That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

Nice effects though.

Lack of good storyline.

Raoul Walsh didn't feel very comfortable when filming in Cinemascope and you can tell that in this story that, nevertheless, has some pleasant western elements and Jane Russell's body (and feet) standing out among several well-shot action sequences. You have seen it all better in other films such as "Red river" but the film is never boring and some moments- the cattle and the horses crossing a river, for instance- seem so close to reality that they make you miss those times when computer generated elements on screen just didn't exist. The plot solidly emphasizes some conservative attitudes towards life and shows them within a clear, fair scope: Clark Gable's character has fought enough and has earned a well-deserved retirement. He feels he has the right to have a home of his own and enjoy a new life without violence. Classic Hollywood film-makers, and Walsh is a fine example of them, knew how to entertain all sort of audiences. That is why, in spite of some flaws which mostly have to do with too many unexciting characters, I guess you won't be disappointed after seeing "The tall men".

Salty, surly star-driven western about a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, with would-be rancher Clark Gable vying with banker Robert Ryan for the hand of wisecrackin' Jane Russell. Good-looking, exceptional entertainment from director Raoul Walsh. Screenwriters Frank Nugent and Sidney Boehm adapted their script from a novel (credited either to Heck Allen or to Clay Fisher), smoothly intermingling jovial exchanges between the characters, Indian clashes, Mexican stand-offs, and Russell singin' in the wash-tub. Enjoyable of its type, nicely photographed by Leo Tover, with Gable giving a solid star-performance. **1/2 from ****

Set in the Montana Territory of 1866, brothers Ben (Clark Gable) and Clint (Cameron Mitchell) Allison find themselves talked into a cattle drive from Texas back to Boomtown, after robbing high roller Nathan Stark (Robert Ryan) in his own saloon. Ryan's character is the taller of the two main stars, but it's not enough to win the heart of Nella Turner (Jane Russell), after she see saws her way between the two through much of the story. Russell of course steals any scene in which she's featured, and with the help of a provocative wardrobe, one is constantly reminded of her best assets.Constantly on the lookout for tidbits from an earlier era, I was as shocked as the Allison Brothers when the stable guy wanted to charge them sixteen dollars for two horses overnight. I don't think I've seen another Western where the charge was more than two bucks. What made that especially onerous was when Nella was quoted a dollar fifty a night, nine dollars for the week at a ritzy hotel in San Antone. Kind of makes you wonder what the horses got that humans didn't! Amid the tension of the romantic triangle, I got a kick out of the comic relief elements in the story, all wonderfully understated, and usually involving Russell's character. The best included the cutting of the girdle scene, her drenching river crossing, and brother Clint's frog in the bucket. Curiously, even though they were brothers, I found it intriguing how Clint sounded more and more Mexican as the story progressed.I can empathize with other reviewers on this board who felt the film was a bit on the long side. Considering that the cattle drive was fifteen hundred miles, that would have taken at least two months in real time, and probably longer. This was the only time I ever saw in a movie where they had to hoist the wagons down over rock cliffs, something I would never have considered. So what do you leave out, the Jayhawkers or Red Cloud?By the time the story's over, Nella's big dreams and Ben's small ones find a way to converge in the most minor of twist endings. It was interesting too how the words to Nella's 'Tall Man' song always seemed to fit the occasion; I wonder if she had one for Prairie Dog Creek?

There are times when I wonder whatever became of Westerns, especially when I see a film like 1955's THE TALL MEN. An aging Clark Gable and a young Cameron Mitchell are a pair of hell-for-broke brothers recently departed from the Confederate Army who hook up with a cattle baron (Robert Ryan, also beginning to show signs of age) to drive a herd from Texas to Montana. Jayhawkers, Indians and bad weather stand in their way. Gable will of course let nothing stand in his way. Along the route, they pick up a Southern gal (the ageless Jayne Russell) bound and determined to get to the promised land of California. While Russell is strictly window dressing in this one, you can see bits and pieces of the fiery federal agent she played so well in the two PALEFACE flicks with Bob "Painless Potter" Hope. Part of the beauty of this picture is the commanding presence of Gable, who while past his prime, is still tall in the saddle -- when it isn't his stuntman doing the riding. Mitchell is great as the hotheaded, boozing youngster, and it is fun to see him in this and then think of the many Westerns he would make in subsequent years, playing a rugged if not always honest cowpoke both in movies and TV. Ryan is Ryan, that is to say he is the same stalwart and stiff leading man he always played. He always reminded me of Robert Taylor, who also failed to age gracefully -- unlike, say, Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper, who after all were much better actors. But Ryan suffices here in a strictly secondary role to Gable. The studio worked from a rich script by Sid Boehm and crisp direction by veteran Raoul Walsh. The cinematography is outstanding, and the cattle drive itself is absolutely breathtaking. I don't want to begin to think about what it took to shoot the many scenes involving thousands of cattle and horses. This was an "A" production all around, the kind the studios often turned out throughout the latter half of the '50s to combat the (mis)perceived menace of TV. Ads for OPEN RANGE came on while I was watching this on AMC; that much more recent (and increasingly rare) Western starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner may be favorably compared to THE TALL MEN.