THE BIG SKY (1952)

MORE 1001 MOVIES FROM THE 50's

(Post 9 of 10) 

The Big Sky is a pretty good Howard Hawks film about a group of fur traders (featuring Kirk Douglas as a scalawag, roustabout, tag along to the group) attempting to deal with Indians and other ruthless business competitors. It's a nice adventure scene with some beautiful black and white photography, though I'm not sure I would have included this one on the list. One question I have is why is this film so hard to find? I had to get an old VHS copy from inter library-loan because it wasn't available (that I could see) on DVD or Blu-Ray or on any online service that I had access to. Just wondering.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Arthur Hunnicutt

Arthur Hunnicutt had one that special something that a lot of character actors of the Hollywood Golden Age with long careers seemed to have going for them: Look like a old man even when you're fairly young. It's odd that the grizzled old trapper/narrator from The Big Sky was only in his early 40's when this movie was made. This persona served Hunnicutt well as he played it in many Westerns beginning in the 40's and going through the 60's. The part I will always best remember Hunnicutt is as a recently deceased hunter who goes to tries to find his way to heaven with his trusty hound dog in an episode from The Twilight Zone. which features one of my all-time favorite lines, "A man, well, he'll walk right into hell with both eyes open. But even the Devil can't fool a dog!" The funny thing is, before I looked it up, I remembered Hunnicutt as saying this line, which is incorrect. He has it said to him. Damn.  

Dewey Martin, Arhur Hunnicutt and Kirk Doglas in The Big Sky

Additional note: It's interesting sometimes to look up who the particular reviewers were that chose certain movies for the 1001 book. This one was chosen by Edward Buscombe, a critic who has written articles about genre in films and books on Western films. Clearly he is partial to add films from his favorite genre! He also contributed the blurbs for the 1001 book on Stagecoach and The Searchers, which are certainly no-brainers for inclusion...but clearly went outside the box in the addition of The Big Sky. If I were adding another Kirk Douglas Western, I would have put in Lonely Are the Brave...But that’s me. I do like that the list doesn't always stick to just the obvious choices all the time.

RED RIVER (1948)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 36 of 50)

If you want the ultimate movie about a cross country cattle drive, then look no further than Red River. I hadn't seen this in a long time and really enjoyed it this time around. You got to give a lot of credit to Hawks for keeping the story written by Borden Chase alive and keeping the cattle (and the plot) moving over hundreds of miles. But the centerpiece of the story is represented by John Wayne as the tough head of the drive and his protegee/adopted son played by Montgomery Cliff. The fact that the two of them come from different acting schools (Clift is a method actor, Wayne is NOT)  is really to the film's favor. I'm not sure I've liked either actor as much as I've liked them in this.

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Noah Beery, Jr. I know I should give this to Walter (Groot) Brennan, but I just gave the award to him for Sergeant York and I can't always give this to Walter Brennan! Also could have given this to Harry Carey Jr. or Harry Carey Sr., but I'll give it to Noah Beery Jr. in a real nice role as the dedicated member of the cattle driver and the guy who becomes Clift's right hand man during the second part of the film. I also like whenever he yells (I think it's a yell) out for them cattle to get a move on.

Beery has showed up in other films on 1001 list, including Only Angels Have Wings and Sergeant York, as well as a small roles in many other films like Inherit the Wind. But is still probably best remembered by my generation as Rocky from 70's TV classic The Rockford Files. 

SERGEANT YORK (1941)

HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE

(Post 29 of 50)

Sergeant York was the right movie at the right time for 1941 American and became the biggest box-office hit of that year. Unabashedly sentimental, but charming in its simplicity, the story of contentious objector turned World War I hero Alvin York may seem too corny for some, but I rather liked this almost too good to be true tale. Gary Cooper does a fine job as York, even if he was much older than the character he was playing. 

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to..Walter Brennan. Brennan was probably the premeire supporting actor of his generation. Probably the only reason he didn't win an Academy Award as the pastor in Sergeant York is because he had already won the award three times! Director Howard Hawks also used Brennan in his later classic films To Have and Have Not, Red River and Rio Bravo.

Other notable supporting players include: George Tobias (later Abner Kravitz in Bewitched), June Lockhart (later the hot mom on Lost in Space), Joan Leslie (Cooper's lovely romantic interest), Ward Bond (later as Bert the Cop in It's a Wonderful Life),  Howard Da Silva (later Ben Franklin in 1776), Noah Beery Jr. (later as Pappy in The Rockford Files) and we have yet another...

...appearance by Dickie Moore!
In one of those strange coincidences that seem to happen when you are going through some of those films I have seen two movies in a row by former Little Rascal Dickie Moore after not seeing him in anything since I watched The Little Rascals so many years ago! Dickie plays Alvin York's younger brother this go round.

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