The Big Trees (1952)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Felix E. Feist

Writers:

Kenneth Earl (story)
John Twist (writer) ...

Release Date:

15 August 1952 (Finland)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

A Quaker colony tries to save the giant sequoias from a timber baron.

Plot Keywords:

Quaker | Judge | Dam | Arson | Accidental Death

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Jim Fallon
Eve Miller	...	Alicia Chadwick
Patrice Wymore	...	Daisy Fisher / Dora Figg
Edgar Buchanan	...	Walter 'Yukon' Burns
John Archer	...	Frenchy LeCroix
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Tiny
Roy Roberts	...	Judge Crenshaw
Charles Meredith	...	Elder Bixby
Harry Cording	...	Cleve Gregg
Ellen Corby	...	Sister Blackburn

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Greece:K | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2001)

Filming Locations:

Orick, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

As of 2002, the rights to this film became public domain, and DVD copies that were "digitally remastered" began appearing in 99 Cent stores in LA area in 2004.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the film, Jim Fallon appears in the window opening the divided curtain with both hands. Then the curtain on his right-hand side remains open while he holds the other part with his left hand. In the following shot from inside, the part on his right-hand side is closed.

Quotes:

Daisy Fisher: You stye on the eye of a flea on a thigh of a nit on the neck of a gnat!

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Valley of the Giants (1927)

Soundtrack:

THE CHARMING SOUBRETTE ON THE POLICE GAZETTE

Had The Ingredients To Be A Better Movie

While certainly watchable, "The Big Trees" had the makings of what could have been a better, perhaps much better, movie. With Kirk Douglas in the lead role, a supporting cast of solid character actors, settings that lend themselves to visually appealing scenery, and a story that raises worthwhile environmental and ethical issues, it could have been quite good.

As a predatory but charismatic lumberman, Douglas has a role that allows him to use some of his best strengths as an actor, and the scenario provides him with two main characters to play off of, with Edgar Buchanan as a loyal but incorruptibly honest associate, and Eve Miller as an idealist determined to save the redwood forest that Douglas's character plans to exploit. Buchanan is especially believable in his role.

The story and script, though, don't give Douglas or the others a lot to work with. The story never tackles the most important issues head-on, nor does it explore the most significant of the possible tensions in the characters' relationships with one another. The important environmental questions and other such topics are dealt with only on a surface level, and aside from Douglas's own character, who changes rather abruptly and unconvincingly, there is little character development. The religious angle was certainly well-intentioned, but it never seems to fit in comfortably with the other story elements.

It's still all right for lighter entertainment, and there are some good scenes. Then too, when Douglas gets the chance, he can be quite interesting to watch in this kind of role. As long as you don't expect too much, it might be worth seeing, but it missed quite a few opportunities to be a much more substantial movie.