Storyline
Tall in the Saddle When a stranger arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who sent for him has been murdered. Further, most of the townsfolk seem to be at each other’s throats, and the newcomer has soon run contrariwise to most of them.
Tall in the Saddle 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.
There is a new stranger in town.
Tall in the Saddle his is one on John Wayne’s better early western movies. The plot is very good and the movie moves along at a good pace. It has all the elements of a good western movie. Bad guys against the good guys. John Wayne is the stranger in town that no one knows and two women want. Ella Raines plays one of the women who is just as tough as the Duke. And she is just absolutely beautiful in this movie. The chemistry between John Wayne and Ella Raines is right on the money. Audrey Long plays the more timid woman, who is controlled by her aunt.
It doesn’t take long for things to heat up in this movie. There is good humor supplied by none other than the great Gabby Hayes. Ward Bond plays the low down dirty lawyer/judge. Paul Fix (pre Rifleman) as one of the bad men. A must see movie