I first saw "The Big Country" at a drive-in around 1961 sitting in the back seat of our family's sedan. The view from there was the equivalent of sitting in a movie theatre behind three fat men wearing sombreros. Even so, I felt the film's power.
Gregory Peck's James McKay ends up in Texas in the late 1800's involved with two women and caught in the middle of a feud between Rufus Hannassey and Maj. Henry Terrill, the patriarchs of two powerful families.
Emphasising the bigness of the film were the male stars; Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston both standing at 6' 3" and Chuck Connors at 6' 5", even Charles Bickford's Major Terrill was almost as tall as Greg and Charlton if you count his crinkly grey hair. Then there was Burl Ives as Rufus Hannessey who may have been wider than he was tall but looked absolutely monolithic. Surely it wasn't all coincidence.
There is a dramatic contrast between the two women: blonde, pale, coquettish Carroll Baker as Pat Terrill and the softer-looking, dark-haired Jean Simmons as Julie Maragon. Jean Simmons had already won me when she showed Spartacus something worth fighting for around the same time.
Even for those not normally drawn to westerns, the drama in this film is practically Shakespearean, the House of Terrill against the House of Hannassey. Or maybe it's more Freudian, especially the interfamily tensions. There's the conflict between Rufus and his son Buck, where it's a toss-up whether there will be filicide or patricide. And what are all those daddy issues Carol Baker's character seems to be having over at the big Terrill house?
The film looks fabulous. William Wyler and the filmmakers got just as much visual power out of the sweeping plains of Texas as John Ford got from Monument Valley.
Over the years my respect for Wyler and his films has grown, especially since reading his biography, "A Talent for Trouble", and also the book and TV series "Five Came Back", which covered his service in WW2.
There was one other aspect of the film that made it unforgettable, that stunning score by Jerome Moross. It was music such as this that led me to become a lifelong fan of film music.
It's hard to believe that nearly all the stars have gone now; even after 60 years "The Big Country" feels like it could have been made yesterday.
Gregory Peck's James McKay ends up in Texas in the late 1800's involved with two women and caught in the middle of a feud between Rufus Hannassey and Maj. Henry Terrill, the patriarchs of two powerful families.
Emphasising the bigness of the film were the male stars; Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston both standing at 6' 3" and Chuck Connors at 6' 5", even Charles Bickford's Major Terrill was almost as tall as Greg and Charlton if you count his crinkly grey hair. Then there was Burl Ives as Rufus Hannessey who may have been wider than he was tall but looked absolutely monolithic. Surely it wasn't all coincidence.
There is a dramatic contrast between the two women: blonde, pale, coquettish Carroll Baker as Pat Terrill and the softer-looking, dark-haired Jean Simmons as Julie Maragon. Jean Simmons had already won me when she showed Spartacus something worth fighting for around the same time.
Even for those not normally drawn to westerns, the drama in this film is practically Shakespearean, the House of Terrill against the House of Hannassey. Or maybe it's more Freudian, especially the interfamily tensions. There's the conflict between Rufus and his son Buck, where it's a toss-up whether there will be filicide or patricide. And what are all those daddy issues Carol Baker's character seems to be having over at the big Terrill house?
The film looks fabulous. William Wyler and the filmmakers got just as much visual power out of the sweeping plains of Texas as John Ford got from Monument Valley.
Over the years my respect for Wyler and his films has grown, especially since reading his biography, "A Talent for Trouble", and also the book and TV series "Five Came Back", which covered his service in WW2.
There was one other aspect of the film that made it unforgettable, that stunning score by Jerome Moross. It was music such as this that led me to become a lifelong fan of film music.
It's hard to believe that nearly all the stars have gone now; even after 60 years "The Big Country" feels like it could have been made yesterday.