Little Big Man (1970)

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

Thomas Berger (novel)
Calder Willingham (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

History | Western

Tagline:

Either The Most Neglected Hero In History Or A Liar Of Insane Proportion!

Plot:

Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Indians and fighting with General Custer.

Plot Keywords:

George Armstrong Custer | Gunslinger | Little Big Horn | Cavalry Charge | War Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Jack Crabb
Faye Dunaway	...	Mrs. Pendrake
Chief Dan George	...	Old Lodge Skins
Martin Balsam	...	Mr. Merriweather
Richard Mulligan	...	Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Jeff Corey	...	Wild Bill Hickok
Aimée Eccles	...	Sunshine (as Amy Eccles)
Kelly Jean Peters	...	Olga Crabb
Carole Androsky	...	Caroline Crabb (as Carol Androsky)
Robert Little Star	...	Little Horse
Cal Bellini	...	Younger Bear
Ruben Moreno	...	Shadow That Comes in Sight
Steve Shemayne	...	Burns Red in the Sun
William Hickey	...	Historian
James Anderson	...	Sergeant
Jesse Vint	...	Lieutenant (as Jess Vint)
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Major
Thayer David	...	Rev. Silas Pendrake
Philip Kenneally	...	Mr. Kane - Drugstore Proprietor
Jack Bannon	...	Captain
Ray Dimas	...	Young Jack Crabb
Alan Howard	...	Adolescent Jack Crabb
Jack Mullaney	...	Card Player with Full House
Steve Miranda	...	Younger Bear as a Youth
Lou Cutell	...	Deacon
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Shotgun Guard
Emily Cho	...	Digging Bear
Cecelia Kootenay	...	Little Elk
Linda Dyer	...	Corn Woman
Dessie Bad Bear	...	Buffalo Wallow Woman
Len George	...	Crow Scout
Norman Nathan	...	Pawnee
Helen Verbit	...	Madame
Bert Conway	...	Bartender
Earl Rosell	...	Giant Trooper
Ken Mayer	...	Sergeant
Bud Cokes	...	Man at Bar
Rory O'Brien	...	Assassin
Tracy Hotchner	...	Flirting Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Don Brodie	...	Stage Passenger (uncredited)
Mae Old Coyote	...	(uncredited)
Les Kimber	...	Trader (uncredited)
Herbert Nelson	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Annette O'Toole	...	Passerby (uncredited)
Douglas W. Randall	...	Town Little Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Penn

Writing credits
Thomas Berger		(novel)
Calder Willingham		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gene Lasko	....	associate producer
Stuart Millar	....	producer

Original Music by
John Paul Hammond		(as John Hammond)

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Jr.

Film Editing by
Dede Allen

Casting by
Gene Lasko		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Dean Tavoularis

Art Direction by
Angelo P. Graham		(as Angelo Graham)

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Lynn Del Kail	....	hair stylist
Terry Miles	....	makeup artist
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist: Mr. Hoffman

Production Management
Dick Gallegly	....	production manager
Les Kimber	....	second unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Moder	....	assistant director
Malcolm R. Harding	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Jerry Preshaw	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
David M. Robertson	....	assistant director: Canada (uncredited)

Art Department
Roger Dietz	....	painter
Donald B. Nunley	....	property master (as Don Nunley)
Lloyd R. Apperson	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Craig Binkley	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bud Alper	....	sound
Marvin I. Kosberg	....	dialogue editor
Marc Laub	....	dialogue editor (as Mark M. Laub)
Al Overton Jr.	....	sound
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Richard	....	sound effects (as James A. Richard)
Frank E. Warner	....	sound effects
Walter A. Gest	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Curly Thirlwell	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Logan Frazee	....	special effects

Stunts
Hal Needham	....	stunt gaffer
M. James Arnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stan Barrett	....	stunts (uncredited)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stephanie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Finnegan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
James M. Halty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent Hays	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tommy J. Huff	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Julie Ann Johnson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Lerner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
J.N. Roberts	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Shannon	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Waugh	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Wyatt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ralph Gerling	....	camera operator
Clifford Hutchison	....	gaffer
Richard Craig Meinardus	....	assistant camera (as Richard Meinardus)
Charles J. Renaud	....	key grip (as Chas Renaud)
Mel Traxel	....	still photographer
Ernst Haas	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frank Delmar	....	wardrobe
Stephanie Kline	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Richard Marks	....	associate editor
Stephen A. Rotter	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Strauss	....	additional music arranger
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Brad Thompson	....	transportation

