The Big Country (1958)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Donald Hamilton (novel)
Jessamyn West (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Big they fought! Big they loved! Big their story!

Plot:

A New Englander arrives in the Old West, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.

Plot Keywords:

Sea Captain | Cattle | Ranch | Horse | Attempted Rape

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	James McKay
Jean Simmons	...	Julie Maragon
Carroll Baker	...	Patricia Terrill
Charlton Heston	...	Steve Leech
Burl Ives	...	Rufus Hannassey
Charles Bickford	...	Maj. Henry Terrill
Alfonso Bedoya	...	Ramón Guiteras
Chuck Connors	...	Buck Hannassey
Chuck Hayward	...	Rafe Hannassey
Buff Brady	...	Dude Hannassey
Jim Burk	...	Blackie / Cracker Hannassey
Dorothy Adams	...	Hannassey woman
Chuck Roberson	...	Terrill cowboy
Bob Morgan	...	Terrill cowboy
John McKee	...	Terrill cowboy

Runtime:

165 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18972) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | USA:Not Rated (DVD) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Anthony Productions

Trivia:

Gregory Peck and director William Wyler clashed repeatedly during filming. After Peck stormed off the set one day following a blazing row Wyler told the press, "I wouldn't direct Peck again for a million dollars and you can quote me on that.".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Steve Leech first picks up Jim McKay in the buckboard he drives past Buck Hannassey and gang standing outside the saloon mocking Steve. The sun is nearly down as the shadows are very long. Steve then drives around the corner to Julie's house and now the sun is directly overhead.

Quotes:

Buck Hannassey: Remember, the Terrills ain't no friend of ours.
Julie Maragon: I'll choose my own friends.
Buck Hannassey: Oh, that won't do. You got to be on one side or the other. You can't have it both ways.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Ultimate Film (2004) (TV)

A Big Film

There are many things to enjoy in 'The Big Country'. The landscape itself is a character that seems overwhelming. There are many panoramic shots of it, sweeping out to a misty horizon. All beautifully photographed. This big country seems to glow and the film gets an appropriate music score, sweeping and colourful. It must be one of the most perfect film scores written.

In this breathtaking landscape the story of the characters unfold with their prides, jealousies, fears, loves, pretensions, hopes, disappointments. The actors are first rate and convey lots of feeling not just in dialogue but in looks. It is worth seeing more than once to catch the emotional nuances. This is a film with space in lots of senses and it gives the cast time to flesh out their characters. In all the splendid acting I have a particular admiration for Chuck Connors in a performance of a lifetime. His Buck Hennassey is a coward and a bully yet you can't help feeling sorry for him in the end.

There is also the political undertones, the oft quoted Cold War parallels, embodied in the confrontation between Bickford and Ives of mutually assured destruction, that was an ever present issue in the late fifties. Bickford and Ives have narrow self interested vision that portends destruction, while the Peck character has a wider view of co-operation and fairness. (In an illuminating exchange at the engagement party a guest asks Peck if he has seen anything bigger than the 'big country' and Peck replies to the guest's astonishment that he has, a couple of oceans!) It is the outsider who sees clearest.

William Wyler was a great director and made a great film to be enjoyed on many levels. It is an aural and visual treat but the film also has believable characters performed by a superior cast. And I can't stop humming that theme tune....