Tall Story is dated, but deliciously so. June Ryder (Jane Fonda in her film debut) is a new student at Custer – a Californian college which is renowned for its basketball team – although it also has a high academic standing that rivals the more famous colleges on the west coast.
June’s primary reason for being there is to become a “Mrs” – specifically Mrs Ray Blent.
Ray (Anthony Perkins) is a science major and the star player on the basketball team – although he isn’t a naturally gifted player.
In fact, Ray uses science to figure out how to play the perfect game and his interest in the game generally is just a byproduct of his primary interest in the sciences.
June, meanwhile, is a single-minded husband-hunter.
Ray eventually proposes to June, but their future happiness is threatened due to a lack of money. Then Ray is offered $4,000 to throw a basketball game against a team of Soviet All-stars touring the USA.
This was also the film debut of Van Williams and Robert Redford – both in uncredited bit parts.
Ray Blent
Anthony Perkins June Ryder
Jane Fonda Prof. Leo Sullivan
Ray Walston Prof. Charles Osman
Marc Connelly Myra Sullivan
Anne Jackson Coach Sandy Hardy
Murray Hamilton President Harmon Nagel
Bob Wright District Attorney Davis
Bart Burns 1st Detective
Karl Lukas Connie
Elizabeth Patterson Fred Jensen
Tom Laughlin Frieda Jensen
Barbara Darrow
Director
Joshua Logan
Related Posts
Threads (1984) A chilling and intense 115-minute documentary-style drama that harrowingly depicted the unimaginably grim events of the aftermath of a nuclear…
Price of Silence, The (1960) Richard Fuller (Gordon Jackson) is an ex-convict who - after serving his sentence for embezzlement - has changed his name…
Total recall (1990) Cult science-fiction author Philip K Dick's short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale is impressively translated onto the screen…
Alamo, The (1960) John Wayne as Colonel Davy Crockett leads the futile defence in 1836 of the famous fort in the town of San Antonio, Texas, against…
Thundercrack! (1975) A group of strangers - four men and three women - find themselves stranded at the remote mansion ('Prairie Blossom')…
Lost World, The (1960) This 1960 version of Arthur Conan Doyle's story starred Michael Rennie as an aristocratic playboy and big game hunter named…
Assignment: Outer Space (1960) In 2116, Ray Peterson (the wonderfully-named Rik Van Nutter), a reporter for the Interplanetary News, is assigned to write a…
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) Gloria (Jane Fonda) enters into a dance marathon contest during the Great Depression, hoping to earn $1500 after over a…
June’s primary reason for being there is to become a “Mrs” – specifically Mrs Ray Blent.
Ray Blent
