Tall In The Saddle (DVD)

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And where does Gabby come in? He's a grumpy old cuss named Dave, a stage driver, a drunkard, and a generally all-around colorful character, who immediately takes a liking to the stranger in town and begins following Rocklin everywhere.

The movie was directed by Edwin L. Marin, who never did much of anything that people today remember but kept quite busy with films like the early "A Study in Scarlet," the "Masie" series, "Colt .45," "Christmas Eve," "Johnny Angel," and probably his most notable work, the 1938 version of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." He knows exactly what he's doing in this typical RKO Pictures B-movie affair, keeping "Tall in the Saddle" brief and to the point, just like its hero.

The movie opens with a hair-raising stagecoach ride and ends with a rousing showdown, in between finding room for the usual fistfights, gunfights, and chases. Although there are a few views of the traditional wide open spaces so favored by John Ford (shot around Sedona, Arizona), director Marin and his screenplay keep most of the action indoors, albeit in a diverse array of locations.

As I said, it's not a great Western, but it will keep you busy. And how can you resist lines like:
"He ain't dead, is he?"
"Not permanently."

Fun fluff.

Video:
The picture is presented in close to the 1.37:1 screen ratio of the day, here fitted for 1.33:1 televisions. The black-and-white print is in great shape, exhibiting almost no age marks save an occasional vertical line or two, hardly noticeable. The B&W contrasts are lightest in the outdoor shots, deepest in the indoor studio shots. Grain is a nonissue, but definition is only average. The picture looks like a very good cable TV broadcast.

Audio:
The sound is even more nondescript than the picture. There's nothing wrong with the monaural sonics, especially as they have been remastered and cleaned up via Dolby Digital 1.0 processing; but there's nothing particularly outstanding about them, either. Excellent, smoothly articulated midrange; limited frequency extremes; limited dynamic range; quiet backgrounds. It's a lot better than the stuff I grew up with, but it can't match some of the best mono on disc.

Extras:
Trailers: That's about it. There's a John Wayne trailer gallery that includes reels for "Tall in the Saddle," "Fort Apache," "Blood Alley," "The Sea Chase," "The Train Robbers," "McQ," and "Cahill, United States Marshall." Beyond that, there are twenty-two scene selections, with a promotional insert but no chapter index. Although English is the only spoken language available, there are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Parting Shots in the Sunset:
If you're a fan of old Westerns or of John Wayne, it's hard not to like "Tall in the Saddle." It's about as old-fashioned a cowboy picture as one could imagine, but it moves along quickly enough, and it adds a touch of mystery and romance to the usual fights and chases. Still, there's not a lot to it that hasn't been done a hundred times before and a hundred times since. It's just good, innocent cowpoke fun.

"Tall in the Saddle" is available separately or in a Warner Bros. boxed set of five Wayne films, the "John Wayne Legendary Heroes Collection," which also includes, chronologically, "Blood Alley" (1955), "The Sea Chase" (1955), "The Train Robbers" (1972), and "McQ," (1974).

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