Other crew
Charlsie Bryant	....	continuity
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	titles
Jerry Gatlin	....	advisor: cavalry
Alvin Joseph	....	consultant to producer
Kenneth Lee	....	railroad wrangler (as Kenny Lee)
Jean Sharpe	....	production assistant
Joe Thornton	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cinema Center Films
• Stockbridge-Hiller Productions

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1971) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• S.N. Prodis (1971) (France) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1977) (USA) (TV)
• AVU-Video-Vertriebs-GmbH (1991) (Germany) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1995) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan for CBS/Fox Video)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (198?) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Encore (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cheyenne Nation, The  filmed with the help of
• Cinemobile System  locations by (as Cinemobile Systems)
• Crow Nation, The  filmed with the help of
• Montana Film Office  special thanks
• Stony Nation, The  filmed with the help of

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences and some sexual content (re-rating) (2002)

Runtime:

139 min | USA:147 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Spanish release) | Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2002) | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | UK:15 (1987) | UK:AA (1970) | Sweden:15 | Peru:14 | Germany:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

Dustin Hoffman was entered into The Guinness Book of World Records as "Greatest Age Span Portrayed By A Movie Actor" for Little Big Man (1970) in which he portrayed a character from age 17 to age 121.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Following the movie time line, Jack Crabbe should have been rescued from the Indians around 1865. When he enters his gunfighter period around 1866, Jack is carrying two 1873 Colt Peacemakers while Hickock's pistol is an 1882 Colt.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Crabb:I am, beyond a doubt, the last of the old-timers. My name is Jack Crabb. And I am the sole white survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn, uh, uh, popularly known as Custer's Last Stand.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Dana Carvey/The Wallflowers (#26.3)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Amazing Grace

Simply great

Little Big Man represents the highest point in Arthur Penn's career. The film was made soon after his masterpiece Bonnie and Clyde and stands, in my opinion, right beside it as one of the most significant achievements not only of Arthur Penn's work, but also of the world cinema in general. Unfortunately the chain of remarkable movies began with this two wasn't destined to continue, with director's following films proving to be quite disappointing. But nevertheless Bonnie and Clyde and Little Big Man remain as the two fine notables for which Arthur Penn will always be fondly remembered.

Also mustn't be discarded the role of the time when the Little Big Man was made, the turbulent era of the Vietnam War, which most certainly found its reflection on the film, critically paralleled in portrayal of the ruthless and mindless slaughter of the Indians by the American troops.

The film's story is told by Jack Crabb, a very old man of more than 100 years old, the only remaining witness of the events he is telling to an oral histories collector.

We follow his life story as he is kidnapped and raised by the Indians, after a few years escaping from them only to return back again to witness the brutal death of his friends and loved ones from the hands of the American soldiers under the command of vicious and eccentric General George Armstrong Custer who finally has to pay for his inhuman deeds in the battle of the Little Big Horn that is shown in the end of the film and which might be considered as the natural consequence of the brutal tactics employed by the American troops in conquering the Indian territories, and finally represents a significant lightening of the karmic burden for them, achieved by the purificatory and relieving death in the fight with the Indians whose victory symbolize only a temporarily successful culmination of destined-not-to-last-long struggle.

Though in Jack Crabb's life story we basically revisit a number of very familiar for a Western genre fan fields, one of them being the battlefield of the Little Big Horn, the masterful way in which revisiting is done turn it into an unforgettable viewing experience during which you'll most certainly find yourself moved from laughing at the perfect comic moments of parody on some of the most used Western clichés to shedding tears when tragic happenings unveil on the screen, always remaining absorbed by it, mesmerized by the superb acting delivered by all of the actors involved and the film's visually vast beauty. 10/10