feel sorry for anything that happens to a woman." When he steps off the train however his new employer has been murdered and Rocklin has to find out who is responsible for such a brutal act.

It is after he beats Clint Harolday (Russell Wade) at cards that he comes face to face with the losers' angry sister Arly, played by the beautiful Ella Raines who despite falling for Rocklin almost instantly and although clearly considerably shorter in height than him, is determined to stand up for herself- "I always get what I want". Very soon they are engaged in a humorous battle of the sexes which Arly is determined not to lose, despite her obvious attraction towards the Dukes' character. The exchanges between the pair are sexy as neither is prepared to swallow their pride to give in to the other; "You might as well know right now that no woman is going to get me hooked, tied and branded"/ "Don't be so sure. Don't think I'm doing badly." Witness the pleasure Arly gets in sacking Rocklin from her employment, and her boasts of making love to him. This is the only Ella Raines film I have seen to date but I really loved watching her and would jump at the opportunity to see another of her performances.

Contrast Arly with the other glamorous lady in the film- Clara Cardell (Audrey Long)- and you have two entirely different women. Although also interested in Rocklin Clara I would say is sheepish and easily dominated by her spiteful, stuck up aunt Elizabeth Martin (Elisabeth Risdon) who hides from her niece a secret that links Clara and Rocklin and this explains her disdain for the latter- she tells Clara to stop "throwing yourself at that wretch". Risdons' character has little time for many townsfolk- "The rudeness of people in these parts is appalling". Frankly most people feel the same way about her.

Many of the best scenes in the film (and certainly the funniest) involve Dave the alcoholic stagecoach driver (played by the wonderful George 'Gabby' Hayes). Just watch his introduction as Blossom the horse knocks over his priceless bottle of whiskey- "I oughta poison you!" His charismatic, accident-prone character has many great lines, for example his analogy of whiskey and women- "They both fool you but you never figure how to do without them." He is even referred to as a "hairy beast"- no prizes for guessing who by. Add to the mix the great support of the ever dependable Ward Bond as Judge Garvey, one of the villains. He rivals Rocklin for toughness and they engage in a great fist fight.

The setting is typical of the genre, with many of the western hallmarks such as a dusty town in the middle of a desert containing cactuses (the latter are missed out in many westerns but not this one), a card game, a stagecoach, alcohol and gun fights. But less typical is the noir element- the hero being framed for a murder crime he did not commit for example, which results in a classic whodunit. Another western which to me is reminiscent of film noir is Pursued (1947).

Overall then a hugely enjoyable movie which does exactly what it sets out to do- it entertains throughout and I'm sure audiences who saw this film at the cinema went home happy!

"Tall In the Saddle" is one of John Wayne's better westerns of the first half of the forties. It contains plenty of action including fistfights, shoot outs and an eternal triangle.

A stranger named Rocklin (Wayne) arrives in town on a stagecoach driven by a whiskey swilling driver named Dave (George "Gabby" Hayes)seeking a local rancher Red Cardell who had offered hum a job. It turns out that Cardell has been murdered and his niece Clara Cardell (Audrey Long), along with her crusty old guardian Miss Martin (Elizabeth Risdon) have come to claim her uncle's ranch. Judge Garvey (Ward Bond) is looking after the Cardell's affairs and has plans of his own for the property.

Meanwhile Rocklin faces down young Clint Harolday (Russell Wade) in a card game and sends the young man home embarrassed. The next day Rocklin encounters Clint's firebrand sister Arly who takes after him with her gun. However,there is an immediate attraction between the two although Rocklin is also attracted to the lovely Clara at the same time.

Judge Garvey and Miss Martin scheme to wrest control of the Cardell ranch from Clara. Rocklin takes a job with the Harolday ranch at the request of Harolday (Donald Douglas)to keep an eye on things and find out who murdered Cardell. Of course he clashes with Arly and she winds up firing him.

Later Rocklin is framed for the murder of young Clint and flees the town seeking to clear himself. Arly along with her sinister bodyguard Taro (Frank Puglia), who has witnessed the murder, also seek the truth. Finally Rocklin has a showdown with Garvey and his boys (Paul Fix, Harry Woods) learns the identity of the real killer and.........

Wayne is Wayne the true and honest rough and tough hero once again, a role that he had come to perfect. Raines is beautiful and feisty as the scrappy Arly. Audrey Long is more of the stereo typed western heroine as Clara. Gabby Hayes, in his final appearance with Wayne is well, Gabby Hayes the cantankerous old timer that we all came to love. Ward Bond makes a swarthy villain. Oddly enough, although he and Wayne were life long personal friends, they did not appear together that often prior to this film. Frank Puglia as the sinister Taro was unbilled in this film but stands out nonetheless.

In addition to Harry Woods and Paul Fix (who also co-wrote the script), there are several western veterans in the supporting cast. Look for Raymond Hatton as Hayes' drinking pal, Emory Parnell as the sheriff, and Cy Kendall, Russell Simpson, Eddie Waller, Hank Bell and Clem Bevans in a variety of roles. And from the blink and you'll miss him department, a very young Ben Johnson as a townsman.

Good entertainment.

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."

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.

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"