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Home , Charlton Heston, Chuck Connors, The Big Country

Director had spent most of his film career trying to gain creative control of his pictures but kept falling infifa short of his goal in his dealings with Paramount and other INVERNESSFILMFANS studios. In 1956, he attempted to remedy that situation by entering into a joint venture with his good friend, Gregory season Peck, to create an epic called (1958). In Wyler's words, the film was "about a man's refusal The Big to act according to accepted standards of behavior. Customs of the Old West were sort of debunked." Country Based on "Ambush at Blanco Canyon," a short story by Donald Hamilton that was serialized in the Saturday Unfairly neglected today, this Evening Post, The Big Country told the story of two rival major western is a film of truly families - the wealthy Terrill clan and their white-trash epic dimensions. neighbors, the Hannasseys, who were locked in a long- Notes compiled by Mike Noble standing feud over water rights for their cattle. Gregory Peck headlined the cast as James McKay, a former sea

captain who has come west to marry Patricia Terrill () but is soon drawn into the family conflict as well as an intense rivalry with the Terrill ranch foreman (). Peck was a natural for the role and in the William Wyler biography, ‘A Talent for Trouble’ by Jan Herman, he said, "I knew about those things. I had a cattle business. I leased grazing land in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Eden Court Cinema Merced, Modesto. I had dreams of owning a ranch. I would Tuesday 22 July 2014 at 7.15pm take part in roundups, the roping and the branding. It was part of my life at the time." 1958, USA, Colour Shot on location at the Red Rock Canyon in Mojave, Running time: 159 mins. and at the three-thousand acre Drais ranch in Genre: Western Stockton, The Big Country was truly an epic in the classic Language: English tradition and, considering what was going on behind-the-scenes, it was a miracle that it turned out so Cast: Gregory Peck, , Carroll well. Tempers flared on the set between numerous Baker, Charlton Heston, , Charles individuals, particularly Wyler and , who Bickford, Alfonso Bedoya, had fought on the set of Hell's Heroes (1930) years before Director: William Wyler and were continuing their antagonistic relationship. Wyler Screenplay: James R Webb, Robert Wilder, Sy liked to shoot numerous retakes and Bickford was very Bartlett, , from the novel by cranky, often refusing to say a line he didn't like or to vary Donald Hamilton, adapted by Jessamyn his performance no matter how many takes he was forced West, Robert Wyler. to deliver. Jean Simmons was so traumatized by the experience that she refused to talk about it for years until an interview in the late eighties when she revealed, "We'd have our lines learned, then receive a rewrite, stay up all night learning the new version, then receive yet another rewrite the following morning. It made the acting damned near impossible." The experience was no better for Carroll Baker who had some physically punishing scenes. In the Herman biography, Charlton Heston said, "I had to fight with Carroll in one of my scenes. It's actually one of the best scenes I was in. I've got a grip on her wrists, and she's struggling to get out of it. Willy gave me secret instructions not to let go of her. He told Carroll, 'Break loose, so you can hit him.' Well, I've got a big enough hand I could have held both of her wrists in one. We must have done - I don't know - ten takes, easy, on this shot. She's got sensitive skin and she's getting welts. Between takes they were putting ice and chamois cloths on her wrists. She was weeping with frustration and anger and all kinds of things. Finally she tells Willy, 'Chuck won't let me go.' And he says to her, 'I don't want him to. I want you to get away by yourself.' Christ, I outweighed her by nearly a hundred pounds.” Of all the disputes and confrontations on the set, the most unfortunate one was a major altercation between Wyler and Peck. While they had numerous disagreements over certain aspects of the film (one concerned the use of ten thousand cattle for a scene), Our next screening… they had a final parting of the ways over a scene where Peck is apprehended by the Hannasseys and is forced to step down from the buckboard for punishment. Peck wanted to do a retake of the scene but Wyler refused. Peck felt so strongly about it that he walked off the set and had to be forced to return. By the time the picture was completed, they were no longer . One of the actors who didn't have a problem with Wyler was Burl Ives. He later said, "I found Willy delightful. I never got annoyed at him. I learned a helluva Oslo, August 31st lot from him. He was enigmatic sometimes, but that's what Opening our he did to make me figure things out." Ives would go on to Scandinavian season win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance on Tuesday 5 August 2014 at 7.15pm as Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country. It was a peak year for Ives since he was also getting rave notices for his Joachim Trier’s riveting, powerful and moving performance as Big Daddy in the film version of Tennessee drama follows a day in the life of Anders; a young, recovering drug addict on release from a Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The Big Country earned one rehabilitation centre. Nominated for an Un other Oscar nomination - the rousing score by Jerome Certain Regard Award at Cannes in 2011 and Moross - but lost to Dimitri Tiomkin's music for The Old winner of 4 Norwegian Amanda Awards in 2012. Man and the Sea. A final bit of trivia: The Big Country was said to be one of President Eisenhower's favorite films. As Inverness Film Fans (InFiFa) meet fortnightly at for William Wyler and Gregory Peck, they finally patched Eden Court Cinema for screenings and post-film up their relationship in 1960 when Peck congratulated discussions. For more information and to join Wyler on his Oscar for Ben-Hur (1959). When they us, free, go to: shook hands, Wyler reportedly said, "Thanks but I'm still www.invernessfilmfans.org not going to take the buckboard scene again." Peck would later pay tribute to Wyler at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for the director. www.facebook.com/infifa twitter.com/infifa