He Rides Tall (1964)

Tony Young is Marshal Morg Rocklin, a day away from marrying Ellie Daniels (Madlyn Rhue) and leaving his dangerous job when wild, young Gil McCloud and his cowboys ride into town. He winds up having to gun down Gil.

Now comes a tougher task. Telling Gil’s dad, Josh (R.G. Armstrong) what has happened.

After all, Josh took in the orphaned Morg years earlier and gave him a home.

Complicating matters is Bart Thome (Dan Duryea), Josh’s foreman, and Kate McCloud (Jo Morrow), Josh’s much younger wife.

They have their sights on the money from the sale of the cattle and the new life it would buy them.

Now Morg stands in their way.

So Bart convinces Josh to have his private doctor cripple Morg’s gun hand.

The doctor pretends to do so but, as Bart soon discovers, he didn’t complete the job.

Tony Young as Marshal Morg Rocklin, tackling one last job before turning in his badge in He Rides Tall (1964)

Dan Duryea as Bart Thome, plotting to get the money for Josh McCloud’s cattle in He Rides Tall (1964)

Review:

Better than the average R.G. Springsteen film. In fact, this was one of two made by Springsteen and starring Tony Young and Dan Duryea in the same year.

The other — “Taggart” — suffered from the use of way too much badly mismatched stock footage. Shot in black and white and featuring fewer large-scale scenes, this film avoids that problem.

Both films feature a conniving young wife as a key plot device. This time, it’s Jo Morrow as Kate McCloud, who’s plotting with Bart Thome (played by 54-year-old Dan Duryea) to rob her husband of his money, his herd and his wife so they can live happily ever after.

Of course, a man who would betray his employee doesn’t always make for a faithful beau, and when the Indians demand a scalp from Bart or Kate … well, Bart figures the decision is pretty easy. Bye, bye Kate.

In fact, two of our stars meet a grizzly death. Couple that with a supposedly crippling operation and this is a bit more violent than your typical mid-1960s U.S. Western.

Jo Morrow as Kate McCloud, a married woman flirting with Marshal Morg Rocklin in He Rides Tall (1964)

Madlyn Rhue as Ellie Daniels, the woman who plans to marry Marshal Morg Rocklin in He Rides Tall (1964)

Directed by:
R.G. Springsteen

Cast:
Tony Young … Marshal Morg Rocklin
Dan Duryea … Bart Thome
Jo Morrow … Kate McCloud
Madlyn Rhue … Ellie Daniels
R.G. Armstrong … Josh McCloud
Joel Fluellen … Dr. Sam
Carl Reindel … Gil McCloud
Mickey Simpson … Onie
George Murdock … Burt
Michael Carr … Lefty
George Petrie … Crowley

Runtime: 84 min.

R.G. Armstrong as Josh McCloud, dealing with a dead son, a crooked foreman and a cheating wife in He Rides Tall (1964)

Joel Fluellen as Dr. Sam, Josh McCloud’s personal physician in He Rides Tall (1964)

Memorable lines:

Marshal Morg Rocklin, to a gunman: “You need to find a nice shady place to cool off.”

Kate McCloud to Morg: “I’m a young woman, married to a worn out old man.”
Morg Rocklin: “No law said you had to marry him.”
Kate: “The law of survival said so. Shocked? Don’t be … A young woman needs more than what an old man can give her.”

Townsman to Morg: “Ellie has a normal feminine viewpoint, Morg. A bride always wants a strong, healthy husband on her honeymoon.”

Bart Thome: “Mr. McCloud, you let a rattlesnake crawl into your home. But don’t you worry none. Right now, we’ve got him defanged. But we got to keep him defanged. This is his fang — his right hand, his gun hand.”

Kate McCloud, during a dusty cattle drive: “I’m going to feel much better when these cattle are turned to cash.”

Carl Reindel as Gil McCloud, a rebellious youth who runs into trouble in He Rides Tall (1964)

Jo Morrow as Kate McCloud, alarmed as Indians approach in He Rides Tall (1964)

Madlyn Rhue as Ellie Daniels, prepared to defend herself when an intruder enters her room in He Rides Tall (1964)

Tony Young as Marshal Morg Rocklin, making up with Ellie Daniels (Madlyn Rhue) after a love’s spat in He Rides Tall (1964)