THE SEA OF GRASS
DIRECTED BY ELIA KAZAN
METRO-GOLDWYN- MAYER (MGM)
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
This western begins with St. Louis resident Lutie Cameron (Katharine Hepburn) marrying New Mexico cattleman Col. James B. 'Jim' Brewton (Spencer Tracy) after a short courtship. When she arrives in "Salt Fork, NM" she finds that her new husband is considered by the locals to be a tyrant who uses force to keep homesteaders off the government owned land he uses for grazing his cattle--the so-called Sea of Grass. Lutie, has difficulty reconciling her husband's beliefs and passions with her own.
Written by kzmckeown
Cast
Spencer Tracy ... Col. James B. 'Jim' Brewton
Katharine Hepburn ... Lutie Cameron Brewton
Robert Walker ... Brock Brewton
Melvyn Douglas ... Brice Chamberlain
Phyllis Thaxter ... Sara Beth Brewton
Edgar Buchanan ... Jeff, Cook on Brewton Ranch
Harry Carey ... Doc J. Reid
Ruth Nelson ... Selina Hall, Sam Hall's Wife
William 'Bill' Phillips ... Banty, Brewton Ranch Hand (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)
Robert Armstrong ... Floyd McCurtin (Brewton's attorney)
James Bell ... Sam Hall, Homesteader
Robert Barrat ... Judge Seth White, Salt Fork
Charles Trowbridge ... George Cameron
Russell Hicks ... Major Dell Harney
Trevor Bardette ... Andy Boggs, Homesteader
Morris Ankrum ... A.J. Crane, Attorney
Hank Worden ... Bill, Salt Fork Townsman (uncredited)
and many more...
Directed
Elia Kazan
Writing Credits
Conrad Richter ... (novel)
Marguerite Roberts
Vincent Lawrence
Produced
Pandro S. Berman
Music
Herbert Stothart
Cinematography
Harry Stradling Sr.
Trivia
In his autobiography, Elia Kazan said of this film: "It's the only picture I've ever made that I'm ashamed of. Don't see it."
Originally announced by MGM in 1939 to star Myrna Loy opposite Spencer Tracy.
This film was very successful at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $742,000 ($8.1M in 2017) according to studio records. This was the most profitable of all the Tracy-Hepburn MGM films.
Director Kazan was initially excited by the prospect of filming on location in the Great Plains, but to save money the producers decided that most of the film would be shot in the studio using rear-screen projections and MGM's vast stock of process footage.
When Chamberlain is questioning Col. Brewton about how much land he controls, he asks if it's a million acres, or he's heard it's 100 square miles. There is quite a difference between the two. 1,000,000 acres equals 1,562.5 square miles, while 100 square miles is only 64,000 acres.
Robert Walker makes his first appearance an hour and a half after the movie starts
Crazy Credits
Card at beginning: This story takes place for the most part against the background of the sea of grass - that vast grazing empire which once covered the western part of north America from the great plains to the rocky mountains, and beyond.
Goofs
Unknown
Filming Locations
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, USA
Plains of San Augustin, Magdalena, New Mexico, USA
Wood Lake, Nebraska, USA
Gallup, New Mexico, USA
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA (studio)