The Big Sky (1952)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

A.B. Guthrie Jr. (novel)
Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 August 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Theirs the great adventure...

Plot:

Jim Deakins is a frontiersman and Indian trader who is making a perilous journey with a group of other...

Plot Keywords:

Missouri River | Fur Trader | Trapper | Native Americans Adopt White Man | Gagged And Bound

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Jim Deakins
Dewey Martin	...	Boone Caudill
Elizabeth Threatt	...	Teal Eye (Blackfoot princess)
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Zeb Calloway / Narrator
Buddy Baer	...	Romaine
Steven Geray	...	'Frenchy' Jourdonnais (riverboat captain)
Henri Letondal	...	La Badie
Hank Worden	...	Poordevil
Jim Davis	...	Streak

Runtime:

140 min | 122 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:A (1953) | West Germany:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #15447)

Filming Locations:

Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Winchester Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Story takes place in 1832. Automobiles are visible during prologue.

Quotes:

Zeb Calloway: Blackfeet... proud injuns. They ain't gonna let no white man spy on their country. The only thing they are feared of is a white man's sickness.
Boone Cardell: What's that?
Zeb Calloway: Grabs. White men don't see nothing pretty unless they want to grab it. The more they grab, the more they want to grab. It's like a fever and they can't get cured. The only thing for them to do is to keep on grabbin' until everything belongs to white men and then start grabbin' from each other. I reckon injuns got no reason to love nothing white.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ghosts of Mars (2001)

A great film brings us back to the dreams of our prime

Everything in "The big sky" has the brand of greatness: story, direction, acting, script, photography, locations. Yet there's something more. Along the film, director Howard Hawks keeps touching profound strings of our souls. Indeed, we grown-up viewers are, more or less consciously, brought back to the dreams of our prime, which is always a source of sweet, though melancholic, bliss. Every young boy has dreamed a totally free life like that of the guys on the screen. Action and adventure, merged into a wild, glorious, almost impossibly beautiful nature. Having fun with our mates, and, when necessary, fighting against the bad ones. Contacting the cultures of far-away, fascinating populations. And, as the main benefit, loving a gorgeous Indian girl.

Follows an incomplete exposition of the other merits of "The big sky". The film is brilliantly made and interpreted. The actors are all outstanding. Arthur Hunnicutt dominates. Kirk Douglas' natural dynamic way is perfect for his role. Dewey Martin is excellent, as well. Special mentions to Elizabeth Threatt as Teal Eye and to Hank Worden as the funny but smart Poordevil. The black and white photography is magnificent. Indeed, only black and white seems capable to render the incredible bright of Threatt's eyes. And it fully respects and gives depth to the beauty of nature.

As usual in Howard Hawks' works, the movie is based on swift-pace-action amalgamated with the human interaction of the characters. Here we have a world with no established laws, out of those of nature. People survive if they recognize who is a friend and who is an enemy, independently on being white or native. The mixture of languages, English, French, Native, and related, often funny, translations, is a fine device to give realism to the script. The love story develops at the rhythm of nature, similarly to the endless journey of the keel-boat, and it's even touching at the ending. We also see that irrational hate is not just criminal nonsense, it's even ridiculous.

It seems that "The big sky" was considerably cut by the studios. In fact, some magnificent choral scenes appears to be too short. One instance for all: the paramount scene of the Blackfeet hauling the keel-boat on the river lasts just few seconds. To cut the film was certainly a very bad idea. Fortunately, "The big sky" remains a masterpiece, worth of Hawks' immense talent and genius. Well, it's enough clear that I like this movie. Indeed, I strongly believe that Howard Hawks was born to give us joy. "The big sky" is a major evidence in favor of my opinion.