Western

The Tall Stranger

- Savagely written by the author of "Hondo"!

A Union soldier returns to his western home at the end of the Civil War and finds himself caught in the middle of a land war between his greedy half-brother and a wagon train of Confederate homesteaders.

Release Date : 1957-11-17

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Walter Mirisch Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Ned Bannon

Original Name : Joel McCrea

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ellen

Original Name : Virginia Mayo

Gender : Female

Character Name : Hardy Bishop

Original Name : Barry Kelley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zarata

Original Name : Michael Ansara

Gender : Male

Character Name : Adam Judson

Original Name : Whit Bissell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dud

Original Name : James Dobson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mort Harper (as George Neise)

Original Name : George N. Neise

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charley

Original Name : Michael Pate

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stark

Original Name : Leo Gordon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cap

Original Name : Ray Teal

Gender : Male

Character Name : Will

Original Name : Phil Phillips

Gender : Male

Character Name : Red

Original Name : Adam Kennedy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pagones

Original Name : Robert Foulk

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mary

Original Name : Jennifer Lea

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Stephen Carr

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Leonard P. Geer

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : William Haade

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Mauritz Hugo

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : George J. Lewis

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Tom Lockwood

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Tom London

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Pierce Lyden

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Don McGuire

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : John Mitchum

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ann Morrison

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Guy Prescott

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ralph Reed

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Danny Sands

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Bob Stratton

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Routine plot - efficient in execution, but beware of pan and scan monstrosity. The Tall Stranger is directed by Thomas Carr and written for the screen by Christopher Knopf from a story by Louis L'Amour. It stars Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Michael Ansara, George Neise, Whit Bissell, Adam Kennedy, Barry Kelley and Leo Gordon. A CinemaScope/De Luxe color production, film is filmed on location at two ranches in California, Morrison and Russell, with Wilfred M. Cline the cinematographer. Hans J. Salter scores the music. Plot sees McCrea as Ned Bannon, who has a run in with rustlers and left for dead. Luckily he is found in time by a wagon train heading for California. Nursed back to health, Ned becomes suspicious of two outsiders who are leading the group into a dead-end valley owned by his hostile half-brother. Ned must overcome family hostility to try and avert a range war from occurring. Solid mid 50's Oater boosted by the reliable McCrea and some dark shades within the writing. Running at just over 80 minutes, picture condenses enough old time punch ups and shootings into the story to stop the routine nature of the plotting dragging the pace down. There's even some messages in here to show the writers wanted something more than just a yeehaw production. Sadly the film is badly let down by the pan and scan process and the lifeless colour. There are very few reviews of the film about, but nobody makes mention of the bad print of the film? Certainly the current print doing the rounds for British TV is so bad it takes much away from the film. Cline's ("The Last Wagon/The Indian Fighter") location photography is barely seen - is this really in CinemaScope? - and periphery characters are heard but chopped in half! Even the normally radiant Mayo looks washed out due to the tired looking De Luxe color. There's a half decent film in the mix, but even with the best of home cinema set ups to play with, it's nigh on impossible to fully immerse oneself in the movie. 6/10