Tall in the Saddle

Reviews

John Chard
I like grumpy old cusses. Hope to live long enough to be one. Tall in the Saddle is directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Michael Hogan, Paul Fix and Gordon Ray Young. It stars John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Audrey Long. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Robert De Grasse. Ranch hand Rocklin (Wayne) arrives in town to start his new job but finds his employer has been murdered and the locals are all a bit too shifty for comfort... Hee, the title is rather appropriate given Duke Wayne's stature, and yet it's a title that doesn't really do justice to the pic as a whole. The plot has some nifty complexities, where simmering passions blend with a murder mystery and crooked shenanigans. Marin directs at a clip, never once letting the narrative sink into tedium. The action is fruity, where in spite of some crude era back projection work, fist fights, gun play and chases keep things on the boil. Raines is socko sexy (how nice she's not token fodder either), which acts as a counter point with Long's homely beauty, while Wayne does his thang with iconic rewards. Gorgeous photography seals the deal here, both with the Calif locations frames and the monochrome shadings, for what is ultimately a hugely enjoyable 40s Oater. 7/10

drystyx
This is an ideal Western. John Wayne is tall in the saddle. He travels East to wild West, and is not backing down from trouble. What really makes this film is Ella Raines as a super hot love interest. I may be spoiling that, because another woman enters first, quietly and very lady like, while Ella enters like a wildcat, but a beautiful wildcat that any man would want. A lot of emotion, mostly from Ella, with the Duke being sort of a straight man with mostly calmness, his character a bit shocked by all the emotion and danger, but never backing down.
Movie Recommendation
- The Enforcer1976-12-16Dirty Harry Callahan returns again, this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together, they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.More...
- My Father and My Son2005-11-18A left-wing journalist whose wife died while giving birth to his son during a military coup returns to his family's farm. Estranged from his father for turning his back on the family and wasting his life with political activism instead, he tries to reconnect with him so that his son will have a place to live as his health is deteriorating due to the extensive torture he had to endure.More...
- The Horse Soldiers1959-06-11A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence.More...
- Sada1998-04-11The film follows the life of Sada Abe, who became a celebrity in 1936 after strangling her lover and slicing off his penis.More...
- Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets2021-01-12In the emotionally charged, wild and humorous world of sixteen year old James Whitman, his struggle to overcome anxiety and depression involve seeking advice from Dr. Bird - a giant imaginary pigeon therapist.More...
- Sadako DX2022-10-28Ayaka Ichijo is a graduate student with an IQ of 200 who tries to investigate the strange deaths happening nationwide after people supposedly watched a cursed video and her younger sister also did the same out of curiosity.More...
- The Mountain Men1980-06-01The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her.More...
- Superman III1983-06-17Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.More...
- Wild Strawberries1957-08-28Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.More...
- Octopussy1983-06-05James Bond is sent to investigate after a fellow “00” agent is found dead with a priceless Indian Fabergé egg. Bond follows the mystery and uncovers a smuggling scandal and a Russian General who wants to provoke a new World War.More...
- From Russia with Love1963-10-10Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.More...
- Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
- Rear Window1954-08-01A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.More...
- Marriage Story2019-09-28A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.More...
- Back to the Future1985-07-03Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.More...
- Shaun of the Dead2004-04-09Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.More...
- 12 Angry Men1957-04-10The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.More...
- The Way Back2020-03-05A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction, attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater.More...
- Oppenheimer2023-07-19The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.More...
- The Lighthouse2019-10-18Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.More...
Similar Movies
Come On, Tarzan
