The Tall Men
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Written by Sydney Boehm and Frank S. Nugent from a novel by Heck Allen
1955/US
Twentieth Century Fox
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Title card: Montana Territory – 1866. They came from the South, headed for the goldfields… Ben and Clint Allison, lonely and desperate men. Riding away from a heartbreak memory of Gettysburg. Looking for a new life. A story of tall men – and long shadows.
This Western didn’t grab me but the male leads are very good in it.
Ben (Clark Gable) and Clint Allison (Cameron Mitchell) have recently been discharged from the Confederate Army at the end of the American Civil War. They are en route to prospect for gold in Montana but need some capital. They try to rob wealthy businessman Nathan Stark (Robert Ryan). Instead he convinces them to become partners on his cattle drive from Texas to Montana.
Then Ben rescues starving Nella Turner (Jane Russell) from a watery grave. They banter and spar the way people who will get together by the end of the movie normally do. Then Stark begins to court her as only the monied can do.
The rest of the film is filled with Indian Attacks, bandits, and a showdown between Ben and Stark.
Jane Russell who sings the rather corny title song several times is the weak link in the cast of this movie. The men are strong and you have to root for Clark Gable of course. But I really couldn’t get too invested in what happened to the characters.
