Giant (1956)

Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Edna Ferber (from the novel by), Fred Guiol (screen play)

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Leslie Benedict
Rock Hudson	...	Jordan 'Bick' Benedict Jr.
James Dean	...	Jett Rink
Carroll Baker	...	Luz Benedict II
Jane Withers	...	Vashti Snythe
Chill Wills	...	Uncle Bawley
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Luz Benedict
Dennis Hopper	...	Jordan Benedict III
Sal Mineo	...	Angel Obregón II
Rod Taylor	...	Sir David Karfrey (as Rodney Taylor)
Judith Evelyn	...	Mrs. Nancy Lynnton
Earl Holliman	...	'Bob' Dace
Robert Nichols	...	Mort 'Pinky' Snythe
Paul Fix	...	Dr. Horace Lynnton
Alexander Scourby	...	Old Polo

Storyline

Texan rancher Bick Benedict visits a Maryland farm to buy a prize horse. Whilst there he meets and falls in love with the owner's daughter Leslie, they are married immediately and return to his ranch. The story of their family and its rivalry with cowboy and (later oil tycoon) Jett Rink unfolds across two generations.

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Plot Keywords:

rancher | epic | texas | oil | rivalry | 

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Taglines:

Bick Benedict, owning so much--except the one part of Leslie's life that is no part of his...ROCK HUDSON AS BICK BENEDICT

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 November 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gigante

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,649, 22 September 1996

Gross USA:

$35,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Stevens Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

201 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lead character, Jett Rink, was based upon the life of Texas oilman Glenn H. McCarthy (1907-88), an Irish immigrant who would later be associated with a symbol of opulence in Houston, Texas: the Shamrock Hotel, which opened on St. Patrick's Day, 1949. Author Edna Ferber met McCarthy when she was a guest at his Shamrock Hotel (known as the Shamrock Hilton after 1955), which served as the basis for the fictional Emperador Hotel in both the book and the film.

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Goofs

The flags in the Benedict house are displayed backwards. The U.S. flag should be on its own right (the observer's left) when displayed with other flags.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Horace Lynnton: [they pull up to the Lynnton estate and stop as horses jump over the fence in front of them] There he is, there's the stallion. That's War Winds.
Bick Benedict: Beautiful.
Dr. Horace Lynnton: That's my daughter riding him, Leslie.
[turns to Bick]
Dr. Horace Lynnton: Leslie's my daughter. She's riding him.
Bick Benedict: [slyly referring to Leslie instead of the stallion] Doctor, that sure is a beautiful animal.
Dr. Horace Lynnton: Yes she, well we'll get to the hoses first thing in the morning. Right now you're coming up to the house and get ready for dinner.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There are no cast and crew credits given at the end of the film. Just the words "The End" and a final slide for George Stevens and Warner Bros.

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Connections

Referenced in Jarhead (2005)

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Soundtracks

Would You Believe Me?
(1947) (uncredited)
Music by Ray Heindorf and M.K. Jerome

User Reviews

"The legendary epic that's as big as Texas!"

The plot: Texas ranch owner Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) travels to purchase a prize horse, but falls in love at first sight with the owner's pampered daughter Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). He woos and wins her quickly, they marry, then travel back to his isolated ranch.

Leslie, after a rough start, proves herself quite the force of nature. Ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean) falls into unrequited love with Leslie, uttering, in one scene, one of my favorite lines in the film, something like, "Mrs. Benedict, you sure do look right good enough to eat, yeah, good enough to eat...." (voice trails off and he looks like he's going to lick his lips) - and then when he strikes it rich with oil, he takes his bitterness out in several ways.

With a stellar supporting cast including Mercedes McCambridge, Sal Mineo, Carroll Baker, and Dennis Hopper, "Giant" is the original miniseries before anyone knew what a miniseries even was...except this is of course a classic film of the big screen, not a TV movie.

Directed by George Stevens, the sprawling epic (201 minutes, but it goes fast, believe me) beautifully covers two generations of family and a variety of issues, including marriage, family, childrearing, social snobbery and racism, the latter two being covered especially well. When in the mood for a well-paced, involved, alternately funny, sad, heartwarming, and emotionally fulfilling epic, "Giant" always fits the bill for me.

My favorite bit of trivia - Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson became fast friends on the set, and indulging together in partying/drinking binges most every night, after filming stopped. In the scene where the two are watching a marriage, the two actors had to stop during the filming several times to take turns going outside to throw up, as both were terribly hungover from the previous night's revelries.