The Big Country

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The Big Country
Directed by	William Wyler
Produced by	Gregory Peck William Wyler
Written by	Robert Wilder
Starring	Gregory Peck Jean Simmons
Music by	Jerome Moross
Cinematography	Franz F. Planer
Editing by	Robert Belcher John Faure
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	October 1, 1958 (U.S. release)
Running time	165 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Big Country is a 1958 American Western film directed by William Wyler. It stars Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors. Based on a novel by Donald Hamilton.

Ives won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for the musical score by Jerome Moross.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Plot

The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Wealthy, newly retired sea captain and ship-owner James McKay (Gregory Peck) travels to the American west to rejoin his fiancée Patricia (Carroll Baker), whom he had met out East, at the ranch of her father, Major Terrill (Charles Bickford). Terrill is a powerful rancher who is feuding with the equally tough patriarch of a poorer, less refined clan, Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives). Patricia's best friend, schoolteacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), is caught between the two. She owns the "Big Muddy", a small ranch with a vital source of water. Hannassey desperately needs it for his cattle, while Terrill wants to gain control of it to bring his rival down.

McKay is a puzzle to Major Terrill, his foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) and even his fiancee; he refuses to be provoked into proving his manhood, even when harassed. We learn that McKay's father died in a duel, and -- as McKay explains to Terrill -- no one could remember what the duel was about. One morning, McKay rides out alone, goes to the Big Muddy, and persuades Julie to sell him the ranch, promising her that both the Terrills and the Hannesseys will always have access to the river, hoping that this will defuse the conflict. She agrees to the sale.

Back at the Terrill ranch, everyone believes McKay lost. A search party is organized and spends two days looking for him. When McKay shows up,and says he knew where he was all the time, Leech -- who is himself in love with Patricia -- calls him a liar in front of Patricia and the Major. McKay refuses to be goaded into a fight. In private, Patricia expresses her shame at what she sees as McKay's cowardice. McKay tells her he'll be moving into town in the morning, to give them both time to think things over. Early the next morning, McKay goes out to the bunkhouse to settle things with Leech. They fight away from the house, without witnesses, to an exhausted draw - which, as McKay points out, has solved precisely nothing. Leech gains a new respect for McKay.

Later, Patricia discovers from Julie that McKay has bought the Big Muddy, and goes into town to try to make up with him. However, when she mentions her father's plans for the Big Muddy, McKay tells her it's over. Patricia explodes with rage, telling him that he'll never be half the man her father is.

Terrill orders Leech and his men to drive the Hannassey's cattle away from watering at the Big Muddy. Hannassey, desperate, contrives a plot to kidnap Julie Maragon. Rufus offers to buy the Big Muddy in exchange for her freedom. He doesn't know whether to believe her when she tells him she has already sold the Big Muddy to McKay. Hannassey decides to keep her at the ranch, as the bait for an ambush he has prepared for Terrill and his men. To rescue Julie, they must pass through the narrow canyon leading up to the Hannassey homestead, where they can be easily gunned down.

McKay rides in alone, despite Terrill's opposition, to try seek a peaceful solution. Hannessey's eldest son Buck (Chuck Connors), who wants Julie for himself, tells her to lie to McKay about her reason for being there, or he will shoot him. McKay arrives and shows Hannassey the deed to Big Muddy, and promises him access to the water there. When Hannassey says he intends to fight Terrill anyway, McKay confronts him with the truth - that it is all just about a personal vendetta between two ruthless, vicious old men who are willing to get a lot of others killed to settle their feud. Julie, whose feelings for McKay are by now obvious, tries to protect him by saying she is there willingly, but McKay doesn't believe her. McKay and Buck begin to fight, but Rufus stops it when Bucks draws on an unarmed McKay. He then decides they will settle it "gentleman style", with the dueling pistols in McKay's saddlebag. He warns the two men that he'll shoot either one of them if they violate the rules.

After walking off ten paces, both men turn and aim. Buck fires before the signal, grazing McKay's forehead. McKay slowly and deliberately takes aim. Defenseless, Buck succumbs to fear and drops to the ground in terror. McKay then fires his shot into the dirt. Hannassey walks over and spits on his son for his humiliating cowardice. As McKay and Julie prepare to leave, Buck grabs a gun from a ranch hand, but Hannassey shoots and kills him.

Meantime, Terrill, Leech and their men have ridden into the ambush and are pinned down in the canyon. Acknowledging the truth of MacKay's accusation, Hannassey orders his men to hold their fire. He then challenges Terrill to come out and face him man to man. The two men walk to a final showdown and kill each other. McKay and Julie ride out together.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Gregory Peck	James McKay
Jean Simmons	Julie Maragon
Carroll Baker	Patricia Terrill
Charlton Heston	Steve Leech
Burl Ives	Rufus Hannassey
Charles Bickford	Maj. Henry Terrill
Alfonso Bedoya	Ramón Guiteras
Chuck Connors	Buck Hannassey

[edit] Reception

Ives won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for the musical score by Jerome Moross.

[edit] References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

[edit] External links

• The Big Country at the Internet Movie Database
• The Big Country at the TCM Movie Database

v • d • e Films directed by William Wyler 1920s The Crook Buster (1925) • The Gunless Bad Man (1926) • Ridin' for Love (1926) • The Fire Barrier (1926) • Don't Shoot (1926) • The Pinnacle Rider (1926) • Martin of the Mounted (1926) • Lazy Lightning (1926) • The Stolen Ranch (1926) • The Two Fister (1927) • Kelcy Gets His Man (1927) • Tenderfoot Courage (1927) • The Silent Partner (1927) • Blazing Days (1927) • Shooting Straight (1927) • Galloping Justice (1927) • The Haunted Homestead (1927) • Hard Fists (1927) • The Lone Star (1927) • The Home Trail (1927) • Gun Justice (1927) • The Phantom Outlaw (1927) • The Square Shooter (1927) • The Horse Trader (1927) • Daze of the West (1927) • The Border Cavalier (1927) • Desert Dust (1927) • Thunder Riders (1928) • Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (1928) • The Shakedown (1929) • The Love Trap (1929) 1930s Hell's Heroes (1930) • The Storm (1930) • A House Divided (1931) • Tom Brown of Culver (1932) • Her First Mate (1933) • Counsellor at Law (1933) • Glamour (1934) • The Good Fairy (1935) • The Gay Deception (1935) • Barbary Coast (1935) • These Three (1936) • Dodsworth (1936) • Come and Get It (1936) • Dead End (1937) • Jezebel (1938) • Wuthering Heights (1939) 1940s The Westerner (1940) • The Letter (1940) • The Little Foxes (1941) • Mrs. Miniver (1942) • The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) • The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) • Thunderbolt (1947) • The Heiress (1949) 1950s Detective Story (1951) • Carrie (1952) • Roman Holiday (1953) • The Desperate Hours (1955) • Friendly Persuasion (1956) • The Big Country (1958) • Ben-Hur (1959) 1960s The Children's Hour (1961) • The Collector (1965) • How to Steal a Million (1966) • Funny Girl (1968) 1970s The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)