The Big Country

Plot synopsis:
Successful sea captain James McKay (Gregory Peck) travels to the American West to join his fiancée Patricia (Carroll Baker) at the enormous ranch owned by her father, Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford), referred to by all as "The Major." Terrill has been feuding with Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives), the patriarch of a poorer, less refined ranching clan, over water rights in the arid grazing lands of the high plains.
Patricia's friend, schoolteacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), owns the "Big Muddy", a large ranch itself, with a source of water that is vital to both Hannassey and Terrill in times of drought. Julie allows all to water their cattle and refuses to sell or lease the Big Muddy to either side, so as to keep the fragile peace.
McKay brings a pair of dueling pistols to the Major as a gift. But he repeatedly refuses to be provoked into proving his manhood; he tells the Major that his father died in a meaningless duel. He does nothing when Hannassey's trouble-making son Buck (Chuck Connors) and his shiftless companions harass him. He also declines an invitation by Terrill's foreman, Steve Leech (Charlton Heston), to ride an unbroken horse named "Old Thunder." Consequently, everyone, including Patricia, considers him a coward.
When the Major and his men ride to the Hannassey ranch in retribution for Buck's harassment of a Terrill guest, McKay declines to participate. Buck makes his escape from Terrill's men while others in his posse are punished and beaten senseless. Alone at Terrill's ranch except for ranch hand Ramon (Alfonso Bedoya), McKay then breaks Old Thunder, after being thrown out of the saddle numerous times. He swears Ramon, the only witness, to secrecy.
Terrill hosts a Grand Gala to formally announce Patricia's upcoming wedding. A ruffled and grizzled Hannassey, armed with a shotgun, spoils the festive mood when he confronts Terrill in front of all his guests over the brutal beating of his men. He threatens to start a range war over Terrill's steadfast practice of denying water to Hannassey's cattle.
McKay rides out to the Big Muddy and persuades Julie to sell him the land, promising to continue her policy of unrestricted access to the river. A search party, led by Leech, spends two days looking for McKay, believing he has become lost. McKay explains that he was never in danger, but Leech calls him a liar. Again refusing to be goaded into a fight, McKay sees that both Patricia and her father are disappointed; they agree to reconsider their engagement. Early the next morning, before anybody else is up, McKay seeks out Leech to settle their quarrel. They fight, without witnesses, to an exhausted draw. McKay quietly asks Leech exactly what they proved by fighting. Leech has a new understanding and respect of McKay.
Julie tells her friend Patricia that McKay bought the Big Muddy for her. Patricia is excited because her father will be so pleased with her wedding gift. Once she learns McKay plans to give Hannassey access to his water, however, Patricia leaves, understanding their engagement is over.
Acting on Terrill's orders, Leech and his men chase Hannassey's cattle away from the Big Muddy. Hannassey, in retaliation, kidnaps Julie and uses her as bait to lure Terrill into an ambush in the narrow canyon leading to Hannassey's homestead. Buck tries to force himself on Julie, but his father stops him. Buck, furious, tries to strangle his father, but is overpowered. His father states, "One day I know I'm going to have to kill you."
McKay finds out about Julie and rides to the Hannassey place, where he shows Hannassey the deed to Big Muddy and promises him equal access to the water. Hannassey says he intends to fight Terrill anyway, whereupon McKay tells him that it is plain that this is just a personal vendetta between two old men.
When it becomes obvious that McKay and Julie have feelings for each other, Buck attacks McKay. They fight, but Hannassey steps in when Buck draws his gun on the unarmed McKay and insists on a fair, formal duel. After walking apart ten paces, Buck fires before the signal, grazing McKay's forehead. Hannassey is furious. McKay slowly takes aim, but Buck drops to the ground in terror and crawls behind a wagon wheel. McKay fires into the dirt, ending the duel, and Hannassey spits on Buck in disgust. McKay and Julie are about to leave when Buck grabs a gun, forcing Hannassey to shoot his son dead.
Terrill insists on riding into Blanco Canyon for a final confrontation. Leech and the rest of his men initially refuse to accompany him, but after Terrill rides out alone, Leech joins him, followed by the rest of the outfit. They are quickly pinned down. Hannassey, acknowledgeing the truth of McKay's accusation, orders his men to stop shooting and challenges Terrill to a one-on-one showdown. Terrill promptly agrees. Armed with rifles, the two old men advance and kill one another.
McKay and Julie ride off to start a new life together.

Tags: revenge, suspenseful, violence

Review:
The Big Country was an exception.Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) introduced us to a different kind of man, far different than most stereotypical men of the Wild West.
As Ramon said, "Such a man is very rare."Outside of McKay, my #2 favorite character in the film was Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives).
The second is a four sided romantic triangle involving Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, and Carroll Baker with Chuck Connors trying to horn in.William Wyler directed the almost three hour western with a sure hand and your interest does not wane for one minute in this film.
