JurorNumberThirteen This filim is from the' C' rated "wild west category not even reaching the lofty heights of 'B' western. It's the time when men were men and anyone who was'nt a white anglo saxon male knew it. A nuts and bolts western with the baddie even wearing the obligatory black hat. The very squared jaw hero is played by Randolph Scott with a grimace, some very run of the mill lines and very little else.When I was growing up these kind of movies were very much Sunday afternoon TV fare. Scott was never one of my favourites lacking the humour in his roles that Wayne, Widmark and Stewart could provide. Age was also taking its toll in this movie, Scott looking too old and stiff in the action sequences compared to someone like the great Kirk Douglas . Dorothy Malone plays the weepy eyed love interest who just goes thru the motions, but the second female role is handled with confidence and strength by Peggie Castle making a lot of what she is given.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) This is a good Randolph Scott western , good plot, good scene of the Land Rush plenty of action scenes, colorful, two pretty actresses Dorothy Malone and Peggie Castle, where Castle outshines Malone. If you saw this western in the fifties you would certainly agree that you got your money's worth, it sure delivers all you could expect from a pre Boetticher Scott western. Scott gives one of his best performances as Larry Madden, a tough, quiet, well developed character the ideal western hero. Paul Richatd as "The Peso Kid" makes us nostalgic of the "bandidos" in the old westerns. Lesley Selander, the director, had a lot of practice in this genre, remember Hopalong Cassidy?

bkoganbing Some of the same plot elements in the far more expensive James Stewart western, The Far Country which came out the year before are to be found in this fine Randolph Scott B western Tall Man Riding. Like Stewart in his film, Randolph Scott is a tough and touchy guy you don't push too hard and like Stewart he has two leading ladies and you're not quite sure which one he'll end up with in the end.Tall Man Riding is a range war western and Scott's the loner who's ridden back into town and into the middle of said war. On the one side is John Baragrey the owner of the local saloon and a man pushing homesteaders in on the local Ponderosa owner and Scott finds him repugnant on general principles. On the other side the local Ponderosa owner is Robert Barrat who was making his farewell big screen appearance. Scott was courting Dorothy Malone, Barrat's daughter and Barrat thought him not worthy. He ran Scott out of town after administering a public whipping to him. Malone's now married to William Ching.The only friend Scott does make is saloon girl Peggie Castle who is the personal squeeze of Baragrey. She'd like to trade up if she can and finds Randy quite to her liking. She even saves him from a bushwhacking.Tall Man Riding has enough hard riding and gunplay to suit western fans and it is also a harbinger of the westerns soon to be populating the small screen with more adult themes. There are two other roles of note in Tall Man Riding, John Dehner plays a sleazy lawyer and Paul Richards plays a gunfighter on the payroll of Baragrey. In my description you will also notice some plot similarities to Destry Rides Again and the climax involves a land rush which while not as spectacular as the one in both versions of Cimarron is still exciting enough and done well enough with the small budget this B film had.Tall Man Riding is a really good Randolph Scott western, one of the better ones he did in the Fifties.

MartinHafer After five years' absence, Randolph Scott returns to a town to get his revenge. It seems that the powerful Tucker Ordway (Robert Barrat) had whipped him within and inch of his life because Scott had the nerve to ask to marry Ordway's daughter. But before he can retaliate, he stumbles into the middle of a fight between one bully, Ordway, and another of the town's bullies, Cibo Pearlo (John Baragrey). So now Scott isn't sure which one to take on first or just let the other two kill each other! In this film, Scott plays a harder man than usual. In most of his westerns, he plays a good guy--one that is exceptionally nice and good. Here, though, he isn't quite so kind but a bit more menacing than usual. He wants revenge and all else seems unimportant...until he learns Ordway's dark secret.In many ways, this is a rather typical western for Randolph Scott, even if he is hell-bent on revenge. There are the usual bosses vying for power and in the end you just know that Scott will do the right thing. A tad predictable in spots, but overall still a very good movie.By the way, doesn't the Peso Kid look a lot like his head was dipped in plastic? Normally I wouldn't say anything, but wow did he look weird!! Plus, did you also notice that his accent kept changing throughout the film? Also, didn't they make Dorothy Malone's character a bit,...nasty?! This ISN'T the word I wanted to use, but IMDb has rules against using certain words.