The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with appropriate action , breathtaking shooting , thrills , attacks , treason , rivalry , twists and turns .The film is set in post civil war , at a Western town, the pattern of the other celebrated cow towns of the Old west. There arrives back from the Civil War, Ned Bannon (Joel McCrea), a gunman who arrives at the place that is dominated by Hardy Bishop (Barry Kelley) , an old enemy, and who considers Bannon to be responsible for the death of her son by the famous Quantrell gang. In his territory Hardy Bishop runs his own legal regime, nicknamed 'Bishop's law' , There, conflicts mark the daily life of the town, especially when some farmer settlers try to settle around and our starring is forced to defend trusting, weak and betrayed colonists . Ned Bannon comes across rustlers and is shot and left for dead, but is found in time by a wagon train heading for California, being cured by the beautiful Ellen (Virginia Mayo). When he recovers he becomes suspicious of the two outsiders who are leading the train into a dead-end valley owned by his hostile half-brother. Braving his relative's animosity going back to the Civil War, Bannon makes contact to attempt and avoid a showdown. He Rode Tall And He Walked Tall... The Stranger out of Nowhere! The wagon train hated him, even after his gun had saved them from a massacre! Savagely written by the author of "Hondo"!
The picture based on a story by expert Louis L'Amour contains whirlwinds of manic action , fights , sustained energy and often commendable results . Nice-looking but ordinary 'Walter Mirisch Productions' Western , including some novelties , but also with usual elements , such as frenetic action, thrills , crossfire , romance and some spectacular action scenes .The tale is strong one and the action is wonderfully located against a colorful background from Morrison Ranch, Agoura, and Russell Ranch - Triunfo Canyon Road, Thousand Oaks, California; however, the cinematography is lousy due to bad copy, being necessary a perfect remastering. The picture gets Western action , shootouts , a love story and is quite entertaining . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . Brawling , sprawling , almost primitive action in which our starring goes into action and eventually changes allies against traitors . Stars Joel McCrea who gives an efficient acting in his usual style as an ex-Yankee officer aids a wagon train of former Confederates settle in a prosperous valley marred by cattle-rustling and land-grabbing feuds. Joel was a prolific actor in Western, his career is divided in movies directed by some great Western filmmakers . His wholesome good looks and quiet manner were soon in demand, primarily in romantic dramas and comedies, and he became an increasingly popular leading man. He hoped to concentrate on Westerns, but several years passed before he could convince the studio heads to cast him in one. MacCrea was a B actor , though ocassionally he played A films as ¨Sullivan's travels¨ and The ¨Dangerous game¨ . Joel perfomed a lot of Westerns, such as : ¨Union Pacific¨ , ¨Buffalo Bill¨, ¨The Virginian¨ , ¨Ramrod¨ , ¨South of Saint Luis¨, ¨Four Faces West¨ , ¨The Oklahoman¨ . Forteen years on from the famous ¨Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra¨, aging Joel Crea's goes back , as he came out of retirement to play a likeable and upright starring in his last film in 1976 ¨John C. Champion's Mustang County¨. Cos-star the always gorgeous Virginia Mayo as a woman with a dark past and with whom he falls in love. Both MacCrea and Mayo achieved great success with the classic ¨Colorado Territory¨ (1949) by Raoul Walsh. In The ¨Tall Stranger(¨1957) stands out a large numbers of secondaries, Western's ordinary, such as : Barry Kelley , Michael Pate , Michael Ansara, Leo Gordon, Ray Teal, James Dobson, George Neise and Whit Bissell .
The film was professionally and artisanally directed by Thomas Carr (1907-1997) , however it is sadly botched by a poor print run, which makes it almost unwatchable, at times. American second-feature director of the 1940s and '50s, invariably westerns for Republic, Monogram and other Poverty Row companies. Carr began as a child actor with Selig in silent movies from the age of two, continuing to act until becoming a dialogue director with Republic in 1937. Stayed with the studio and graduated to directing in 1945. Ended his career working in television during the 1960s. He was a Stakhanovite craftsman who directed a number of films in his long career, both in cinema and television, among which the following can be included: ¨Alias Billy Kid¨ (1946), ¨Brick Bradford¨ (1947), ¨Jesse rides again¨ (1947), ¨Congo Bill¨ (1948), ¨Blazing guns¨ (1950), ¨Guns of justice¨ (1950), ¨Pirates of the high seas¨ (1950), ¨Captain Scarllett¨ (1953) and ¨Superman in Exile¨ (1954) . Carr directed the original ¨Superman¨ (1948) serial. This led to the gig for which he is best remembered, directing many episodes of ¨Adventures of Superman¨ (1952) television series. He would spend his final decade in the business mostly directing for episodic television. ¨The Tall Stranger(¨1957) rating: 5.5/10. The film will appeal to Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo fans.
