I am only commenting on this now, but I've thought about it for some time. Tony Perkins is, without question, the most physically inept actor ever to play an athlete on film. Ever see his portrayal of Jimmy Piersall of the Boston Red Sox in "Fear Strikes Out"? This guy could not walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. In "Tall Story," he plays a college basketball star. Every time he goes to shoot the ball, the next shot is a tight close-up of the ball going through the hoop. What that should tell anyone is that the movie would have gone over budget if they needed 500 takes before he could make an actual shot. Really, no one should ever make a sports movie with a lead actor who is so uncoordinated and klutzy. As far as being typecast after "Psycho," hey, Perkins was excellent as a crazy person, which is why "Fear Strikes Out" wasn't a total bomb. Also excellent as disturbed persons (it should be a separate genre) are Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper, except that both are better actors than Mr. Perkins was.
Review of Tall Story
