{"id":4540,"date":"2007-10-11T18:42:49","date_gmt":"2007-10-12T01:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4540"},"modified":"2021-01-12T14:08:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T21:08:25","slug":"big-sky-the-1952","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4540","title":{"rendered":"Big Sky, The (1952)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It sure is big country; the only thing bigger is the sky.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-62993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1-177x270.jpg 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Poster-1.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn the 1830s, frontiersmen Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) and Boone Caudill (Dewey Martin) meet up with Boone&#8217;s Uncle Zeb (Arthur Hunnicutt) in St. Louis, and join a group of mountain men led by &#8220;Frenchy&#8221; Jourdonnais (Steven Geray). Hoping to trade with Blackfoot Indians by safely delivering their kidnapped princess Teal Eye (Elizabeth Threatt) to them, the trappers head west along the Missouri River; their plans are complicated, however, by the presence of hostile Crow Indians, and by members of a rival fur trading company who hope to capture and use Teal Eye for their own purposes.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Howard Hawks Films<\/li>\n<li>Kirk Douglas Films<\/li>\n<li>Native Americans<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a bestselling novel by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/a-b-guthrie?cat=entertainment\">A.B. Guthrie, Jr.<\/a>, this unusual western effectively evokes both the danger and the excitement of life for fur trading &#8220;mountain men&#8221; &#8212; pioneers of early American history not often portrayed in films (1972&#8217;s <em>Jeremiah Johnson<\/em> &#8212; also listed by Peary &#8212; is a notable exception). Grizzly Arthur Hunnicut (who deserved his nomination as Best Supporting Actor) narrates the film, and, despite Kirk Douglas&#8217;s top billing, emerges as its central figure; but Douglas&#8217;s performance is equally impressive, and beautiful Elizabeth Threatt (half-Cherokee in real life) is surprisingly dignified and effective as Teal Eyes &#8212; it&#8217;s too bad <a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/name\/nm0861910\/\">this was her only film<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-1024x740.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-62995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-1024x740.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-768x555.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt-374x270.png 374w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Threatt.png 1405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dewey Martin as Douglas&#8217;s younger &#8220;partner&#8221; is the least impressive of the bunch, and his anachronistically gleaming leather pants &#8212; especially in contrast with the film&#8217;s overall attention to historical detail &#8212; are enormously distracting; one can&#8217;t help feeling he was cast simply to provide a hunky heartthrob. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-1024x751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-62996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-1024x751.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-768x564.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2-368x270.png 368w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Big-Sky-Martin2.png 1405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of primary interest to film buffs, however, will be the presence of director Howard Hawks&#8217; characteristic trademarks: realistically overlapping dialogue, an undercurrent of homoeroticism between Douglas and Martin (those pants!), and his depiction of the male traders as hardworking and loyal. While it&#8217;s overlong by at least half an hour, <em>The Big Sky<\/em> remains a satisfying adventure tale by one of America&#8217;s great directors, and should be seen by all film fanatics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Martin&#8217;s rolling tussles with beautiful Teal Eyes are unexpectedly racy &#8212; as is the surprising tepee scene near the end of the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Arthur Hunnicutt&#8217;s Oscar-nominated performance as Uncle Zeb<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-hunnicutt.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-hunnicutt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4543\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Kirk Douglas as Jim Deakins<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-kirk-douglas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-kirk-douglas.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4542\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Russell Harlan&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/big-sky-cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4541\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Hunnicutt&#8217;s Oscar-nominated performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0044419\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1952\/08\/20\/archives\/howard-hawks-the-big-sky-saga-of-the-pioneer-west-opens-at-the.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/1862\/the-big-sky#articles-reviews?articleId=31553\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-big-sky\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It sure is big country; the only thing bigger is the sky.&#8221; Synopsis: In the 1830s, frontiersmen Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) and Boone Caudill (Dewey Martin) meet up with Boone&#8217;s Uncle Zeb (Arthur Hunnicutt) in St. Louis, and join a group of mountain men led by &#8220;Frenchy&#8221; Jourdonnais (Steven Geray). Hoping to trade with Blackfoot Indians by safely delivering their kidnapped princess Teal Eye (Elizabeth Threatt) to them, the trappers head west along the Missouri River; their plans are complicated,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4540\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4540"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62998,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4540\/revisions\/62998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}