The Tall Stranger

[Tommy Tainant]

This is free on youtube and is one of Joel Macraes best efforts.
He plays a soldie coming back from the war and falls in with a wagon train of southerners heading for California.

The film is only 80 minutes but there is so much going on. Carpet bagging,rustling,bitterness, sexual tension its all in here.

Joel is superb in the lead and Virginia Mayo shines as the "widowed" young mother. But for me the stand out performance was by Leo Gordon playing the top hand on the ranch. He usually played the heavy but he exudes a moral authority in this role trying to keep the peace between his boss and the rest of the world..

Walter Mirisch produces and it bobs along very nicely without a dull moment..
I rate it highly and put it in my top 50 westerns.

The Tall Stranger (1957) ⭐ 6.4 | Western

1h 21m | Approved

www.imdb.com

 

[Flopper]

This is free on youtube and is one of Joel Macraes best efforts.
He plays a soldie coming back from the war and falls in with a wagon train of southerners heading for California.

The film is only 80 minutes but there is so much going on. Carpet bagging,rustling,bitterness, sexual tension its all in here.

Joel is superb in the lead and Virginia Mayo shines as the "widowed" young mother. But for me the stand out performance was by Leo Gordon playing the top hand on the ranch. He usually played the heavy but he exudes a moral authority in this role trying to keep the peace between his boss and the rest of the world..

Walter Mirisch produces and it bobs along very nicely without a dull moment..
I rate it highly and put it in my top 50 westerns.

The Tall Stranger (1957) ⭐ 6.4 | Western

1h 21m | Approved

www.imdb.com

I have to disagree with you on this one. The Louis L'Amour novel on which it is based is far better than the movie. Joel McCrea did a fine job as he always does but this is not his best western. IMHO, his best westerns are "Ride the High Country", "Wichita", and "Union Pacific". What is there to say about Mayo other than she is a gorgeous decorative blond providing the love interest for her costar. She played this role or a comedy straight in just about every movie. The exceptions were "White Heat" opposite Cagney and "Best Years of Our Lives" opposite Dana Andrews. She came to Hollywood from Vaudeville as a dancer and was hired by MGM. She played in a number of musicals in uncredited roles. And it was here she learned act and appeared in her first credited role in 1943.

You mentioned the producer Walter Mirisch. Now there is someone who has given us some of the most popular movies of the 20th century. He is known as a creative producer rather than just a fund raiser and financial manager. He finds and acquires the rights to books, plays, short stories, and scripts and puts together the creative teams that actual makes the movies. Here is a short list of his accomplishments.

The Gunfight at Dodge City

Cast a Long Shadow

The Magnificent Seven

By Love Possessed

Some Like It Hot

West Side Story

The Apartment

The Children's Hour

Two for the Seesaw

The Great Escape

Toys in the Attic

The Pink Panther

A Shot in the Dark

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Hawaii

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

In the Heat of the Night

The Thomas Crown Affair

Some Kind of a Nut

The Landlord

The Hawaiians

They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!

The Organization

Fiddler on the Roof

Scorpio

Mr. Majestyk

Midway

Gray Lady Down

Same Time, Next Year

Dracula

The Prisoner of Zenda

Romantic Comedy

 

[hjmick]

I knew Joel McGrea, very nice man.


And for the record, there was never a movie made based on a Louis L'Amour book that was better than the book.

Met Louis L'Amour once... he seemed nice, autographed one of his books for me, Borden Chantry.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

I have to disagree with you on this one. The Louis L'Amour novel on which it is based is far better than the movie. Joel McCrea did a fine job as he always does but this is not his best western. IMHO, his best westerns are "Ride the High Country", "Wichita", and "Union Pacific". What is there to say about Mayo other than she is a gorgeous decorative blond providing the love interest for her costar. She played this role or a comedy straight in just about every movie. The exceptions were "White Heat" opposite Cagney and "Best Years of Our Lives" opposite Dana Andrews. She came to Hollywood from Vaudeville as a dancer and was hired by MGM. She played in a number of musicals in uncredited roles. And it was here she learned act and appeared in her first credited role in 1943.

You mentioned the producer Walter Mirisch. Now there is someone who has given us some of the most popular movies of the 20th century. He is known as a creative producer rather than just a fund raiser and financial manager. He finds and acquires the rights to books, plays, short stories, and scripts and puts together the creative teams that actual makes the movies. Here is a short list of his accomplishments.

The Gunfight at Dodge City

Cast a Long Shadow

The Magnificent Seven

By Love Possessed

Some Like It Hot

West Side Story

The Apartment

The Children's Hour

Two for the Seesaw

The Great Escape

Toys in the Attic

The Pink Panther

A Shot in the Dark

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Hawaii

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

In the Heat of the Night

The Thomas Crown Affair

Some Kind of a Nut

The Landlord

The Hawaiians

They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!

The Organization

Fiddler on the Roof

Scorpio

Mr. Majestyk

Midway

Gray Lady Down

Same Time, Next Year

Dracula

The Prisoner of Zenda

Romantic Comedy

Have a look wheen you get a chance. Its only just over an hour and is very good.