The picture is crammed with action, romance, mystery, and comedy, and though it becomes overly-convoluted in the middle with too many stray characters (This guy's is who's brother, again?) there are several outstanding scenes, and in many ways the film anticipates Wayne's iconic Western heroes of the 1950s onward.

Rocklin (Wayne) rides the Red Rock Stage driven by cantankerous old-timer Dave (George "Gabby" Hayes) and carrying pretty Clara Cardell (Audrey Long) and her witchy aunt, Elizabeth Martin (Elisabeth Risdon). Stopping at a roadhouse/depot along the way, the proprietor (Walter Baldwin) is harassed by local Sheriff Jackson (Emory Parnell) and his weasily partner-in-crime, Bob Clews (Paul Fix). They falsely accuse the proprietor of stealing cattle, and beat Dave unconscious. Later, in town, Rocklin has a run-in with gambler/gunfighter Clint (Russell Wade) over some money won in a poker game.

Rocklin has been hired by cattle rancher Red Cardell, Clara's grand-uncle, but Rocklin learns that Red's been murdered, shot in the back. Meanwhile, Clint's fiery sister, Arleta (Ella Raines) threatens to kill Rocklin for humiliating her brother, and then paradoxically offers him a job at her ranch. Clearly something crooked is going on: Aunt Elizabeth is soon in cahoots with slick local attorney "Judge" Garvey (Ward Bond), which is somehow connected to threats made by Bob Clews's brother, George (Harry Woods), newly released from prison, the business with the sheriff, and possibly Arleta's stepfather (Donald Douglas) or maybe mysterious ranch hand Talo (Frank Puglia).

Though its story centers on cattle-rustling, there's nary a cow a sight, and while you may need a scorecard to keep track of Tall in the Saddle's long list of characters, the picture delivers where it counts. The film was co-written by prolific Western actor Paul Fix, who was instrumental in helping Wayne develop his screen persona in B-Westerns of the 1930s, and knew how to play up Wayne's strengths. (Spoilers) In the sensational poker sequence, Rocklin wins a critical hand -- and a lot of money -- after Clint drops an important card and loses his full house in the process. At gunpoint, Clint takes the money from an unarmed Rocklin. Rocklin backs off, silently ascending the saloon's stairs to his room. Moments later, Rocklin comes back down the stairs, slowly, deliberately, only this time he's wearing a gun belt. Wayne is so commanding here he makes believable Clint's jelly-like retreat.

Later, when Arleta seeks revenge for Clint's humiliation, she fires several rounds in his direction, barely missing him. She demands he return the money but he refuses, calmly walking back to the saloon as she continues to fire bullets within inches of his body. Safely inside the saloon, Rocklin walks up to the bar, and with an enormous relief of nervous tension orders a shot of whiskey. It's a great moment because Wayne's character comes off as exceedingly brave but fully aware of the chance he took. We share in his relief, and Wayne's reaction is priceless.

Wayne and "Gabby" Hayes make a good team, in some ways better than Hayes's usual sidekicking duties under Roy Rogers (though less so than Hayes's earlier films with William Boyd in the Hopalong Cassidy series). They're so natural together, and Hayes so amusing doing his usual shtick, that one would think they did dozens of films together, when in fact Wayne and Hayes made just three films together after the mid-1930s, this being their last.

Ward Bond affects a strange, vaguely Irish accent; he's miscast though okay as a suave villain. Ella Raines is quite sexy as a red-blooded, untamed cowgirl. Sadly, this was her only film with Wayne.

Video & Audio

An RKO production, Tall in the Saddle looks okay but not great in its 4:3 full frame transfer. The image is clean with good blacks but not as detailed as other contemporary releases. Included is a wartime end title card noting that the film is being offered to servicemen fighting abroad. Audio is English only, with optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. The sound is acceptable with one caveat: at 56:46 the sound drops out completely for a couple of frames, and a word or two of dialogue is lost.

Extra Features

The only extra is a Wayne Trailer Gallery, with original theatrical trailers for Tall in the Saddle, Fort Apache (a title not yet out on DVD), Blood Alley, The Sea Chase (both 1955), The Train Robbers (1972), Cahill: United States Marshall (1973), and McQ (1974). Tall in the Saddle is a reissue trailer, has an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 but is encoded for 16:9 anamorphic. It's complete with text and narration.

Parting Thoughts

Tall in the Saddle is a solid Western. Director Edwin L. Marin may not have been a great auteur, but he directed Wayne in his best Western of the 1940s until late in the decade, when John Ford and Howard Hawks turned him into an American icon.

Stuart Galbraith IV is a Los Angeles and Kyoto-based film historian whose work includes The Emperor and the Wolf -- The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. His new book, Cinema Nippon will be published by Taschen in 2005.