THE TALL MEN: Blu-ray (2oth Century-Fox, 1955) Twilight Time

The western milieu, with its endless permutations, found another semi-compelling saga to tell in Raoul Walsh’s The Tall Men (1955) – an intimate melodrama, tricked out in Cinemascope and set against the sprawling backdrop of a Texas to Montana cattle drive. The picture stars Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan and Cameron Mitchell and was, for its time, considered something of a landmark production; given the Herculean task of actually corralling 1500 head of steer, plus another 250 horses. Walsh, no stranger, either to the western, or 2oth Century-Fox’s affinity for widescreen processes, having directed 1930’s The Big Trail in Grandeur – a first, failed attempt to alter the time-honored proportions of the silver screen, is thoroughly in command of ‘scope’s elongated proportions herein, filling every last inch of the screen with excitement, action, drama and, sandwiched somewhere in between, a little light romance and comedy to boot. Deftly scripted by Sydney Boehm and Frank Nugent, cribbing from Heck Allen’s novel, written under the nom de plume - Clay Fisher, The Tall Men is a tall tale about the Allison brothers; stoic, Ben (Gable) and Clint (Mitchell) – a loose cannon. The boys are trudging up the snowy peaks in search of gold in Montana after having served their nation in the Confederate Army's Quantrill's Raiders. Somewhere along the way – broke and desperate – they elect to rob a wealthy businessman, Nathan Stark (Ryan). Taking Stark hostage at gunpoint to a remote cabin in the woods, Ben and Clint assure him he will be freed the next day – without his cash belt. Impressed by their audacity and guts, Stark proposes they become unlikely partners in a Texas to Montana cattle drive. And so, a creaky and suspicious alliance begins.

The Tall Men is yet another in an endless line of retold western sagas about rough-hewn fellas with nothing to lose, momentarily united in a singular goal; the ephemeral quality of both their friendship and their lives repeatedly tested under the most inhospitable conditions. It is, I believe, a story that only ‘Cinemascope’ could tell, or rather, make a success, as the one-note premise, scripted in sparse and oft one-dimensional dialogue – barely has enough connective tissue to move the plot from points ‘A’ to ‘B’. There is not a lot of character-rich engagement here – a short-shrift compounded by Jane Russell’s shoot-from-the-hip sexpot, Nella Turner, who falls madly for Ben, but cannot abide his simple plan for a quiet life, tucked away and apart from the bustle of the world. Ben’s dream is too small for the enterprising Nella. And thus, if only momentarily, she turns her affections toward Stark, who promises the world and, at least in part, makes good on his own terms; ensconcing Nella in a fashionable suite of rooms, and, affording her every plush luxury a desirable woman, deprived of creature comforts could want. Russell, who burst forth on the screen as the raw sex kitten in Howard Hughes’ The Outlaw (1943) – a picture more notorious for its publicity, featuring a bare-shouldered Russell splayed across a haystack, than any one scene depicted in the actual movie, would thereafter continue her rise to stardom as a bona fide sex symbol, appearing opposite Fox’s biggest bombshell from the decade, Marilyn Monroe in Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) – arguably, Russell’s best movie. Of her box office drawing power, Hughes rather crudely assessed, “There are ‘two’ good reasons why men go to see her. Those are enough.”   

And although Russell’s no-nonsense charm lent a more refreshing air of naughtiness to the era of bubble-headed sex bombs (clearly, she was no dummy), The Tall Men really could have done without Russell’s particular brand of sass – especially the clumsy way Walsh tries to inveigle her with the dumpy song: ‘Peaches’ (don’t ask). Russell’s take on Nella Turner is too contemporary to be believable. Apart from her amply-endowed and rather projectile ‘assets’, and, coy flirtations with Gable’s world-weary and weather-beaten stud past his prime (the two have some truly marvelous on-screen chemistry), Russell spends a lot of the plot as an appendage, behind nobly observed by Ben, more directly pursued by Stark, and rather lasciviously chased by Clint – the dark horse in this race, who hasn’t a morsel of a chance to even get to first base. Of these competitors, there is never any doubt Gable’s he-man with a soul will win out. I suspect it was practically carved in stone into all of Gable’s contracts – save Gone with the Wind (1939) that he always get the girl in the end. Interestingly, Robert Ryan does not play the baddie on this outing – not altogether – although his brief, and rather feeble plan to ensnare Ben on charges for his prior kidnapping, and thus lead him to the gallows, just feels as though the screenwriters are endeavoring, rather awkwardly, to force him back into type. With very few exceptions, Robert Ryan, a soft-spoken and devoted family man in real life, always played the despicable, if exquisitely tortured bastard on the screen – and doing a slam-bang job of it, here too. Yet, in The Tall Men he is more ambitious than evil and, initially at least, the wronged party in this scenario. Come to think of it, The Tall Men’s absence of any real evil-doer as counterpoint to the virtuous pursuits undertaken by our triumvirate of male co-stars, is the picture’s real dearth. Even Cameron Mitchell’s Clint – a boozing, bragging and ballsy brute, turns out to be merely misunderstood, and, rather sheepishly, veers on the side of right, seeking redemption and re-entry into this cross-country-cutting clan, alas, only a few scenes before his untimely demise, left bloodied and bound to a tree with a chest-full of arrows, courtesy of the marauding Sioux.

