The Big Country is a western drama from 1958 directed by
William Wyler. The story revolves around
Jim McKay (Gregory Peck), a sophisticated guy from the east who goes out west
to marry a ranch owner’s daughter (Carroll Baker). When McKay arrives, he finds himself thrust
into the middle of an intense and violent range war between his future father
in law and another ruthless land owner played by Burl Ives.
When
this movie first started, I was afraid it was going to turn into a generic,
recycled range war story I had seen several times before. That is not what happened at all. This is ultimately a story of characters with
the land dispute as a backdrop for the events that happen to them. The screenplay is very well-written by James
R. Webb and the characters are very well drawn.
There are twists and turns and a very unexpected and captivating ending sequence. Overall, this is a very well-written film all
the way around.
The
acting in this movie is terrific. I
would expect no less from this cast, quite frankly. Jim McKay was a perfect role for Gregory
Peck. It was the type of part that he
was used to playing and he did a very good job with it. Charlton Heston and Carroll Baker are good in
the film, although Baker reminds me too much of Jean Arthur. Chuck Connors, who is probably one of my
favorite actors from the period, plays a much different role than I have ever
seen him in. The two that really stand
out to me are Jean Simmons and Burl Ives.
Simmons plays a young schoolteacher caught up in the middle of the whole
situation. (Although the fact that they
had a schoolteacher and no kids did bother me a little bit.) Ives performance at the end of the film is
powerfully emotional and a joy to watch.
The
movie is very well directed by William Wyler, who made one of the greatest
movies of all time in Ben-Hur right after this.
He does a great job with action sequences. Two scenes in particular come to mind; one in
which Gregory Peck is breaking a horse and another in which his character is
fighting Charlton Heston’s character.
The film is well paced with a lot of good slow tension building between
the characters early.
The
ending of the film is absolutely perfect.
It delivers a heavy handed emotional punch straight to the heart. Peck and Ives performances in the last twenty
minutes are sensational. This film
managed to surprise me with an ending sequence that I didn’t quite see coming
but was very satisfied by. Everything
wraps up like it should. It is indeed
the perfect ending to a great film.
Any
problems I may have with this movie would be small and nitpicky. There is a big decision that Jean Simmons
character makes at one point and it seemed to me like she made the decision too
fast. Also, I would have liked to have
seen Chuck Connors character fleshed out just a little bit more. I assume that time restraints are to blame for
both of those small problems.
The Big
Country is a great movie. I certainly
enjoyed it and will definitely see it again.
It is not the era defining classic that Wyler’s next film would be, but
it is one that, in my opinion, has fallen through the cracks of history. You should certainly see this if you get the
chance. The Movie Man gives it 4.5 out
of 5 stars.
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