Lloyd Bridges is Ben Trask, a man accused of killing his own brothers and bound for a jail in El Paso.
Then the wagon full of travelers he’s being transported in comes across a wounded Indian; the wounded man is carried to the wagon.
That brings down a band of hostiles on those travelers. They manage to fend off the attack, but their wagon is destroyed and one of its occupants dies.
The survivors are debating leaving the wounded Indian behind when he presents them with a gold nugget.
They wind up making a deal. He’ll lead them to the river where he found the nugget if they’ll take him along.
The band also includes the sheriff who was taking Trask to El Paso (Samuel Herrick), a disgraced ship’s captain (Lee J. Cobb) and a woman (Marie Windsor) who’s traveling companion died in the Indian attack.
They’re soon joined by traveling salesman Joshua Tinnen (Luther Adler). And they head off to find gold, even though they’re short on supplies and short on horses.
When they reach the spot, they find a band of friendly Indians who allow them to pan for gold — as long as they turn over all their weapons and don’t enter the burial ground on the nearby hill.
But what happens when Tinnen begins to suspect that the richest gold deposits are smack dab in the middle of that burial ground?
Lloyd Bridges as Ben Trask, bound for an El Paso jail until a gold nugget changes those plans in The Tall Texan (1953)
Marie Windsor as Laura Thompson, dreaming of starting a new life with the gold she’s found in The Tall Texan (1953)
Review:
A low-budget B Western that has its moments, like when Lee J. Cobb’s character becomes so upset with the traveling salesman that he whips him with a dead rattler.
Otherwise, it’s what you would expect from a film about a group of people mining gold in an isolated area. Greed and mistrust set in, threatening to ruin the enterprise.
Windsor’s character provides the sexual tension. Lee J. Cobb’s character is determined to make her his own. She finds herself more drawn to the man charged with murder, a man who assures her that he’s innocent and that claim jumpers really killed his brother.
According to IMDb, Cobbs and Bridges signed up for such a low-budget film because they were under investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee at the time and finding work hard to come by. The site also says the film was shot in just eight days.
Lee J. Cobb as Capt. Theodore Bess, suspecting trouble from Tinnen in The Tall Texan (1953)
Luther Adler as Joshua Tinnen, overtaken by greed in The Tall Texan (1953)
Directed by:
Elmo Williams
Cast:
Lloyd Bridges … Ben Trask
Lee J. Cobbs … Capt. Theodore Bess
Marie Windsor … Laura Thompson
Luther Adler … Joshua Tinnen
Syd Saylor … Carney
Samuel Herrick … Sheriff Chadborune
George Steele … Jaqui
Dean Train … Jerome ‘Jerry’ Niblett
Runtime 84 min.
Samuel Herrick as Sheriff Chadborune, determined to deliver his prisoner to El Paso in The Tall Texan (1953)
Dean Train as Jerry Niblett, Laura’s companion from back East in The Tall Texan (1953)
Memorable lines:
Capt. Bess, on a gold-hunting expedition: “It’s not going to be easy for a woman.”
Laura Thompson: “Since when was it easy. A little gold will make it a lot easier for me. I could pick my company for a change.”
Ben Trask, of trader Joshua Tinnen: “Union coat. Confederate pants. It figures.”
Tinnen: “Well, there are two sides to everything.”
Capt. Bess, of his desire to make Laura his own: “Maybe I’ll get you to change your plans.”
Laura Thompson: “Gold’s the only future I plan on.”
Joshua Tinnen, as he pans for gold: “What are you gettin’, Carney?”
Carney: “Sand, fleas and sore knees.”
Tinnen, grimacing: “Me too.”
Marie Windsor as Laura Thompson, informing Capt. Bess (Lee J. Cobb) and Carney (Syd Saylor) that she intends to go along on the search for gold in The Tall Texan (1953)
Syd Saylor as Carney and Luther Adler as Joshua Tinnen, wondering about the Indian burial ground in The Tall Texan (1953)
George Steele as Jaqui, the injured Indian the travelers find in The Tall Texan (1953)
Marie Windsor as Laura Thompson and Lloyd Bridges as Ben Trask have their romantic interlude interrupted in The Tall Texan (1953)
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