SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

bsmith5552 "The Tall T" is the second of seven Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher collaborations. Like the others, this too is a terrific low budget "B" plus little western. It is enhanced by the casting of Richard Boone as the chief heavy.Pat Brennan (Scott) like many of Boetticher's heroes, is a loner. He lives alone on a small ranch tucked away in the countryside. On his way to buy a bull from ex-employer Tenvoorde (Robert Burton), he stops by a relay station to water his horse. He has a Neighborly chat with station agent Hank Parker (Fred Sherman) and his young son Jeff (Christopher Olsen). Later in town Brennan meets up with stage driver Ed Rintoon (Arthur Hunnicutt) who tells him that he has been hired to drive newlyweds Willard (John Hubbard) and Doretta Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan) to their honeymoon spot.Later at Tenvoorde's ranch, Brennan loses his horse in a bet with his former boss. He is then forced to walk to the main road to await Rintoon's stage in order to hitch a ride. The coach stops at the relay station and outlaws Frank Usher (Boone) and his two gunsels, Chink (Henry Silva) and Billy Jack (Skip Homier) emerge from the shadows. When Rintoon tries to resist, he is shot down by the trigger happy Chink. Brennan also learns of the fate of the station master and his son.Mims, who is a spineless whiner, tells Usher that Doretta is the daughter of the town rich man (whom we never see) and that he will pay a handsome ransom for her safe return. Mims "volunteers" to ride into town, with Billy Jack, to negotiate the ransom. Meanwhile, Brennan and Mrs. Mims remain behind as the gang's hostages where an attraction between the two develops.When Mims and Billy Jack return, Usher having no respect for the man, lets him go only to have Chink gun him down. Usher decides that he will go to town to pick up the ransom. Brennan convinces Chink and Billy Jack that Usher will make off with the loot. When Chink goes off in pursuit of Usher, Brennan sees his chance to escape and......................................Richard Boone plays another of Boetticher's sympathetic villains. His and Scott's character develop a sort of mutual respect for each other. Boone is clearly the leader leaving the dirty work to his henchmen. In fact, Boone reminds Scott that he spared Scott the same fate as the station master and his son. It's the "some things a man can't ride around" scenario that forces the final showdown. The gruesome demise of the station agent and his son happens off screen as is the that of one of the gunmen.Another little western classic.

Bill Slocum The great thing about "The Tall T" is that, unless you are one of those people who reads up on a movie before seeing it, you have no idea where it is going for the first 20 or so minutes. As you shouldn't; it spoils some of this film's brilliance otherwise.We meet Brennan (Randolph Scott) in the middle of his day; passing the time with the manager of a stage post and his son, riding into the town of Contention, going to a ranch to try and buy a seed bull off its owner. All this time, director Budd Boetticher and scriptwriter Burt Kennedy are setting you up for the real story, which begins when Brennan comes back to the stage post to discover something wrong…And if you haven't seen this movie, stop right there and watch it before continuing. You'll thank me later.You can find a lot of opinions here and elsewhere as to whether "The Tall T" is Boetticher's best movie in his Ranown cycle of westerns featuring Scott. I don't think it's my favorite, but it may well be the most challenging and rewarding of them, just for the way it unfolds so meticulously from amiable oater to become so dark and tense. At bottom, it's a Hemingway-esque reflection on a life of solitary action as seen through the very different perspectives of two men, Brennan and Usher (Richard Boone), both of whom seek to use the same woman, a Mrs. Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan), to opposing ends.A question keeps coming up in these reviews: Why does Usher keep Brennan alive? It's an important question, one the whole movie hinges upon. Watching their first meeting again, the moment becomes pretty clear. Brennan's stoic bravery impresses Usher, whom we learn later hasn't been around a lot of decent people in a while and kind of misses that. There's an early exchange, where Mr. Mims tries to talk his way out of trouble with Usher, saying he won't breathe a word about any lawbreaking. Usher asks Brennan if that goes for him, too."If I said yes, you wouldn't believe me," answers Brennan.Usher grins, more than a little: "Yeah, it's dumb even talking' 'bout it, ain't it?" You can see he's impressed by Brennan, and more so a bit later on when Brennan owns up to being scared about his situation.This is a fantastic acting forum for both Scott and Boone, actors who benefited most when saying less. Brennan is the classic man of few words, even early on when "The Tall T" is putting on its falsely amiable front. Later, making conversation with his fellow captive and their captors, Brennan is even more terse: "It hadn't been my day." Or this three-word verdict on one character that says it all: "He ain't much." My favorite, when addressing one bad guy played by Henry Silva who brags he just killed his seventh victim: "When you figure on eight and nine?"Usher is cruel, but more from habit than bent. He responds to Brennan's tough honor with palpable respect, and even shows kindness to Mrs. Mims. But he's a cruel man, still.The movie isn't without flaws. The music is overbearing and the ending too perfunctory. But the visual design and cinematography by Charles Lawton, Jr. are splendid, suggesting a bullfighting arena as Jeanine Basinger points out in her excellent, cant-free DVD commentary. O'Sullivan and Silva along with Skip Homeier as Usher's other henchman all give excellent support, making this a film that with its actors, as with its dialogue, does more with less.

mrmac9 The Tall T has a huge chunk of dialogue that is copied word for word in another two westerns - 'The Canadians' in 1961 and one of the 'Magnificent Seven' films of the mid-late 1960's. The conversation between the two outlaws about going back to Sonora because there is 'ten head of females' for every man. Has anyone else noticed this connection? Otherwise, the 'Tall T' is an enjoyable movie set amid the stunning Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California. Richard Boone is one of the great western actors. He can play a villain with a degree of charming ruthlessness and those of us who were children 50+ years ago will remember his performances in 'Have Gun Will Travel'. When he appears in a western you just know that it's going to be very watchable.

preppy-3 Cowboy Pat Brennan (Randolph Scott) gets caught in a hostage situation when some bandits led by bad guy Frank Usher (Richard Boone) hold up a stagecoach he's on. Also held captive are rich Doretta Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan) and husband Willard Mims (John Hubbard). Usher discovers that Doretta is rich and decides to hold her for ransom...but Pat is determined to save her.I'm not a fan of westerns but I agree there are a few classics like "High Noon" and "Ride the High Country". I read that this was a classic but, after seeing it, I can't figure out why! I heard this was an adult western--but what's so adult about it? The conflict and yawningly familiar tough guy dialogue has been before in countless westerns. I pretty much knew what the ending was going to be after the bad guys showed up. This film has nothing great or interesting in it. The acting is good (especially by Scott), the scenery is beautiful in Technicolor and it is well-directed by Budd Boetticher (that's why it gets 2 stars)--but I was bored silly. Maybe for western fans this is a classic but I couldn't wait for it to end. I can't recommend this.