Search - Tall Man on DVD

Single Disc Sampler

Robert Huggins | Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States | 08/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a single disc release of the 1960-62 TV western series that starred Barry Sullivan as Pat Garrett and Clu Gulager as Billy the Kid. While these characters were real-life historical figures, there's very little in the way of historical accuracy in this series, so it's best enjoyed for the relationship and dynamics between the two leads. The stories are OK, but the series has a low budget look to it and reflects the production company's (Revue Studios) cookie-cutter approach to a number of its western series.

Of interest is Juan Garcia Esquivel's theme music. Several other late 1950s/early 1960s TV westerns produced by Revue Studios -- "Shotgun Slade" and "The Deputy" come to mind -- included the use of jazz inspired music, and Esquivel's music in this series reflected this mini-trend.

This release, from the Timeless Media Group, is simply disc 1 of a larger 3-DVD, 15-episode set, The Tall Man, that's also available from Amazon. Collectors of the series will want the larger multi-disc set, but those who have distant memories of the show and just want to sample a few episodes may want to consider this single disc version. Episodes included in this disc are:

The Legend Of Billy
The Woman
The Frame
The Last Resource
A Day To Kill

Although licensed by NBC Universal to Timeless Media, 16 millimeter prints were utilized for this release. They are very watchable, but have the usual blemishes that one might associate with unrestored film elements that are over 45 years old. "The Tall Man" is not a great series, but it's an enjoyable enough time passer that's elevated by the solid perfomances of Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager.

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