THE TALL T

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Having said that I would never watch another Randolph Scott Western, after being thoroughly underwhelmed by 'Ride Lonesome', here I am again.

And I am pleased to say that this outing, directed again by Budd Boetticher, was much more to my taste.  It has a straightforward and compelling narrative (based on an Elmore Leonard short story) which plays to Scott's strengths as an actor.

After some deceptively quiet scenes the bad guys (Richard Boone plus a couple of young guns) make their entrance, trying to rob a stagecoach.  Unfortunately they've held up one carrying no money, but on the plus side one of the passengers is a newly wed, Mrs Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan) whose father is very wealthy.

So naturally she becomes a hostage, whilst her husband is sent off to communicate the ransom demand.  Scott happened to be on the stage coach and for some reason which is never satisfactorily explained he is not immediately killed.

He knows that once the ransom is paid, he and Mrs Mims will both be disposed off.  Before we get to that point though, Mr Mims is himself murdered upon his return.  It's no great loss, since it's clear he only married for money, and he was quite happy to leave his new wife to her fate if there was any chance of him getting away.

Mrs Mims is grief-stricken at first but once she realises quite how little he cared for her she gets over it.  And quite quickly an attraction develops between her and Scott.  I found their evolving relationship both touching and believable, given that Scott's character embodies all the qualities sadly lacking in her dead husband, such as honesty, chivalry and resoluteness. 

Scott is also resourceful enough to get the upper hand on the bad guys, leading to a happy ending.  

Although it's a simple tale which barely runs to 80 minutes all the characters are sufficiently fleshed out to make for a satisfying watch.  

As for the title, it's another case of one that sounds good but which has no meaningful connection to the story whatsoever.

RATING: ✓ Cheers

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