The Big Country (1958)

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I feel if you are an admirer of old classic American films this should be on the list. From the plots, dialogue, cast and filming this movie is hard to beat. Looking at all the Oscar nominees for 1958 it is my belief that this movie should have won more. Charleton Heston and Jean Simmons gave exceptional performances. Gregory Peck also was excellent. The entire cast could not be duplicated just like trying to remake the "Magnificent Seven". The bar was set too high. The music is epic and equal to the Grand Canyon Suite. I don't give out "10" easily but I lean towards it on this movie. Made in the late 50's this is amazing what Hollywood could do back then without all the HD CG of todays movies. This is a "pure" film.

THE BIG COUNTRY is a pretty ambitious romantic western that symbolizing independence, freedom and peacefulness in the Wild West. Of course, before the final comprehension, the film was filled with quarrels, open conflicts and killings.One notable sailor from Maryland comes to Texas to start a new life. He is in love with the daughter of a wealthy rancher. However, he realizes that his future father in law has been involved in extremely violent and dirty conflicts with neighboring rancher. A combative father and violent environment adversely affects his fiancée. The stranger will try to change the people and the atmosphere in the Wild West...The film begins with the arrival of a peacemaker and ends with extremely tense duels. Periods of fierce quarrel, conflict, fist fighting and unconvincing romance are arranged in between. An extremely warlike story sends a message of peace and understanding in the end. Ethical contrary are too pronounced, even for a western.Open landscapes are truly impressive. The verbal construction of plots is at a high level also. The soundtrack is excellent.Gregory Peck as James McKay is the epitome of calm and reason in this movie. His character is unobtrusive, but in critical situations, he did not show strong emotions. His character is actually calculated. Charlton Heston as Steve Leech is a completely different character than James. He honestly shows jealousy and malice through strong internal conflict.Burl Ives as Rufus Hannassey is an old fox, who has a strange sense of justice. That justice involves a gun and shot. Charles Bickford as Maj. Henry Terrill is a greedy old man, who wants absolute power over the land. Hatred can really blind a man. The major is a strong character and a leading antagonist. Violence always generates more violence.Jean Simmons as Julie Maragon is a modest teacher and owner of a large and rich ranch at the same time. She is the cause of a conflict. One very brave and beautiful woman was given precedence over the land. Carroll Baker as Patricia Terrill is daddy's little girl, who is torn between love and lifestyle.Mr. Wyler has tried to deconstruct the classic western story. However, violence and conflicts are too exciting in this film.

There have been many fine reviews of this film already. Thus, I will mostly confine my remarks to one of the themes of the film: the incompatibilities that most contributed to the breakup of marriage plans between ex- Yankee sea captain Jim McKay(Gregory Peck) and his fiancée Pat Terrill(Carroll Baker), daughter of a cattle baron in the West. But, first, I would like to point out that, although not hinted in the film, the feud between the Hannasseys and Terrills was likely rooted in ethnic and religious bigotry. Hannassey is an Irish name, and the Terrills were most likely of English ancestry. This fits the general peception of the times of Irish immigrants as uncouth ruffians. Also, I should mention that Peck was very reluctant to be under the direction of the perfectionist William Wyler, whom he had worked with in "Roman Holidays", who was infamous for the many 'takes' he required.Clearly, the middle-aged Jim and young Pat didn't know each other very well before Jim made the life-changing decision to retire from his nautical career to begin life as a rancher. Pat soon figured out that Jim was determined to quickly become his own man in this 'big country', not just her father's puppet. Strike one against him. She also discovered that Jim was too aloof to the rough and tumble western ranch culture for her liking. Not only did he show minimal hostility toward the rough hazing reception by the Hannassey 'boys', he refused to cooperate with the baiting challenges of riding a notoriously untamable horse, or brawling with ranch hand Steve(Carleton Heston), who also had the hots for Pat. The latter 2 challenges he eventually met, but only when there was no crowd to make him a spectacle, win or lose. Unlike some reviewers, I don't see Jim's aloofness regarding these challenges as necessarily a sign of superior nobleness. Rather they seem prudent responses. Also, he was much influenced by his father's death in a dual over which, in retrospect, was a rather trivial matter. It was prudent not to show great fear nor anger when faced with a gang of ruffians in an unfamiliar territory and culture. It was prudent not to risk making a fool of himself and risking serious injury before a crowd, including his fiancé, in trying to ride a horse hinted at as being very wild. It was prudent to decline engaging in a fist fight, with possible serious injury, over the seemingly trivial question of whether he had become lost in his solo survey of the ranch. But later, when learning of the kidnapping of his new love, Julie(Jean Simmons), by the Hannasseys, he ignored prudence and played the role of potential hero or dead man. The lines between courage and foolhardiness, and between cowardice and prudence will often be blurred.Various reviewers have made the point that a fundamental difference between Jim and Pat was that Jim believed that what he was really like and had accomplished was more important, whereas Pat believed how others saw you was more important than what you were really like. The film biases our opinion to see Jim's ethos as the better of the two, but remember that Peck was a coproducer of the film. As I see it, in the real world, both are important. Reputation often makes the difference between success and failure in the business world, whether based on fact or fiction. However, Pat should have understood that Jim had prudent reasons, consistent with his aloof personality, for responding to the several baiting challenges he was faced with, as he did. After all, as an ex-sea captain, Jim was used to exhibiting a degree of aloofness. Interestingly, when it came to sharing water rights that he now technically owned, something critical to all his neighbors, Jim was not aloof, declaring all neighboring parties had equal access to his water, as they had, some years ago, under Julie's father. Julie, as a non-cattlewoman heir to her father's land, had been too weak, and too connected with the Terrills to fully enforce the tradition of equal water access. Hopefully, now in league with Jim, and presumably now disconnected with the Terrills as well as the Hennasseys, the pair would be strong enough to enforce their critical rule.

This is a great, expansive ... and quite profound ... Western.On its message boards, someone has raised the question as to whether Pat's idolization of her father the Major may been ... to an unnatural extreme. But the foreman Leech (Charlton Heston) would have known if it had been, and that would have destroyed his own idolization of the Major and probably his romantic interest in Pat, so no I don't think it was that ... although my skin crawls too during that one scene where Pat (Carolyn Baker) upbraids McKay (Gregory Peck) for not being (like) her father.I know a girl who is quite like Pat. She is/was a farm girl from farming country who had lost her father at a young age. After marrying, she was unhappy in her husband's town and moved back to her home locale. The husband followed for their little son to have his father.Suddenly, the hushand could do no right. He was not especially mechanical, and that was just one of the complaints. Her family had told him he was kind. She was NOT and was instead quite stupid and insensitive and downright mean - note the correlation.By contrast McKay and Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons) *are* VERY intelligent and sensitive and nice. They immediately like each other, but try to deny their mutual attraction.In two ways McKay is out of his element. He is a long way from the sea, and he is a good, intelligent person who comes to a place of bitter, internecine competition.But he *is* above the strife, and yes he's condescending, because he soon realizes that it's not just the Hannasseys who are the savages, and he's repelled. In fact, old Rufus shows far greater gentility and humanity than The Major.Burl Ives' performance is one of the most vivid and memorable in film history. He fully earned his Best Supporting Actor Oscar.And Chuck Connors played his part as his vicious son well too ... to the point I am surprised it didn't destroy his career. (And yet you can see how condemnatory Rufus may have made him that way.) Ironically, Connors went on to portray a fine father on TV in The Rifleman.The Big Country does attack patriarchs.