Spoilers (as there will always be people watching it for the first time)
The word gentleman has probably been terribly abused in all these years. For an icon of a true gentleman, absolutely no one can surpass Gregory Peck, on and off screen. In The Big Country, Peck's performance best portrayed what a gentleman is.
Before going into this theme, let me make one interesting diversion, in observing that movie makers around that time were rather fond of big casts, led by undisputed heavyweights and supported by some who were lesser in stature but still stars in their own right. Without even thinking hard, I can quote a few examples. Obviously The Big Country (1958) is one, with Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives and Charles Bickford. Even more impressive is Spartacus (1960), with Kirk Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons (again), Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin and Tony Curtis. Another is Judgement at Nuremberg (1961): Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland and Montgomery Cliff. I used to try to line up the roster, weighting one against another in a hopeless quest of deciding which one has the final edge. Such pursuit invariably ended up in my throwing up my arms in despair.
So much for side tracking. The essence of Big Country is in its hero James McKay, who is one notch above Will Kane in High Noon, a rather passive `hero' forced into heroism by circumstances. McKay is all positive, never wavering ever so slightly in his belief. Neither provocation nor insult can force him into violence. While he steadfastly resists the temptation of being a flashy, show-off type of `hero', he is the farthest away from being a dodger. He takes up every challenge that Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker) scorns him for dodging. It's just that he does not need to prove himself to her, or to anybody, for that matter. It takes a real woman, Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), to recognise a real man.
The most remarkable (and daring) thing about Big Country is the view it takes about fast draws, which is the most important factor (if not the only factor) behind every single successful western. Big Country dares to treat it as utterly worthless, or even more, as a sign of cowardice. In the final showdown, adversary Buck Hannassey the fast draw is portrayed as a coward at heart when his advantage is taken away, and eventually shot down by his own father in scorn when he tried to shoot McKay in the back.
Some say that Big Country is not even a western and I do not disagree. To me, it's enjoying and admiring the performance of two of the greatest stars that ever graced the screen, Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons.
The word gentleman has probably been terribly abused in all these years. For an icon of a true gentleman, absolutely no one can surpass Gregory Peck, on and off screen. In The Big Country, Peck's performance best portrayed what a gentleman is.
Before going into this theme, let me make one interesting diversion, in observing that movie makers around that time were rather fond of big casts, led by undisputed heavyweights and supported by some who were lesser in stature but still stars in their own right. Without even thinking hard, I can quote a few examples. Obviously The Big Country (1958) is one, with Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives and Charles Bickford. Even more impressive is Spartacus (1960), with Kirk Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons (again), Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin and Tony Curtis. Another is Judgement at Nuremberg (1961): Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland and Montgomery Cliff. I used to try to line up the roster, weighting one against another in a hopeless quest of deciding which one has the final edge. Such pursuit invariably ended up in my throwing up my arms in despair.
So much for side tracking. The essence of Big Country is in its hero James McKay, who is one notch above Will Kane in High Noon, a rather passive `hero' forced into heroism by circumstances. McKay is all positive, never wavering ever so slightly in his belief. Neither provocation nor insult can force him into violence. While he steadfastly resists the temptation of being a flashy, show-off type of `hero', he is the farthest away from being a dodger. He takes up every challenge that Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker) scorns him for dodging. It's just that he does not need to prove himself to her, or to anybody, for that matter. It takes a real woman, Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), to recognise a real man.
The most remarkable (and daring) thing about Big Country is the view it takes about fast draws, which is the most important factor (if not the only factor) behind every single successful western. Big Country dares to treat it as utterly worthless, or even more, as a sign of cowardice. In the final showdown, adversary Buck Hannassey the fast draw is portrayed as a coward at heart when his advantage is taken away, and eventually shot down by his own father in scorn when he tried to shoot McKay in the back.
Some say that Big Country is not even a western and I do not disagree. To me, it's enjoying and admiring the performance of two of the greatest stars that ever graced the screen, Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons.