Tall Story (1960)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Such a frustrating disappointment

Great Film overall

good back-story, and good acting

"Tall Story" is a film that is sort of like a throwback...a film similar in plot to films of the 40s and 50s. However, despite having an older sort of plot, there are also some adult aspects which make it like a bridge to the past and to the more modern sensibilities.The film is Jane Fond's first movie...and she co-stars in it as a character you would NOT expect based on her later films. June Ryder is a lady in college to get her MRS degree. In other words, this is no feminist and her one and only goal is to marry the star basketball player, Ray Blent (Anthony Perkins). For a while, Blent is oblivious to her concerted efforts to bag him...though eventually he succumbs to her charms. But, before they can marry and THEN indulge in their carnal lusts, there is the big game between his school and the Russians...and someone knows Blent needs money to marry and offer him a fortune...if he makes sure the Russians win!The film is a passable time-passer. There's nothing particularly wrong with the film, but the nice momentum it maintained seem to screech to a halt when the basketball fix plot was introduced. An odd film, surely, but one worth seeing.

A 1959 play turned into a 1960 ninety minute black and white Hollywood comedy it stars Jane Fonda taking off on Marguerite, Anthony Perkins taking off on Faust and Ray Walston, as usual, taking off on Mephistopheles. In this concept version a pushy maiden signs up at a basketball favoring college to chase a pure and honest hoop shooter both of whom are thwarted at every turn by a devillish professor. A young Jane Fonda and Tony Perkins are at their best although the poor reviews of their naturalistic performances caused both to change gears as Fonda became more stylized in later films and Perkins no longer did silly comedy. The hook of this absolutely delightful film is the best of sixties black and white movie comedy wit all its good points and all its nostalgia, one of the most perfect preserved for posterity.

I love this film. Jane Fonda is darling and irresistible and Tony Perkins is adorable. It is so blatantly 50's style sexist but great fun. Great supporting cast including "My Favorite Martian" guy and "Billy Jack". I just love Jane Fonda in this as well as in "Cat Ballou". She is sexy and oh so American girl cute. Unfortunately, it is not out on DVD yet, just VHS so I can't get it from netflix. I'm a sucker for Doris Day/ Rock Hudson movies and this is in that genre. In this movie, living in a trailer is celebrated and marriage is the goal for every girl, just like in a Jane Austen story. Warning: extremely sexy shower scene :), a far cry from the one in Psycho!

There was life before 'Psycho' for Anthony Perkins. I'm not so sure how much there was afterward. Prior to that movie's 1960 release (the same year as 'Tall Story') he could get roles in light comedies like this one, and other kinds of work, too. The Hitchcock picture identified him forever with one character, and though he achieved fame, his options as an actor were severely limited.That's a shame, because he's very good in this pleasant story of a college basketball star being pursued by a single-mined husband-hunter. There are some funny lines and moments, especially in the latter third of the film.This was Jane Fonda's first starring role and she is already fully formed as an actress. With all due respect to Henry and Peter, even early on in her career it's evident who was the standout talent in the Fonda family. She must shake her head sometimes about the role she played here. Near the film's start her character tells two professors she came to this college because she was tall. They look puzzled, so she explains she will have a better chance of snaring a husband at this school, with its outstanding basketball program. This role might embarrass her more than Barbarella.There's a fine supporting cast of old pros on hand including Ray Walston, Marc Connelly, Anne Jackson and Murray Hamilton. Look closely and you'll see Gary Lockwood ('2001...') as one of the basketball players. But even if you are a fan of the 'Billy Jack' movies, you might not recognize Tom Laughlin as a married friend of the young couple.