At just 78 minutes, little screen time is wasted in this splendid tight suspenseful western which rewards repeat viewings. Randolph Scott plays the unbending tough all American hero to perfection, while his alter ego the villainous Richard Boone is another piece of perfect casting. Based on The Captives a short story by Elmore Leonard which gives the story it's rugged and brutal texture even though the west it portrays is the usual 1950's comfort western setting, a far cry from the authentic west, but then this great little movie is selling a mythical legend not a history lesson. The direction by Budd Boetticher with a script by Burt Kennedy are both way above the average, to produce a western, that might only of been a B picture, but lives long in the memory, after far more expensive film's are long forgotten. Enjoy 8/10!

Very good Western about a rough confrontation with strong characterization. Compelling tale of a cowboy , Randolph Scott , and his nemesis, Richard Boone, and hoodlums , Skip Homeier and Henry Silva . In the Old west there are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath . Having lost his horse in a wager , a hard-bitten man named Brennan (Scott) takes a stagecoach driven by his friend Ed (Arthur Hunnicutt) . Ed is carrying newlyweds , Willard (John Hubbard) and Doretta (Maureen O'Sullivan). At the next station the stagecoach and its passengers are kidnapped by a trio of gunfighters ( Homeier , Silva) led by a villain named Usher (Richard Boone). When Usher aware that Doretta is the daughter of a rich copper-mine owner, he decides to obtain a ransom but the events get worse.This is a tremendously exciting story of a drifter who helps newlyweds and falls in love with the recent wife . It begins as a sluggish , slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with dark , complex characters and solid plot . The simple tale is almost rudimentary though full of clichés, a good guy come to free newlyweds just in time to get the woman . Suspense and tension builds over the time in which the outlaws and the starring await a response to their demands . The action is brutishly cruel as when the nasties shoot without remission. The highlights of the film are the facing off between Scott and his enemies and the climatic showdown on the ending . Phenomenal and great role for Randolph Scott as tough guy , he's the whole show. He play perfectly as stoic, craggy, and uncompromising figure .Vivid and atmospheric musical score by Heinz Roemhelz and colorful cinematography reflecting marvelously the rocky,stony scenarios by Charles Lawton Jr . Watchable results for this offbeat Western.The motion picture is stunningly directed by Budd Boetticher in bleak style . Boetticher formed a production company called ¨Ranown¨ along with Harry Joe Brown and Randolph Scott and as usual writer Burt Kennedy. The first Harrry Brown-Boetticher-Scott movie was 1956's " Seven men from now" , following ¨Decision at sundown(57)¨, ¨Buchanan rides alone(58)¨,¨Westbound(59)¨ ,¨Ride lonesome(59) ,in the decades since, they have produced and directed one Western ¨Comanche Station(60)¨ . Boetticher was a great expert on Western genre and also on the bullfighting world as ¨Bullfighter and the lady¨, ¨The magnificent matador¨ and ¨Arruza¨ . Rating : Above average. Well worth watching .

Disingenuous questions aside, this is a pretty good western. I figure I'm as good an authority on westerns as you can find as I grew up on westerns of the '40's and '50's. And it doesn't get any better than good,old Randolph Scott.Having said that, I often wonder if Budd Boetticher was a tad overrated as a director. He seems to have chosen westerns as his oeuvre but I feel that he might have done better work in film noir. For instance, why make "The Tall T" as a western and not a contemporary noir? Most cowboys were uneducated and the dialogue and bon mots contained in his pictures were more suited to noir - which "The Tall T" could have been. He fleshes out his characters and adds more dimension than perhaps they should have, certainly western characters.The acting was uniformly good with Scott and Richard Boone carrying the load with backup by Maureen O'Sullivan. Ditto the music score. The pacing, however, was uneven as most action comes at the beginning and the end of the movie. The balance of the film is a bit talky, to add 'dimension' to the characters, no doubt.Not really complaining, just wondering out loud about Boetticher's credentials. "The Tall T" is a good western, especially for fans of good,old Randolph Scott. But like most western heroes, he was a man of few words....

Cowboy Randolph Scott loses his horse in a bet and hitches a ride with an old friend atop Maureen O'Sullivan and her vile husband's stagecoach. At the stage depot, they're kidnapped and held for ransom by three outlaws, including charismatic leader Richard Boone and trigger-happy psycho Henry Silva.The Tall T (What does that mean?) is another fantastic and fantastic looking western from director Budd Boetticher, whose work I cannot recommend enough. Cinematography and locations are top-notch, as is the suspenseful script by Burt Kennedy, based on a story by Elmore Leonard.The villains are great, with two excellent performances by Richard Boone, who's quite likable for a nasty killer and by Henry Silva, who's just plain nasty. Actually, Silva is one of the best actors ever to specialize in heavies.The exciting climax is a bit more violent and sexually charged than usually found in 1950's movies.