He's got eyes on Baker himself and Chuck Connors who is Burl Ives eldest son has eyes for Simmons when he's not in the local bordello.A lot of started and broken relationships and a few of the cast members being killed occurs in The Big Country.
That was one great career move because Wyler and he hit it off so well that Wyler signed him for the lead in his next film which turned out to be Ben-Hur. Heston in his memoirs, conservative as he became, says he also got along very well with Gregory Peck who he called a "thinking man's liberal."Peck and Wyler had worked together previously on Roman Holiday and had done good work there and also hit it off.
Baker is disappointed in Peck not seeing him as her ideal western man and Simmons upbraids her with the quote I put in the review title.This is also the final film of Alfonso Bedoya who never did get a role in an American film as good as the one he had as Gold Hat in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
All that Burl Ives captured in Rufus and The Big Country is worth watching just for him alone.And that Jerome Moross score; simply one of the best ever done in the history of film..
Many of the characters are largely and broadly drawn with big strokes (stubborn Peck, fiery Baker, resentful Heston, righteous Simmons, imperious Bickford, cantankerous Ives and slithering Connors) yet they all are dwarfed by the huge landscape.
When Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) stepped off the stagecoach in the open range of the West, Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) was already his excellent rival and adversary...Steve - Major Terrill's strong right arm - was in love with the beautiful Pat (Carroll Baker) daughter of his boss, who intends to marry the innocent handsome Captain...Soon than expected, McKay discovered a bitter blood feud between the Terrills, owner of a huge ranch, and the Hannasseys, simple mountain men..Extreme hatred united the two families, the two cattlemen Major Terrill (Charles Bickford) and Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives).Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons) was a strategic factor in the conflict...
always for an asset!Gregory Peck is outstanding as the calm anti-traditional hero, balancing a deed of bravery, strength and endurance...Jean Simmons is a big leading lady at that time, big enough to the 'Big Country.'Carroll Baker, famous as the thumb-sucking child-wife in "Baby Doll," is Charles Bickford's willful daughter, acting according to his law and dictate...Charlton Heston confirms a favorable impression by giving an excellent account as the grinning, menacing rival in love with the land and with McKay's attractive fiancée...Burl Ives - Winner of the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in the film - is impeccably cast as the gray-haired patriarch of a shameful, indecent, discourteous clan...Charles Bickford (1891-1967) could play as easily the sincere man of virtue ("Duel in the Sun") as the dishonest villain...
Here he plays the heavy coward, the rude and vulgar, the hypocrite impolite noisy disorderly son...Directed by William Wyler, "The Big Country" is a spectacular Western featuring a brilliant cast at top shape...If you like big action, big fights, big love, don't miss it!.
Well, I remember seeing The Big Country and was properly swept off my feet by the grand scale of the Big Country, the death feud between Burl Ives and Charles Bickford, the shaky and doomed romance between Gregory Peck and the spoiled Carroll Baker and the quiet understanding between Peck and the lovely Jean Simmons, but most of all, the thing that propelled me to see The Big Country over and over was the magnificant score by Jerome Moross.
In the meantime, Peck does prove his masculinity but it is too late for Baker, who has come to believe that he is a coward.The final showdown is obvious but handled very well.Another great asset to the film is the rousing musical score.
All the actors/actresses are a perfect fit for their roles, and the male cast of Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Charles Bickford, Burl Ives, and Chuck Connors (who shines as the thoroughly bad Buck Hannassey) is ensemble acting at it's best.
In fact, a kind of mild running gag in the film is how when Gregory Peck arrives everyone from his future father-in-law Charles Bickford, and his fiancé Carol Baker, and even Charlton Heston mentions that it is a big country (and that he can get lost in it).
It's a nuanced performance, with Leech at first coming off as little more than a hard-driving b****** with a thing for the woman who would become Peck's girl- but the character goes through a very dramatic change that showcases Heston's range: the "Bad" Guy morphs into a Not So Bad Guy After All. The times Heston impresses on screen are about as numerous as the films he starred in (or even co-starred in, or had what amounted to a bit part in).
We don't need no stinkin' badges." Just as telling is the way Alfonso articulated the key concept of The Big Country when he says of Jim McKay: "A man like him is very rare." There is a sense of respect in Alfonso's delivery and a need to relate to others what he has seen in McKay. There is great irony in the fact that everyone else except for Julie as played by Jean Simmons fails to see McKay's qualities.
A New Englander (Gregory Peck) arrives in the Old West to marry a beautiful young (Carroll Baker) , there he becomes embroiled in feuding families with rival patriarchs (Burl Ives , Charles Bickford) over a valuable patch of land and water rights on a river .
