The Tall T (1957)

I came to the Ranown Westerns with no knowledge of who Randolph Scott and Budd Boetticher were. I love Westerns, and I've watched about 100 John Wayne films, but beyond that, I haven't studied the genre. Thanks to Letterboxd, I also know that I haven't been watching very many Westerns in 2025-26 -- it's the genre right at the bottom of my list.

But I picked up the Ronown Westerns 5-film Criterion collection during the last sale, and I'm now ready to dive in.

First impressions:

1. These films are at the tail-end of Scott's career. He did around 100 films, but here he's 59 years old and probably doing his last 10 or so films. He does look a bit old, and I would assume that the parts are really meant for someone younger. His age isn't a big issue. It's just something I thought about.

2. B-Movies. So, the Ranown Westerns are supposed to be B-movies -- the "cheaper" films slapped onto a double-bill. What makes these films B-quality? The run-times are short, and none of the actors are household names. Maybe the locations are cheap to shoot in? I don't know. At least with The Tall T, I didn't feel like I was watching a B-movie. The film is shot on location, not a studio backlot. The acting and directing were both solid. The script was tight and well-thought out.

Brennan (Scott) is a good guy. He has a ranch that he works by himself. He's obviously poor, but he's a hard worker and he has a dream. It's the small details, too. When we see the back of his shirt, it's soaked through with sweat. How many times do you watch a Western, and the lead has a perfectly pressed outfit, no sweat, no dirt or grime?

He's a nice guy. When the station master's kid wants candy, he agrees to buy it for him and bring it back on his way home.

I would say that he's less nice to women, but that might not be fair. When he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, he's tough on Doretta (Maureen O'Sullivan), but maybe his toughness is appropriate to the situation? He may also be "judging" her in the choice she made to marry the first man who asked her -- she was in "old maid" territory, and the man who asked her to marry him was something of a gold digger, and she probably knew it, or should have. But, as she tells Brennan, she felt trapped, and she felt like she could get her new husband to love her.

She has the "Jane Eyre" label, too. Everyone is calling her the "most plain" woman ever, and even Brennan and others blame her for her inattention to dolling herself up, suggesting that she could be prettier if she made an effort.

Brennan and the lead bad guy have a chance to exchange words, too. Frank (Richard Boone) wants what Brennan wants: just a little plot of land to call his own. A place he can work and be happy. Something in Frank's past must have made that dream impossible, and now he is what he is. He also briefly tells Brennan about the backgrounds of the two men in his gang. They run together because they understand each other. Maybe they lash out and treat others as they do as an act of "revenge" for never having anyone there that protected them or took the time to understand them.

At first, I wondered if Frank planned to steal Brennan's place. Maybe the thought crosses his mind, but he never expresses it. As he tells Brennan, he respects him, which is the only reason he's kept him alive. Does Frank expect the same treatment? When Brennan takes out his men, Frank has the chance just to ride off, but if he does so, he leaves the $50,000 ransom behind. That's something he can't do, and when he turns around to ambush Brennan for it, he ends up getting killed.

Brennan and Doretta. Have they fallen in love? Will they marry out of convenience? What's going on there at the end? Brennan is alone in a place where it's not good to be alone. Doretta is a woman in need of a man. She has the money and he has the ranch. I do feel like they have mutual interests to marry, and I have no doubt that Brennan will be better for her than the first guy she married, but it might be a stretch to say they're marrying for love.