1932-09-10Ken Maynard's exceptionally intelligent horse, Tarzan the Wonder Horse, is the star of this western about evil cowboy Steve Frazer (Welch) who gathers horses for slaughter, whose meat is sold to pet food manufacturers. The wild horse Tarzan frees the doomed horses from their corrals, and Frazer convinces the Sheriff that Tarzan is a threat and can be shot on sight. Local cowboy Ken Benson (Maynard) and rancher Pat Riley (Kennedy) work together to clear Tarzan's good name and put Frazier behind bars for his evil deeds.Dead Man
1995-12-23William Blake, an accountant turned fugitive, is on the run. During his travels, he meets a Native American man called Nobody, who guides him on a journey to the spiritual world.The Ox-Bow Incident
1943-03-11A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.Stagecoach
1939-03-02A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.Tenting Tonight on th...
1943-02-05In order to obtain a stage coach mail contract, a new road must be built. A gang of outlaws try to prevent the building of the road.The Cherokee Flash
1945-12-13Lawyer Butler, wanting Jeff Carson's ranch, has the Sheriff and his gang frame the bank holdup on him. Then they kill a witness that could free Carson and blame the murder on his son Sunset. But Sunset escapes, frees his father, and then sets a trap to catch the real killers.River of No Return
1954-04-30An itinerant farmer and his young son help a heart-of-gold saloon singer search for her estranged husband.Ghosts of Red Ridge
2024-12-03After foiling a good ol' fashioned stickup in the gold bust town of Red Ridge, Texas, the town sheriff jails a mysterious stranger suspected of ties to the gang of outlaws terrorizing residents. But as the sheriff draws closer to unraveling the bandits' identities, ghosts of murdered townspeople begin appearing at his door, leaving him to question whether the spirits are warning him…or seeking vengeance for his own failure to protect them.Westworld
1973-08-15Delos is a futuristic amusement park that features themed worlds—ancient Rome, Medieval times and the Old West—populated by human-like androids. After two patrons have a run-in with a menacing gunslinger in West World, the androids at Delos all begin to malfunction, causing havoc throughout the park.Giant
1956-11-08Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.Heaven with a Gun
1969-05-20Jim Killian arrives in a small Arizona town hoping to establish a peaceful life as the local preacher, but he soon finds himself in the middle of a feud between sheep ranchers and cattlemen. Leloopa, a young Native American woman, pleads for Killian's help after her shepherd father is hung by Coke Beck, the vicious son of the head cattle rancher. Killian must weigh his actions carefully lest he perpetuate the cycle of retribution and revenge.My Darling Clementine...
1946-10-17Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.The Last Ride to Sant...
1964-03-28A former sheriff begins to persecute the gang led by Pedro Ortiz, after his wife is taken away.Colorado Charlie
1965-10-01When Sheriff Bill marries, he moves to another village to lead a more peaceful life. His replacement is killed by Colorado Charlie and his gang. The town sends for Bill, who returns unarmed because his wife has hidden his gun. When Colorado Charlie demands a shoot-out, Bill's wife relents and gives him back his weapon After Bill kills the bandit, his wife agrees to his return as sheriff.Ramsbottom Rides Agai...
1956-04-30Bill Ramsbottom sells his English pub and drags his family off to Canada where he has inherited a ranch from his grandfather Wild Bill Ramsbottom. He ends up tangling with outlaw Black Jake, an Indian chief Blue Eagle, and the local law.Old Shatterhand
1964-04-30Renegades trying to get the army to abandon their fort get the Indians addicted to whiskey, then convince them to attack and drive out the soldiers.The Homesman
2014-05-18When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.Blackwood
2022-07-22After a gang of violent outlaws forces a Native American woman to lead them through a treacherous forest in search of a fortune in gold, they unknowingly awaken an ancient, bloodthirsty beast that will stop at nothing to annihilate them all.Ghost Valley Raiders
1940-03-23Donald Barry, not yet Donald "Red" Barry, heads the cast of the Republic western Ghost Valley Raiders. A federal marshal, Barry is assigned to put an end to the activities of a stagecoach-robbery gang. That's why he spends most of the film pretending to be an outlaw himself. Stunt specialist Yakima Canutt plays a secondary villain, and also doubles for Barry in the dicier action scenes.Maverick
1994-05-20Bret Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional $3k in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game beginning in a few days. He joins forces with a woman with a marvelous Southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.