This film makes a very strong case for my top western (along with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Shootist, and The Searchers), and certainly top 10 movie of all time!There are so many rare and great things about this film -- let me just point to a few.
The scene at the beginning as Peck gets off the stage is good -- his (eventful) trip to the ranch with his fiancé, the Ol' Thunder showdown, Burl Ives entry (which is AMAZING and powerful!), Peck's trip to the old ranch house and Big Muddy, the fight between Heston and Peck (which some have criticized for the slow pacing, outcome, and distant camera-work, but which I think is poignant, rare, and a turning point in the film), and the list goes on and on...Fifth, as so many have said -- the music is absolutely wonderful!
Charles Bickford plays Maj. Henry Terrill a self-proclaimed gentleman who's twenty year old feud with his one time rival Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives) and his son Buck (Chuck Connors) aim to settle their quarrel with guns.
Other major characters include ranch owner Major Terrell (Charles Bickford), bent on the destruction of his rival Rufus Hannassey, his daughter Pat (Carroll Baker), engaged to McKay but in reality in love with her father, and foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston), fiercely loyal to his boss, in love with his daughter and intensely jealous of her fancy fiancé from back east.
Jean Simmons and Carroll Baker played Julie Maragon and the fiancée-daughter,respectively, with Charlton Heston as the foreman Steve Leach, Chuck Connors' as the Southerner's rebellious son, and veteran Alfonso Bedoya as the Mexican who befriends McKay. No one else in this very clear and ruthlessly-developed film is given very much to do.
The film's violent, but emotionally powerful, climax comes after a group of Terrills drive some of the Hannassey's cattle away from the water and the Hannasseys, in retaliation, kidnap Julie in an attempt to force her to sell the land."The Big Country" is a good example of the new type of Western that was becoming popular in the 1950s, making good use of the spectacular scenery of the West and concentrating as much upon character development as upon action.
Burl Ives well deserved his Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as Rufus, and McKay is a typical example of the intelligent, thoughtful man of integrity that Gregory Peck excelled at portraying.
The film's sheer size ultimately defeats director Wyler's goal, but what emerges is still a rip-roaring drama, with terrific performances by Oscar-winner Burl Ives, Chuck Connors, Charlton Heston, and Charles Bickford.Eastern ship captain James McKay (Peck) arrives in a GIANT-like Western town to marry Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), whose father (Bickford) is a major landowner in the area.
A 'Blood Feud' must be settled in blood, even when common sense proves it ridiculous.Epic in scope, with the Wyler 'style' clearly evident in pacing and characterization, THE BIG COUNTRY may have misfired as an 'Anti-Western', but is still an entertaining, engaging production, and certainly deserves a place in any film fan's collection..
When the question of "what's the greatest Western?" comes up, the contenders always include High Noon, Shane, The Searchers, The Wild Bunch, Red River, and Unforgiven--all of which are truly great films--but I think it's a shame the The Big Country is never mentioned, when in fact it's every bit as eligible as any of the aforementioned.
Unlike many others, this one is rich in character, not just another lesson in "it's in Cinerama/Super Panavision and historical, so it's gotta be good."The cast is smaller than some spot-the-star epics and couldn't have been better chosen; what few people remember in amongst the always commanding Gregory Peck lead, the talented female duo of Jean Simmons and Carroll Baker, and the vivid feud-masters Burl Ives, Charles Bickford and Chuck Connors, is that Charlton Heston gave one of his best performances here.Not to say that the visuals aren't striking here; the technical work stands up to and often surpasses the big Westerns of the era.
There are also great performances by Charles Bickford as "the Major", and Chuck Conners as the Burl Ives characters fatally flawed son."The Big Country" is superbly photographed, and makes one think of the later black and white film "Hud".This film seems to be under appreciated, but should be on anybody's list of the Top Ten Westerns of all time.
And Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Jean Simmons and Charlton Heston all provide some good support, with near perfect direction by William Wyler.
William Wyler's "The Big Country" concerns a retired sea captain, James McKay (Gregory Peck), thrust into the middle of a squabble over land rights.
It should also be noted that Burl Ives won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.The story is an interesting one since it doesn't conform to the usual style of a Western film.
It has beautiful photography in great open wide sceneries, outstanding music that goes perfectly along with the sense of spectacle the film transmits, an interesting story, good action scenes and a really competent cast.Gregory Peck is very good as the strange man that comes from the east and feels he doesn't have to proof his courage to anyone.
Jean Simmons is pretty, there is a fairly insulting Mexican American stereotype character, Peck and Heston are wooden, Connors simpers and schemes, and Burl Ives doesn't sing a note: what more could you want in a movie?
And one of those 1950s westerns that helped point the way was director William Wyler's expansive 1958 opus THE BIG COUNTRY.Reputed to have been then-president Dwight Eisenhower's favorite film, THE BIG COUNTRY, based on the novel of the same name by Donald Hamilton, stars Gregory Peck (who co-produced the film with Wyler, and who delivers another excellent low-key performance) as a ship's captain who has ventured out West to marry the girl (Carroll Baker) that he had left behind.