Like most Cinemascope movies from its vintage, The Tall Men suffers the queasy unease of being assembled mostly in a studio, with Ray Kellogg’s matte process work attempting to recreate a hellish snowstorm from gypsum blown at the lens in close-ups and animated SFX created, rather unconvincingly, to simulate the white n’ fluffy stuff in long-shots. A second unit did go on location to shoot process plates and establishing shots of the cattle drive trekking across the craggy mesas and stone-towering buttresses. But Gable never went to Montana - nor Robert Ryan, who held up production for nearly two weeks with a notorious bout of hepatitis.  And despite its sprawling natural vistas, The Tall Men spends most of its shoot either on the back lot at Fox, or in Mexico, in Durango, Sierra de Organos, Sombrerete, and, Zacatecas, with Sun Valley, Idaho, subbing for the real-life snow-covered mountains. We pick up our story after Stark’s abduction by Ben and Clint; the trio, reaching an unlikely détente over their shared opportunism. Together, they can make more money legitimately by selling cattle bought cheap in Texas, but sold at a premium back in Montana. En route, the men lose one of their pack horses in the icy river. Next, they come upon a party of starving settlers who provide them with shelter during a blizzard. Enter Nella Turner – of considerable interest to all three men for obvious reasons. Travilla’s costumes for Jane Russell go to absurd pains to distinguish her from the group. For her debut, Russell emerges in a stunning plum-sequined cape – hardly the trappings of an impoverished settler. Later, Travilla dresses her in a sort of harlot-colored satin pink gown, and then, fresh-as-a-daisy yellow and white ensemble, to be wrecked in the mud.

Meanwhile, ‘back at the ranch’ – literally – and at dawn’s early light, the Allisons and Stark continue on their way. Soon, however, they learn of a nearby Sioux tribe likely poised for an attack. Ordering Clint and Stark to continue without him, Ben retraces his steps back to the settler’s camp. Too late, he finds everyone except Nella already slaughtered by the Indians. Barely escaping with their lives, Ben and Nella take refuge in a cabin to wait out a fast-approaching storm. During this brief respite, Nella comes to admire Ben but cannot abide his seeming lack of ambition. Ben wants the simple, quiet life. For Nella, this simply will not do. Nella confides her upbringing on a farm has tainted her view of what that life is like; her father and mother, both prematurely aged with hard work and many regrets, dying when she was very young. Ben professes that their own prospects would not be as grim. No use. Nella is hellbent on a ‘better’ life. Once the storm subsides, a rescue party of soldiers arrives, informing Ben that Clint and Stark have taken a stagecoach to San Antonio. Nella desperately wants to go to California. However, due to inclement weather, the only passage is through San Antonio. Nella is made ‘a guest’ of Stark’s, who has rented the finest suite of rooms at the local hotel. Stark gets Nella tipsy, leading to her confrontation with a playful Mexican teenager (Meyito Pulito) whom she believes is Ben’s latest paramour. Actually, the woman is looking for Clint.

Having bought his cattle and horses, Ben recruits Luis (Juan Garcia) and his band of loyal vaqueros for the arduous 1,500-mile return to Montana. On their journey, Nella toys with both Stark and Ben’s affections. Neither fellow reciprocates. But Nella has zero interest in Clint, who shows the most interest in her. Next, the cattle drive is confronted by Jayhawkers, fronted by Chickasaw Charlie (Emile Meyer), demanding $5,000 for permission to cross into Kansas. Ben feigns his agreement to their terms; then, confronts the men with a display of gunfire, sending them into full retreat. Meanwhile, Clint is more determined than ever to capture Nella’s heart. He confronts her while she is bathing at the nearby sump, tossing her clothes into the water before being challenged, and, superficially wounded by Stark. A mutual animosity brews as Clint gets quietly drunk, then tries to make an issue of his manhood by confronting an unarmed Stark with his pistol. Ben steps in with a cooler head and better judgement. Sobering up, and ashamed of his behavior, Clint implores Ben to allow him the role as their scout; a chance to prove his mettle; also, to remain apart from the group until a period of adjustment will allow for his re-introduction into their good graces. Ben agrees. Alas, the nearby Sioux capture Clint, his horse returning to base camp without him. Shortly thereafter, Ben discovers his brother’s body, bound to a tree, impaled with multiple arrows.

