Tall Tale (also known as Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill) is a 1995 American Western adventure fantasy film directed by Jeremiah Chechik, written by Steven L. Bloom and Robert Rodat, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures and starring Scott Glenn, Oliver Platt, Nick Stahl, Stephen Lang, Roger Aaron Brown, Catherine O'Hara, and Patrick Swayze. It tells the story of a young farm boy who receives aid from tall tale figures in saving his town from a greedy developer.
Though shooting of the film was completed in 1993, it did not get a theatrical release until March 1995. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing only $8.2 million on an estimated $32 million budget.
Plot[]
In 1905, Daniel Hackett, a young farm boy from the western town of Paradise Valley, is unhappy with his life and dreams of life in New York City. His father Jonas likes to tell Daniel tall tales about Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and John Henry, which Daniel has heard many times, leading him to doubt their existence.
Meanwhile, Paradise Valley is being coveted by a greedy developer, J.P. Stiles. Stiles attempts to convince Jonas and the other farmers to sell their land to him with Jonas' farm lying in the center of where he wants to develop. However, when Jonas refuses to hand up his deed, Stiles hunts him down and shoots him, but not before Jonas hands the deed off to Daniel for safe keeping.
With Jonas in critical condition and unable to farm, his land is put at risk. Upset, Daniel runs out to hide in his father's boat and cries himself to sleep. The ropes holding the boat come undone and Daniel drifts downstream.
When Daniel awakes, he discovers that the boat had washed up in the deserts of Texas. After a brief encounter with some thieves, Daniel is rescued by legendary cowboy Pecos Bill. The duo later team up with lumberjack Paul Bunyan, and strong African-American ex-slave John Henry. Each of these heroes hooks up with Daniel. He even uses Babe the Blue Ox to free them after they were arrested for causing a bar fight by Pecos' ex-girlfriend Calamity Jane. Afterwards, the heroes soon become involved in an increasingly bitter and boisterous fight against Stiles' men as Stiles plans to buy up land threaten the very strength of the folk heroes and the well-being of the common people.
When Stiles catches up with to Daniel with his men having subdued Pecos, Paul, and John, he entices Daniel to give up the deed by filling him with doubts about the heroes. Daniel then sees a vision of the Paradise Valley inhabitants being forced to help with Stiles' development. Just then, Daniel wakes up in the boat realizing it was just a dream with the ropes having not come undone. He ventures towards Stiles' train who was about to head out into the lands.
Daniel confronts Stiles, the railroad magnate, and Stiles' henchmen as they attempt to run him over, until John arrives and holds the train. Stiles orders his men to kill them, but Pecos arrives and shoots off their trigger fingers, and the townsfolk join in to help, while Paul, who went inside while nobody notices, cuts down the mine poles. Daniel then finishes off the last pole, killing Stiles and his men in the resulting cave-in and the crowd cheers for him.
Daniel then returns to the farm and admits to his recuperated dad that the stories were true and their land is important. Paul, Babe, and John, his mule Cold Molasses, and Pecos show up to say goodbye to Daniel. As Paul and John disappear with their animals, Pecos leaves his horse Widow-Maker to Daniel and twirls his lasso at a twister for his departure as Jonas witnesses it.
Cast[]
- Scott Glenn as J.P. Stiles
- Oliver Platt as Paul Bunyan
- Nick Stahl as Daniel Hackett
- Stephen Lang as Jonas Hackett
- Roger Aaron Brown as John Henry
- Catherine O'Hara as Calamity Jane
- Patrick Swayze as Pecos Bill
- Jared Harris as Head Thug Pug
- Moira Harris as Sarah Hackett
- Joseph Grifasi as a man in a top hat
- John P. Ryan as 'Grub'
- Scott Wilson as Zeb
- Bert Kramer as Bronson
- William H. Macy as the railroad magnate (uncredited)
- Burgess Meredith as an old man (uncredited)