Westerns, by their very nature, are mostly quite simplistic films. That's not to say they're bad some of the simplest westerns of all are actually cinematic masterpieces because they've been pared to the bone for maximum impact. Stagecoach and High Noon, for example. But every now and then a western comes along that adds layers to the basic concept of the genre and becomes something more. This might be layers of psychology, layers of philosophy, layers of brutality anything, really, that goes beyond the simple western framework and lends a more profound subtext to the film. Notable genre entries that have done this include The Searchers, The Wild Bunch and The Big Country, the latter of which is a 1958 epic made by William Wyler just a year before his incredible remake of Ben Hur.
Sea captain Jim Mackay (Gregory Peck) travels to the Wild West to reunite with a lady he met back east, the beautiful Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker). However, Jim finds nothing but hostility and danger in the west, and is quickly taunted by some the locals who find him effeminate and cowardly because of his belief that violence doesn't solve anything. Pat's father Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) is a wealthy rancher, but Jim is troubled when he discovers that the Major is locked in a long-standing feud over water rights with a rival family, the Hannasseys. It doesn't take Jim long to figure out that Pat is not the woman for him she may have seemed the perfect match back in the polite society of the East, but in her home region of the West she is dedicated to her father's aggressive attitudes and treats Jim differently, belittling him almost, because of his pacifist views. Worse still, the ranch foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) has designs of his own on Pat and wants to fight Jim for her affection. In the end, Jim switches his attention to school teacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who owns the patch of land that provides both the Terrills and the Hannasseys with their water. Violence erupts between the two warring families, with Jim and Julie getting caught literally in the middle of their fatal battle for supremacy.
There's much to admire about The Big Country. Jerome Moross's amazing score is perhaps the most memorable thing of all, a wonderful piece of dramatic scoring that is now a classic and known by people who haven't even seen the film. It's good to see Peck in such fine form too often criticised for being too wooden, his acting style here lends perfect credibility to the pacifist hero role. The entire cast in is excellent form if the truth be told, with Burl Ives the choice of the bunch as the fiercely proud leader of the Hannassey clan (an Oscar-winning role, and thoroughly deserving of it). Franz Planer's cinematography is quite majestic and helps the film to live up to its rather grand title. And Wyler directs the film exceptionally well, holding our attention over almost three hours and presenting characters and a back story that are totally convincing and involving. Critics have occasionally accused the film of being overblown, and there is an element of truth in that, and the ending rather unfairly asks us to care about the fate of Bickford and Ives when they've been portrayed as very unsympathetic characters up to that point. On the whole, though, The Big Country is definitely a western worth recommending.
Sea captain Jim Mackay (Gregory Peck) travels to the Wild West to reunite with a lady he met back east, the beautiful Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker). However, Jim finds nothing but hostility and danger in the west, and is quickly taunted by some the locals who find him effeminate and cowardly because of his belief that violence doesn't solve anything. Pat's father Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) is a wealthy rancher, but Jim is troubled when he discovers that the Major is locked in a long-standing feud over water rights with a rival family, the Hannasseys. It doesn't take Jim long to figure out that Pat is not the woman for him she may have seemed the perfect match back in the polite society of the East, but in her home region of the West she is dedicated to her father's aggressive attitudes and treats Jim differently, belittling him almost, because of his pacifist views. Worse still, the ranch foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) has designs of his own on Pat and wants to fight Jim for her affection. In the end, Jim switches his attention to school teacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who owns the patch of land that provides both the Terrills and the Hannasseys with their water. Violence erupts between the two warring families, with Jim and Julie getting caught literally in the middle of their fatal battle for supremacy.
There's much to admire about The Big Country. Jerome Moross's amazing score is perhaps the most memorable thing of all, a wonderful piece of dramatic scoring that is now a classic and known by people who haven't even seen the film. It's good to see Peck in such fine form too often criticised for being too wooden, his acting style here lends perfect credibility to the pacifist hero role. The entire cast in is excellent form if the truth be told, with Burl Ives the choice of the bunch as the fiercely proud leader of the Hannassey clan (an Oscar-winning role, and thoroughly deserving of it). Franz Planer's cinematography is quite majestic and helps the film to live up to its rather grand title. And Wyler directs the film exceptionally well, holding our attention over almost three hours and presenting characters and a back story that are totally convincing and involving. Critics have occasionally accused the film of being overblown, and there is an element of truth in that, and the ending rather unfairly asks us to care about the fate of Bickford and Ives when they've been portrayed as very unsympathetic characters up to that point. On the whole, though, The Big Country is definitely a western worth recommending.