Assuming the role as scout, for several days Ben stealthily charts the movements of the Sioux. As their only chance for survival is predicated on their safety in numbers, Ben orders an all-out stampede of his herd. The charge drives back the Indians, with only a hundred or so head of cattle lost in the deluge. Arriving without further incident in Mineral City, Montana, Stark is paid $170,000 for the surviving cattle. Ben attends Stark in his office behind the saloon to receive his payment and bonuses for the drovers. Alas, Stark has planned an ambush; the vigilante committee, all set to hang Ben.  Mercifully, Stark has underestimated Ben, who now reveals he has the entire saloon surrounded with drovers, loyal only to him. Given that this is his great opportunity to really stick it to Stark, Ben rather magnanimously asks only for $16,000 to pay off his men, and another $10,000 for himself – a fair price for his services, plus $100 to pay off the saloon-keeper for a bottle of champagne for Stark's and Nella's wedding. Admiring Ben’s courage, Stark stands down. “He's what every boy thinks he's going to be when he grows up, and wishes he had been when he's an old man,” Stark admits. Returning to his base camp, Ben prepares to bed down for the night, discovering Nella’s sleeping bag among his possessions. He hears her singing from inside his wagon and realizes she has returned to him.

The Tall Men is an optimistically-pitched, and, a little too conveniently resolved to be considered a seminal western. Although enjoyable at intervals, and woefully silly during others, it clings together on the sheer essence of star power alone. The 1950’s were actually a period of financial retrenchment in Hollywood: the studios, afflicted by government intervention and television’s sudden monopolization of their audiences’ leisure, spent at home in the comfort of their living rooms rather than going to the movies. Cinemascope was a response to TV – as was 3D, stereophonic sound, and, the various other widescreen processes advertising ‘bigger is better’ as the cure-all for this exodus. Briefly, Cinemascope did the trick. But Fox’s concentrated focus on pictures where the ‘width’ of the screen was more important than the ‘depth’ of its characters, made for a decade-long spate of largely forgettable offerings - The Tall Men, meagerly, one of them. Gable is playing to type as the one-time reigning box office ‘king’; at age 53, a little long in the tooth as the hunk du jour. Nevertheless, The Tall Men succeeds because we know exactly what to expect from Gable’s public persona. Likewise, the other stars are in full ‘plug n’ play’ mode; Russell – the sexpot, Mitchell – the cad, and Ryan – the bastard, respectively: all, well-rounded caricatures. The real ‘star’ here is Cinemascope and, as already mentioned, director, Raoul Walsh has filled every inch of the frame with something of visual interest – be it action or bric-a-brac. The action sequences are exceptionally staged, all except one – exposed as a series of not terribly convincing process plates layered to suggest the cattle charging head-long into the Sioux, supposedly killing many.

The Tall Men arrives on Blu-ray via Twilight Time; a company, regrettably rudderless after the death of founding member, Nick Redman, and winding down its activity as a third-party distributor. We have not seen new announcements from TT for November or December. So, many devotees who took their ‘fix’ herein from the outpouring of Fox back catalog finding its way to TT will have to be contented to mark The Tall Men as the company’s ‘hail and farewell’ – bittersweet, to say the least. The Tall Men on Blu-ray is not exactly up to snuff. From the outset, the Fox logos, with Alfred Newman’s Cinemascope fanfare, are in rough shape. While whole portions of the remaining movie look quite good – at times, very good indeed – with robust colors, refined detail and a light smattering of grain looking indigenous to its source, a lot of the image suffers from marginal to mid-range color fading. The second unit stuff also has boosted contrast levels, while scenes shot at night look slightly underexposed. Black levels are weak at best. Grain intermittently translates as digitally harsh.  Wipes, fades and dissolves all suffer from transitional color fading and a momentarily amplification of grain. The 5.1 DTS features some gorgeous directionalized cues and SFX. TT has given us an isolated stereo track, showing off Victor Young’s score to its very best advantage. We also have a badly worn theatrical trailer. Bottom line: The Tall Men is a passable western programmer, tricked out with A-list stars and Cinemascope to make it sparkle. This Blu-ray’s less than perfect presentation steals much of that luster. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

3

EXTRAS

1