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Rating: 5 out of 5
The Big Country is one of my mom’s favorite movies of all time. She talks about it when we get on the subject of movies to watch. I could swear that she could probably recite the movie word for word. I was never interested in the film because I didn’t see the point, and in my mind, one western film is almost the same as all the others. I want to admit something to you. I was completely wrong about this film and see why my mom loved it so much. The Big Country is a great freakin movie that doesn’t seem like the almost three hours run time. I enjoyed it all, and some of the characters are beyond fantastic.
Directed by William Wyler, The Big Country is an epic western that deals with some major feuds. Retired sea Captain James McKay (Peck) has traveled across the country to the West to marry his beautiful fiancée Patricia Terrill (Baker). McKay is a calm man whose values and approach to life, and the world are a fish out of water which puts him at odds with many ranchers and ranch second in command Steve Leech (Heston). In an odd pairing, Pat is spoiled, selfish and believes her wealthy father, Major Henry Terrill (Bickford), is the most courageous and understanding man of them all. McKay walks right into a middle of a ruthless land war between the Major and the down and dirty Rufus Hannassey (Ives) clan. The land war is over the dispute over the watering rights for cattle. The land in question is owned by the beautiful Julie Maragon (Simmons). McKay must decide which side to join or figure out a way to settle this feud once and for all.
The Big Country is a freakin great movie, and once again, I’m sorry, mom, for ever doubting you. What makes this film so good is the story and all the drama that went into it. McKay travels to the American West to join his fiancée Patricia at the enormous ranch owned by her father. Homeboy rolls up into one of the smallest towns I’ve seen. I love how he is dressed so gentlemanly and out of place when he arrives.
The movie revolves around Patricia’s father, Henry, who everyone calls the Major, and his rival Rufus Hannassey and his son Buck. You want to talk about two contrasts between characters; this film shows it. The Major is a frontier gentleman with a big ass house and has all the greatest things in life. Dude’s house is a mega-mansion with more land than he can count. Rufus is a straight-up man of the land and looks like he hasn’t washed in days. Dude looks like he is one of the poorest around but has money.
The clashes between these two have been going on for a long time with land and water and wanting Julie’s land, but the best show of their clash comes in two scenes. The first one was when McKay arrived, and he and Patricia ride to the Major’s house. Buck and his crew harass the pair with an epic horse chase where they fool around and even tie up McKay with ropes and drag him for a while. The Major, hearing this, gets his men and rides into town looking for Buck and his crew. Punk ass Buck jumps out of a window and hides while his boys get their ass handed to them against twenty dudes versus the three of them. After that, the Major rides to Hannassey’s place while he is out, terrorizes his home, and shoots up his water container. Not cool, man. These two finally clash in the end in an epic gunfight against each other and their crews.
With the Major and Hannassey doing their rivalry, the movie even has another storyline that deals with McKay trying to get respect from everyone because he seems like an outsider. McKay is looked down upon by pretty much everyone. He doesn’t follow the Old West ways, and his calm demeanor makes people question him. Steve Leech has issues with him because he loves Patricia and thinks he is a punk. Patricia loves him, but when he doesn’t fight back, she starts thinking he is a punk and no one knows how they got engaged. Yet, what makes McKay so great is that he has a cool head and does things behind the scenes. For example: Old Thunder is an untamable horse that Steve wanted him to ride. McKay tames the wild horse while the Major and his crew are out. Now the man was thrown off of it like ten times, and his nuts must be mush, and even the horse in one scene strode back into the barn. Yet, he manages to ride the horse and tame the untamable.
Another telling scene is when McKay dips out to find Julie’s ranch. McKay meets Julie at her ranch, and they both tell stories with the phrase “shall I go on.” Julie’s story must be extreme because McKay seems to grow paler as he listens, yet he manages to get Julie to sell her ranch. Patricia asks her father and Steve to find him during this time because they think he’s lost. Well, after two days, McKay strolls up like nothing is wrong. Steve calls McKay a liar in front of everyone, making Patricia reconsider her engagement because he won’t fight back. McKay’s response, he has an EPIC fistfight with Steve in a field where they beat the shit out of each other. Oh, that fistfight was so good and entertaining.
I could go on and on about this film and talk about so many scenes. I’ll do one more, and then we will move on. The climax was fantastic! I love the gunfight between Buck and McKay. I love the rules Rufus set down and how honorable he is. Rufus didn’t care if it was his son or someone else. Rules are meant to be followed, and he kept that and the code of honor.
Now with this, let me talk about the cinematography of this film. With the name The Big Country, you bet your ass it would show some big country, and it didn’t disappoint. If you wanted to see how big the United States was, then this was it. The first scene is a wide-open carriage ride through the big open country. When McKay and Steve have their fistfight, the camera pans back, you see these two little figures going at it in such an ample space they look like freakin ants. Another scene was when Major’s men were riding through the canyon. The white hills and pathway were remarkably shown with the overhead shot. The film wasn’t playing when it said Big Country.
The cast is phenomenal in this film. Gregory Peck as James McKay was as cool as a cucumber or the other side of the pillow. He never seemed to get mad or upset. He seemed to behave everything under control and never let his anger show. I love how his character did all the behind-the-scenes work and didn’t want people to really know what he was doing. Rather keep it a secret than be arrogant. The one scene I loved with McKay was at his engagement party. One of the guests asks him how he likes it and has he ever seen anything so big (referencing the wide-open land). McKay responds with the simple, “Yes, the ocean.” Straight up burn.
I want to say this, Jean Simmons as Julie Maragon was freakin BEAUTIFUL. I see why everyone was dreamy about her because she was gorgeous. Bump Patricia, I was team Julie because she was a farmer and a schoolteacher. She did play the damsel in distress at the end but still. I was feeling her all the way. With her, I couldn’t stand Carroll Baker as Patricia Terrill. I felt like she didn’t know what she wanted and was the spoiled brat because McKay did things differently and wasn’t a straight savage. Don’t get me wrong, Baker was great in her role, but I was happy when McKay dropped her ass.
Also, Charlton Heston is in this film as Steve Leech. Yes! Moses himself and the man who fought against the Planet of the Apes. It was strange to see Heston take a backstage role, and he was actually mostly a background person. Yeah, he had beef with McKay and forced himself on Patricia, but he had a minor speaking role here and there for the most part. He still had an epic fistfight.
Let me discuss the BEST person in the whole film. That is Burl Ives as Rufus Hannassey. This dude right here was a freakin BOSS. I loved this character, and Burl deserved his academy award. First off, if you don’t know Ives, he is the narrator for most of those old time Christmas films. As Rufus, you saw he was a no-nonsense type of person. The one scene where you’re like this dude is a BOSS is during the engagement party. As everyone is having fun, this dude rolls up like a straight-up G with a shotgun in hand. Rufus tells the Major off and tells him he will shoot him if his men come to his home again because he will be there this time around. In a show of power, he throws his shotgun on the ground at the Major’s feet and dares him to pick it up. To add even more insult, he turns his back to the Major and states he only shoots people in the back because he is too afraid to shoot them head-on. Love this character.
The Big Country is one of the best movies I have seen. I officially want to apologize to my mom because it was that good. The scenery is grand, and the storyline is excellent. The cast is fantastic, but Burl Ives is an absolute BOSS in this film. Get that popcorn out and ride through the big country.