McKay stirs up rivalry in the stud foreman of the ranch, Leech (Charleton Heston), and finds himself in the middle of a feud over water rights.Also on hand are Charles Bickford as Patricia's father, Major Terrill, Burl Ives as the patriarch of the Hannessey clan and Chuck Conners as his brutish son.Shot in remote areas of California and running 2 hours and 46 minutes, "The Big Country" is engrossing from beginning to end.
There are sub-plots too with Heston's near adoration of his stubborn old coot of an employer the Major and his suppressed desire for Peck's original intended, the Major's daughter, played by Carroll Baker.This is contrasted with Ives own errant eldest son (played by Chuck Connors) and his infatuation with Simmons, which predictably ends in death and tragedy before the end.For me there was too much plot for the film and I found I enjoyed the movie more when I was enjoying the high quality camera work, musical score or acting.
Helped enormously by the afore mentioned Planer, music composer Jerome Moross, and an impressive and on form cast (Heston in superb tough guy mode and Burl Ives delivering a Oscar winning performance as head Hannassey patriarch Rufus), it's a big production in many ways.
With memorable acting, gorgeous scenery, big music and notable moments of action (a fist fight between Peck & Heston alone is epic and apparently took three days to get right) it's a must see for the Western enthusiast.
There's the main plot of Peck and Carrol Baker, the subplots of Burl Ives and Bickford, Simmons and Baker, Peck and Simmons...This was one of Wyler's masterpieces.The Big Country is on my short list of "Best Westerns".....
I've never liked Charlton Heston better than I do here (except for "Planet of the Apes," but that's more to make fun of him), and Burl Ives anchors the film with his rich baritone and imposing size -- he's a force of nature in this film, and his impressive performance here is only one of two he delivered in 1958 ("Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" being the other one).Highlights of "The Big Country" include a fistfight between Gregory Peck and Heston that each refuses to quit and a breathtakingly suspenseful final showdown in a canyon between Ives and arch rival Charles Bickford set to more of that pulsing, vibrant musical score.A treasure from an on-again-off-again decade.Grade: A+.
This movie has some of the greatest actors that were in Hollywood at that time...Look at the movie "The Magnificent Seven" and you'll see another movie with so many great actors, so "The Big Country" ranks right up with some of the greatest westerns and the musical score fits right in with the theme of the show...Gregory Peck has been and always will be one of my favorite actors in the history of Hollywood....he was above reproach in his private life, even thought certain events in his family touched him and caused him anguish...But, his characters on the screen were most certainly played by him to the extent that they were believable and bordered on being actual people that we could relate to regarding the movie and the script..His good looks, and the way he carried himself on and off the screen, could only lead one to think that he was truly a fine actor and an equally great human being..we'll miss him, but we still have his movies to enjoy and treasure..thank for letting me comment on Gregory Peck....
The Big Country is a great movie,  is well directed and has a cast of Stars that compliment their characters and the story.
It has everything from scope and grandeur to an unforgettable musical score to faultless casting and superb direction.The big fight scene between Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston is not to be missed.
Gregory Peck is fine as Jim McKay, but the film belongs to Charlton Heston and Burl Ives in outstanding supporting roles.
The fight scene between Peck and Heston did a lot to promote the theme that they were indeed in a big country.I will watch this movie over and over again as I will "Shane," "High Noon," and "The Searchers."Doufus t.
Peck,Charlton Heston,Carrol Baker, Jean Simmons, Charles Bickford, Burl Ives and Chuck Connors are excellent, also William Wyler's direction, and the 2 ½ hours of the film seem to fly..
Despite its age The Big Country is still an entertaining movie.Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) arrives in the West to marry Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker).
I always enjoyed this movie when it came on TV: the magnificent score -one of the very best ever written, the great performances by Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, and Chuck Connors.
It's an epic tale, sprawling and a bit rambling over the course of two hours and forty-five minutes, but Wyler holds it all together for maximum interest, aided and abetted by a wonderful western score by Jerome Moross that has become classic.Peck never had a role that suited him so admirably and CHARLTON HESTON is excellent as Bickford's right hand man with unwanted designs on Carroll Baker.
Along the way, he builds a friendship with Jean Simmons, who appreciates his high morals, and he finds himself in the middle of a decades-old family feud, led by Charles Bickford and Burl Ives.Jerome Moross wrote one of the greatest film scores of all time to The Big Country, but of course, lost the Oscar that year to a far less deserving rival.
The ending of the movie is a disappointment as I am not a fan of simple face offs.The movie has great acting from the noted actors and actresses Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charles Heston, Burl Ives and Charles Bickford.