The Tall Stranger

When the film begins, Ned Bannon (Joel McCrea) is ambushed and shot. Before blacking out, he notices a very fancy gun used by the shooter. When he comes to, he's in a camp full of settlers heading west. They've treated his wounds and he's very grateful to them. However, they inexplicably are being led by some folks who are intent on leading them onto someone else's land! They know it...but convince the very gullible settlers that Bannon is either wrong or lying. So, Bannon goes to find the landowner and convince him to give him a few days...but the folks leading the settlers reject an offer to talk and simply attack! Soon it looks like a war is about to break out...when Bannon discovers one of the folks leading the settlers has that same fancy rifle!

As usual, Joel McCrea is excellent--as he was in all his westerns. While never a sexy sort of leading man in the films, he was big, strong and very believable. I just wish they hadn't made the settlers THIS stupid and pig-headed! That is a big of a weakness of the film, as they are just too easily led...or misled. Still, even with this, it's a good story and worth seeing.

The final phase of Joel McCrea's career was spent at Allied Artists, the renamed Monogram Pictures, where he did a group of good B westerns. The Tall Stranger based on a Louis L'Amour novel is one of the best.

McCrea spots some cattle rustling and is left for dead after being shot by one of the rustlers. He's found by members of a wagon train who nurse him back to health. But Joel's real suspicious of the leader of this train of ex-Confederates who is George Neise. They're looking to settle on land owned by Barry Kelley who is McCrea's half brother and who is estranged from McCrea over the Civil War.

What Neise is looking to do is start a nice range war with Kelley and his plan is based on the fact that Kelley's a mean and hard-bitten old soul who shoots first and asks questions later. It's up to McCrea to keep things from boiling over. How successful he is, you'll have to see the film for.

You won't be disappointed if you do see the film. Virginia Mayo is the woman with a small son, Phil Phillips, on the wagon train that Joel takes a hankering to. A very mean and cunning villain played by Michael Ansara also has a hankering for Mayo and he's not one to go about the usual courting procedures.

Besides those already mentioned such western regulars as Ray Teal, Leo Gordon, Michael Pate, and Whit Bissell are in the cast. It's nice to see Leo Gordon in a role that doesn't call for him to be a mean psychopath.

The Tall Stranger is a good fast paced western that fans of the genre and fans of Joel McCrea will definitely like.

The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with appropriate action , breathtaking shooting , thrills , attacks , treason , rivalry , twists and turns .The film is set in post civil war , at a Western town, the pattern of the other celebrated cow towns of the Old west. There arrives back from the Civil War, Ned Bannon (Joel McCrea), a gunman who arrives at the place that is dominated by Hardy Bishop (Barry Kelley) , an old enemy, and who considers Bannon to be responsible for the death of her son by the famous Quantrell gang. In his territory Hardy Bishop runs his own legal regime, nicknamed 'Bishop's law' , There, conflicts mark the daily life of the town, especially when some farmer settlers try to settle around and our starring is forced to defend trusting, weak and betrayed colonists . Ned Bannon comes across rustlers and is shot and left for dead, but is found in time by a wagon train heading for California, being cured by the beautiful Ellen (Virginia Mayo). When he recovers he becomes suspicious of the two outsiders who are leading the train into a dead-end valley owned by his hostile half-brother. Braving his relative's animosity going back to the Civil War, Bannon makes contact to attempt and avoid a showdown. He Rode Tall And He Walked Tall... The Stranger out of Nowhere! The wagon train hated him, even after his gun had saved them from a massacre! Savagely written by the author of "Hondo"!

The picture based on a story by expert Louis L'Amour contains whirlwinds of manic action , fights , sustained energy and often commendable results . Nice-looking but ordinary 'Walter Mirisch Productions' Western , including some novelties , but also with usual elements , such as frenetic action, thrills , crossfire , romance and some spectacular action scenes .The tale is strong one and the action is wonderfully located against a colorful background from Morrison Ranch, Agoura, and Russell Ranch - Triunfo Canyon Road, Thousand Oaks, California; however, the cinematography is lousy due to bad copy, being necessary a perfect remastering. The picture gets Western action , shootouts , a love story and is quite entertaining . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . Brawling , sprawling , almost primitive action in which our starring goes into action and eventually changes allies against traitors . Stars Joel McCrea who gives an efficient acting in his usual style as an ex-Yankee officer aids a wagon train of former Confederates settle in a prosperous valley marred by cattle-rustling and land-grabbing feuds. Joel was a prolific actor in Western, his career is divided in movies directed by some great Western filmmakers . His wholesome good looks and quiet manner were soon in demand, primarily in romantic dramas and comedies, and he became an increasingly popular leading man. He hoped to concentrate on Westerns, but several years passed before he could convince the studio heads to cast him in one. MacCrea was a B actor , though ocassionally he played A films as ¨Sullivan's travels¨ and The ¨Dangerous game¨ . Joel perfomed a lot of Westerns, such as : ¨Union Pacific¨ , ¨Buffalo Bill¨, ¨The Virginian¨ , ¨Ramrod¨ , ¨South of Saint Luis¨, ¨Four Faces West¨ , ¨The Oklahoman¨ . Forteen years on from the famous ¨Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra¨, aging Joel Crea's goes back , as he came out of retirement to play a likeable and upright starring in his last film in 1976 ¨John C. Champion's Mustang County¨. Cos-star the always gorgeous Virginia Mayo as a woman with a dark past and with whom he falls in love. Both MacCrea and Mayo achieved great success with the classic ¨Colorado Territory¨ (1949) by Raoul Walsh. In The ¨Tall Stranger(¨1957) stands out a large numbers of secondaries, Western's ordinary, such as : Barry Kelley , Michael Pate , Michael Ansara, Leo Gordon, Ray Teal, James Dobson, George Neise and Whit Bissell .

The film was professionally and artisanally directed by Thomas Carr (1907-1997) , however it is sadly botched by a poor print run, which makes it almost unwatchable, at times. American second-feature director of the 1940s and '50s, invariably westerns for Republic, Monogram and other Poverty Row companies. Carr began as a child actor with Selig in silent movies from the age of two, continuing to act until becoming a dialogue director with Republic in 1937. Stayed with the studio and graduated to directing in 1945. Ended his career working in television during the 1960s. He was a Stakhanovite craftsman who directed a number of films in his long career, both in cinema and television, among which the following can be included: ¨Alias Billy Kid¨ (1946), ¨Brick Bradford¨ (1947), ¨Jesse rides again¨ (1947), ¨Congo Bill¨ (1948), ¨Blazing guns¨ (1950), ¨Guns of justice¨ (1950), ¨Pirates of the high seas¨ (1950), ¨Captain Scarllett¨ (1953) and ¨Superman in Exile¨ (1954) . Carr directed the original ¨Superman¨ (1948) serial. This led to the gig for which he is best remembered, directing many episodes of ¨Adventures of Superman¨ (1952) television series. He would spend his final decade in the business mostly directing for episodic television. ¨The Tall Stranger(¨1957) rating: 5.5/10. The film will appeal to Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo fans.

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.

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.