The Big Country (1958)

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  • THE BIG COUNTRY


    DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY WILLAM WYLER
    ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS GREGORY PECK/ ROBERT WYLER



    Information From IMDb


    Plot Summary
    Retired, wealthy sea Captain Jame McKay (Gregory Peck) arrives in the vast expanse of the West to marry fiancée Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker). McKay is a man whose values & approach to life are a mystery to the ranchers & ranch foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) takes an immediate dislike to him. Pat is spoiled, selfish & controlled by her wealthy father, Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford). The Major is involved in a ruthless civil war, over watering rights for cattle, with a rough hewn clan led by Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives). The land in question is owned by Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons) & both Terrill & Hannassey want it.
    Written by E.W. DesMarais


    Full 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
    Slim Talbot ... Terrill cowboy (as Jay Slim Talbot)
    Richard Alexander ... Party guest (Oceans) (uncredited)
    Harry Cheshire ... Party guest (uncredited)
    Jay W. Jensen ... Cowboy (uncredited)
    Donald Kerr ... Liveryman (uncredited)
    Carey Paul Peck ... Boy (uncredited)
    Jonathan Peck ... Boy (uncredited)
    Stephen Peck ... Boy (uncredited)
    Ralph Sanford ... Party guest (uncredited)


    Writing credits
    Donald Hamilton (novel)
    Jessamyn West (adaptation) &
    Robert Wyler (adaptation)
    James R. Webb (screenplay) &
    Sy Bartlett (screenplay) and
    Robert Wilder (screenplay)


    Original Music
    erome Moross


    Trivia
    * The character played by Charles Bickford was supposed to represent then US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.


    * According to Gregory Peck, director William Wyler intended the film to be a left-wing allegory for the Cold War.


    * Aged 47 at the time of filming, Burl Ives was only 11 years older than Chuck Connors, who played his son.


    * The film is credited with starting the trend for pacifist westerns.


    * Charlton Heston initially turned down the role of ranch foreman Steve Leech because he didn't think the part was big enough. His agent convinced him that it would be worth it just for the opportunity to work with Gregory Peck and William Wyler.

    Goofs
    * Crew or equipment visible: When McKay first arrives in town and meets Julie at the gate, some object (boom mike?) is visible above their heads (center screen).


    * Continuity: Towards the end of the scene where McKay is learning to ride the bucking horse he is thrown from the horse, lands, removes the straw from his hair and then removes the straw from his hair again when he is helped up.

    Filming locations
    California, USA (exteriors)
    Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Arizona, USA
    Farmington, California, USA
    Marysville, California, USA
    Mojave Desert, California, USA
    Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA
    Stockton, California, USA

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 5 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • The Big Country is a 1958 American epic Western film directed by William Wyler
    and starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives.
    The supporting cast features Charles Bickford and Chuck Connors.


    The picture was based on the serialized magazine novel Ambush
    at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton. and was co-produced by Wyler and Peck
    The opening title sequence was created by Saul Bass.
    The film is one of very few pictures in which Heston plays a major supporting role instead of the lead.


    Ives won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance
    as well as the Golden Globe Award.
    The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for the musical score by Jerome Moross



    The Big Country, I enjoyed, even if it was a little drawn out!
    Coming in at nearly three hours, was tiresome at times!


    Gregory Peck, who also produced the film, was magnificent,
    as was Charlton Heston, who originally thought his part was below him,
    but gave a strong, solid, performance.
    The film was somewhat stolen by the tough burly neighbour,Burl Ives,
    who played the arch enemy with such skill,
    he won an the Academy Award for Best Supporting actor.
    Along with Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker and Chuck Connors,
    William Wyler's movie, was well received,
    and what about that theme music??
    It was brilliant!

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().

  • "The Big Country" has always been one of my favorite Westerns. I personally think Chuck Connors should have won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar instead of Burl Ives. Chuck was brilliant in the role he played, by far his best performance.

    It also starred Jean Simmons, one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen.

    Like you, Keith, I sure did enjoy that score.

    De gustibus non est disputandum

  • I must be dull and insensitive because I missed the left-wing and pacifist nuances mentioned in your Trivia summary, Keith. All I saw was an extremely outstanding example of the Western genre.

    Vera, you should obtain a copy of this film because it's a great Western with a wonderful cast and superlative acting by all the players.

    De gustibus non est disputandum

  • Just wanted to express my appreciation for all the great music you've arranged for the board, Keith. As we all know, the score to a movie (or tv series) adds immensely to its' overall appeal. And the music you've been posting is some of my favorite from all-time.

    De gustibus non est disputandum

  • I've always loved the music from The Big Country. To bad you couldn't get the actual opening from the film, Ethan, showing Gregory Peck and Carol Baker riding that wagon across that vast expanse of prairie looking like two specks with that magnificent theme playing. Also loved the music they played in the part where Charles Bickford as Henry Terrill goes tearing into Blanco Canyon all by himself then is joined by Charlton Heston and the rest of the ranch hands.

  • [extendedmedia]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u6vREiRNMFc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u6vREiRNMFc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/extendedmedia]



    Always one of my favorite Westerns, and I have many. :teeth_smile:

    De gustibus non est disputandum

  • Thought I'd stir the pot and dredge this title up again.
    Missed this on it's first run, but since I was ten at the time, I got over it.
    In the early '60s, I picked up the soundtrack for $0.99 and it blew me away on it's own.
    Finally got to see it on network TV, which is no way to see any widescreen movie, but commercials and all didn't dampen my enthusiasm for this one.
    Granted, it's a bit of a soap opera, but the main male characters represent a unique brand of "manliness" that play against each other but don't fit together, all of whom are dwarfed by the landscape.
    Great stuff. Rent it on dvd



    We deal in lead, friend.



  • It's the only role in which I thought Chuck Connors ever deserved an Oscar. Even though he played a cowardly snake, he played it to perfection. I thought he was far more effective in his role than Burl Ives, who actually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I love that score too.

    De gustibus non est disputandum

  • It's the only role in which I thought Chuck Connors ever deserved an Oscar. Even though he played a cowardly snake, he played it to perfection. I thought he was far more effective in his role than Burl Ives, who actually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I love that score too.



    I also thought Connors was very good in Geronimo, although I suppose that movie would be rather un PC now. I did like The Big Country a lot, like High Noon you don't have to be aware of the political connotations to appreciate it. I think they could have cut about half an hour though.

  • It's the only role in which I thought Chuck Connors ever deserved an Oscar. Even though he played a cowardly snake, he played it to perfection. I thought he was far more effective in his role than Burl Ives, who actually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I love that score too.



    You're right about Connors. He did deserve at least a nomination but, I thought Ives completely stole the movie. Best role I've ever seen him do.

  • It was very much like Ives' performance in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, which he had played on Broadway and the London stage before the movie was filmed. Unfortunately cencorship prevented the film version from being as good as the play.

  • I didn't get around to seeing this movie until 2003. I remember thinking, wow, this film was made in 1957 and Peck, Heston, Simmons and Baker are all still alive. Now Baker is the only one left.

  • A wonderful, epic western! One of my personal favorites, definitely in my Top 10 list over the best westerns ever made (though I have many more to see.) The amount of talent in the cast put together for this movie is simply amazing. Peck, Ives, Connors, Heston, mindblowing. It's probably one of the most beautiful westerns ever shot. William Wyler sure knew how to make things big.


    I know it's long, but I love every minute of it and don't think it drags at any time. The score deserved an Oscar, the main theme is one of the most memorable main themes of a western I've ever heard.


    And how about that fight scene? Wow.

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