Tall in the Saddle is a 1944 Western directed by Edwin L. Marin. The film stars John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond, and George “Gabby” Hayes. Tall in the Saddle is based on Gordon Ray Young’s 1942 novel of the same name.
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Cast: John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond, George “Gabby” Hays, Audrey Long, Elisabeth Risdon, Don Douglas, Paul Fix, Russell Wade
US Box Office: $4,372,500 ($130,700,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Western
Release Date: September 29, 1944
Plot Summary: The tough cowboy Rocklin (John Wayne) is hired by letter to be the foreman of the K.C. Ranch by Red Cardell and heads to the town of Santa Inez to accept the position. After arriving, Rocklin learns that Cardell was recently killed under mysterious circumstances and that the K.C. Ranch is now owned by the naïve young Clara Cardell (Audrey Long), her domineering aunt Elizabeth Martin (Elisabeth Risdon), and judge Robert Garvey (Ward Bond). Wanting to investigate Mr. Cardell’s murder, Rocklin instead takes a job at the rival Topaz Ranch run by Mr. Harolday (Don Douglas) and his stubborn stepdaughter Arly (Ella Raines). Arly initially hates Rocklin because he previously inadvertently embarrassed her in public, but she soon falls in love with him.
Production: Studio executives at RKO Radio Pictures purchased the rights to Gordon Ray Young’s western novel Tall in the Saddle (1942) shortly after the book was published. Tall in the Saddle was originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post from March 7 to April 25, 1942. Robert Fellows, who had only recently joined RKO, was chosen by studio executives to produce the film adaptation of Tall in the Saddle. The film’s screenplay was written by Michael Hogan and Paul Fix. Paul Fix was primarily a character actor and Tall in the Saddle was the first film script that he contributed to. Fix additionally acted in Tall in the Saddle as henchman Bob Clews. RKO executives hired Edwin L. Marin to direct the film. Marin had only directed one Western film at this point, Henry Goes Arizona (1939) which starred Frank Morgan. Marin had recently directed the drama films A Gentleman After Dark (1942) and Two Tickets to London (1943), and the comedy Ringside Maisie (1941).
John Wayne was chosen to play the role of Rocklin, a cowboy and the main character of Tall in the Saddle. Wayne had been working in Hollywood for more than fifteen years at this point, but he only recently become an A-list leading man due to his memorable performance in John Ford’s western Stagecoach (1939). Wayne recently starred in the westerns In Old California (1942), The Spoilers (1942), and In Old Oklahoma (1943). Tall in the Saddle was the first film in Wayne’s new contract with RKO which required him to star in one RKO film per year for seven years. Ella Raines was cast as Arly Harolday, the lady rancher who first hates, and later falls in love with Rocklin. Tall in the Saddle was only Raines’ fifth film, her first role had been in the war movie Corvette K-225 (1943) for Universal Pictures. That same year she also starred in Preston Sturges’ acclaimed comedy-drama Hail the Conquering Hero (1944).
Director Edwin L. Marin began shooting Tall in the Saddle in April 1944 and principle photography wrapped up in June. Location filming took place in California at Agoura Ranch, Lake Sherwood, and RKO’s Encino Ranch. Some location filming was also done at Picacho Peak State Park and Ironwood Forest National Monument in southern Arizona. Interior scenes were shot on set at RKO Studios in Hollywood. Tall in the Saddle was notably one of the first films to use a new technique originally developed by cinematographer Vernon L. Walker that allowed for matte clouds and mountain backgrounds to be combined with footage that was shot outside.
Fun Facts and Trivia: Tall in the Saddle was the last of fifteen films to pair real-life friends John Wayne and George “Gabby” Hayes (Dave) together. The two primarily appeared together in the B-list westerns that John Wayne starred in before his breakthrough in Stagecoach (1939), but they also starred together in the big budget westerns Dark Command (1940) and In Old Oklahoma (1943). In these sort of films, Wayne was usually the leading man and Hayes typically played Wayne’s comic relief sidekick.
John Wayne and character actor Ward Bond appeared together in more than twenty films beginning with the epic Noah’s Ark (1928) in which both men were extras. Some of their most notable films together include: They Were Expendable (1945), The Quiet Man (1952), Hondo (1953), The Searchers (1956), and Rio Bravo (1959). Although Mr. Harolday is presented as being much older than Rocklin, actor Don Douglas was only two years older than John Wayne.
Reception: Tall in the Saddle premiered in the United States on September 29, 1944. The film went into general release a few weeks later. Tall in the Saddle performed well at the box office and it earned a profit for RKO. Due to the film’s success, Edwin L. Marin signed a new contract with RKO in November to make two films per year for the studio for the next two years, beginning with the film noir Johnny Angel (1945). Marin would later direct several westerns starring Randolph Scott beginning with Abilene Town (1946).
Tall in the Saddle received mostly favorable reviews from critics when it was first released. Jay Carmody of The Evening Star gave the film a positive review. Carmody noted that Tall in the Saddle contained many of the typical formulaic elements of Westerns, but praised the film for combining constant action with plenty of humor. The critics at The Washington Daily News similarly praised the film’s action and applauded the performances, especially those of John Wayne, Ella Raines, and Gabby Hayes. Thomas M. Pryor of The New York Times enjoyed the film’s action and described Tall in the Saddle as “a rousing old-fashioned Western.”
Modern reviews of Tall in the Saddle tend to be more mixed. In a mildly negative review, John J. Puccio of Movie Metropolis praised Tall in the Saddle for its fast pace and for adding romance and mystery to the typical western formula, but noted that it was otherwise “about as old-fashioned a cowboy picture as one could imagine.” Emmanuel Levy described the film as, “simple but entertaining” and noted that Wayne and Raines had good chemistry together.
Why You Should See It: Tall in the Saddle is a simple, but enjoyable and entertaining Western. As usual for the genre, the desert wilderness cinematography looks good. Tall in the Saddle has plenty of action and a few interesting plot twists. John Wayne has good chemistry with Ella Raines, so its a shame that Tall in the Saddle was the only film to pair the two. The film also has plenty of humor and Gabby Hayes has some funny scenes.
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