So Big! (1932)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

J. Grubb Alexander (adaptation)
Edna Ferber (novel)

Release Date:

30 April 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Selina lived well until her father Simeon died. Her aunts sold the estate and put her in a boarding school...

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Teacher | Sculptor | Dutch American | Artist

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Selina Peake De Jong
George Brent	...	Roelf Pool
Dickie Moore	...	Dirk De Jong (younger)
Bette Davis	...	Miss Dallas O'Mara
Mae Madison	...	Julie Hempel
Hardie Albright	...	Dirk De Jong
Alan Hale	...	Klass Poole
Earle Foxe	...	Pervus De Jong
Robert Warwick	...	Simeon Peake, Gambler
Dorothy Peterson	...	Maartje Pool
Noel Francis	...	Mabel, a 'Fancy Woman'
Dick Winslow	...	Roelf, age 12
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Cheron	...	The General (scenes deleted)
Guy Kibbee	...	August Hemple (scenes deleted)
Martha Mattox	...	Maiden Aunt (scenes deleted)
Willard Robertson	...	The Doctor (scenes deleted)
Arthur Stone	...	Jan Steen (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Dirk De Jong: You're just about the most attractive girl I've ever met
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Very good. Kinda sterotyped, but still effective. Time out while I work up a maidenly blush.
Dirk De Jong: Now this is your last chance. I'm not going to ask you this question any more. How about having dinner with me some night?
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Love to.
Dirk De Jong: When?
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Oh, sometime in the distant future... say, um, tonight.
Dirk De Jong: Perfect. Where would you like to go, the Casino?
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Oh, let's not and say we did. Those upper-crust places make me jitter.
Dirk De Jong: Well, how about Thompson's Lunch?
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Oh, I'm still hunchbacked from sitting in those one-armed chairs. Let's go to a hotel--full of all sorts of people: actors, gamblers, thieves, bootleggers, ladies and...and women. That's my dish.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Child Stars" (2006)

Soundtrack:

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Wealth or Happiness

So Big is a film based on a novel and has a wonderful cast to bring it to life. Barbara Stanwyck is the lead, a woman whose life isn't perfect but which she works hard to be proud of. In the beginning, she is a wealthy girl, but when her father dies, she is sent away to a small town to live with a farmer and become a schoolteacher. There she meets a boy (George Brent) with an enthusiasm for life that she shares and she becomes his inspiration to become an artist. Later, she weds and has a child (Dickie Moore) who she plays a game with that explains the title of the film. Sadly, these scenes are short and the film progresses toward the future where her grown-up son enters the world and experiences trials that challenge his values. In the process, he meets Bette Davis, a beautiful artist with similar principles as his mother.

The problem with this film is that it seems to constantly be gathering speed and presenting a back-story, but there is no major climax. One watches and wonders who is the main character, Stanwyck or her son. It seems to be more of a discussion on how to live one's life than a story. The cast will bring audiences, but they will come away confused.