The Big Sky

The Big Sky is directed by Howard Hawks and adapted by Dudley Nichols from the novel of the same name written by A.B. Guthrie Jr. It stars Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt & Arthur Hunnicutt. Dimitri Tiomkin scores the music and Russell Harlan photographs on location at Grand Teton National Park & Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

1832 and Jim Deakins (Douglas) & Boone Caudill (Martin) meet by chance out in the wilderness. Quickly bonding they travel to St Louis together to seek out Boone's Uncle Zeb (Hunnicutt). After finding him via a bar room brawl, the two men agree to join Zeb in a venture up the Missouri river to trade fur with the unpredictable Blackfoot Indians; their insurance against attack by the Blackfoot coming courtesy of Teal Eye (Threatt), a beautiful Blackfoot princess kidnapped years previously and now being returned home. Along the way the party have to battle nature, the Indian factions and also the Missouri Company out to topple their enterprise for fear of losing their monopoly on trade. Perhaps worse still is that the new found friendship between Boone & Jim will be tested by their mutual attraction to Teal Eye?

Given the credentials that come with The Big Sky, it's a little surprising that it's not more well known. Hawks, Douglas and Tiomkin speak for themselves, while Guthrie wrote the script for Shane and Nichols wrote the screenplay for John Ford's 1939 pulse raiser, Stagecoach. Add in that Hunnicutt and Harlan were Academy Award nominated for Best Support Actor and Cinematography respectively, well you have a fine bunch of professionals involved with this movie. So why so ignored or forgotten? The starting point should be with Hawks himself, who openly had issues with the finished product. Originally the film was a huge 140 minutes long and was doing decent business at the box office. But the studio execs had it cut down to 122 minutes so as to fit one more screening in during the day. The film promptly flopped and was left for dead by director and studio. Hawks was also never fully behind Douglas in the role of Deakins, he had wanted Gary Cooper or John Wayne. It seems in the end that Hawks just walked away after release and lost faith in promoting it. Western fans were grateful that the experience didn't make him turn his back on the genre, tho, for he delivered Rio Bravo 7 years later.

Having not seen the full uncut version of the film, I personally have to say that the 122 minute version viewed was pretty uneven and lacking a certain narrative spark to make it fully work. It's even episodic for the most part. What isn't in doubt is that visually it's one of Hawks' most rewarding pictures, with Harlan's photography sumptuous and period perfecto. Douglas is spirited and plays the black humour within quite nicely, while Martin is good foil for Douglas' beaming machismo, even if he's just a little too animated at times. Threatt doesn't have to do anything other than smile and look pretty, while Hank Worden shows up to neatly play a buffoon Indian called Poordevil! Undoubtedly the star of the show is Hunnicutt (who also narrates), tucking into a boozy, grizzled, teller of tall tales character, Hunnicutt lifts the film on the frequent occasions it threatens to sag beyond repair.

With the visuals and enjoyable Hawksian take on "man love" the film is worth the time of any Western fan. While the efforts to resist racism are honourable and neatly played. But in the end Hawks' frustration is justified, for it feels like a patched together adventure piece. And certainly not one that makes you think it's directed by the man who made Red River. I wouldn't hesitate to watch the full 140 minute cut of the film, but until then it will be some time before I can see myself watching this version again. 6/10

Footnote: Some Region 2 DVD's exist of the full cut, where the cut scenes have been spliced back in from a 16mm print. I'm led to believe that the quality is far from great. For British readers, the 122 minute cut shows up once in a blue moon on TV, where the BBC have the rights so at least it is advertisement free. As yet there is still no Region 1 release for the film.

Everything in "The big sky" has the brand of greatness: story, direction, acting, script, photography, locations. Yet there's something more. Along the film, director Howard Hawks keeps touching profound strings of our souls. Indeed, we grown-up viewers are, more or less consciously, brought back to the dreams of our prime, which is always a source of sweet, though melancholic, bliss. Every young boy has dreamed a totally free life like that of the guys on the screen. Action and adventure, merged into a wild, glorious, almost impossibly beautiful nature. Having fun with our mates, and, when necessary, fighting against the bad ones. Contacting the cultures of far-away, fascinating populations. And, as the main benefit, loving a gorgeous Indian girl.

Follows an incomplete exposition of the other merits of "The big sky". The film is brilliantly made and interpreted. The actors are all outstanding. Arthur Hunnicutt dominates. Kirk Douglas' natural dynamic way is perfect for his role. Dewey Martin is excellent, as well. Special mentions to Elizabeth Threatt as Teal Eye and to Hank Worden as the funny but smart Poordevil. The black and white photography is magnificent. Indeed, only black and white seems capable to render the incredible bright of Threatt's eyes. And it fully respects and gives depth to the beauty of nature.

As usual in Howard Hawks' works, the movie is based on swift-pace-action amalgamated with the human interaction of the characters. Here we have a world with no established laws, out of those of nature. People survive if they recognize who is a friend and who is an enemy, independently on being white or native. The mixture of languages, English, French, Native, and related, often funny, translations, is a fine device to give realism to the script. The love story develops at the rhythm of nature, similarly to the endless journey of the keel-boat, and it's even touching at the ending. We also see that irrational hate is not just criminal nonsense, it's even ridiculous.

It seems that "The big sky" was considerably cut by the studios. In fact, some magnificent choral scenes appears to be too short. One instance for all: the paramount scene of the Blackfeet hauling the keel-boat on the river lasts just few seconds. To cut the film was certainly a very bad idea. Fortunately, "The big sky" remains a masterpiece, worth of Hawks' immense talent and genius. Well, it's enough clear that I like this movie. Indeed, I strongly believe that Howard Hawks was born to give us joy. "The big sky" is a major evidence in favor of my opinion.

This film is a true joy, and one of Hawks's greatest works, though it's often underrated. It has all the great Hawksian themes: adventure, feisty women and cool men who, no matter how cool they are, need the feisty women. It's also a great classic Western, with beautiful outdoor photography and a terribly poetic evocation of going down the Missourri (it's vaguely based on Lewis and Clark). It's leisurely and enthralling in the way only Ford and Hawks could do. While Arthur Hunnicut in no Walter Brennan, and Dewey Martin is cute rather than great, Kirk is superb as ever. Don't miss.

I liked this movie very much. Kirk ,Dewey and Hunnicutt, gave stellar performances.I could watch this over and over. I recommend it for all, who are interested in good films and great performances.

This feature is an exercise in pure filmic story-telling for Howard Hawks; and the talented veteran director appears to enjoys this unusual freedom from having to worry about indoor sets, intricate lighting setups and costume designs (although Dorthy Jeakins' costumes are wonderful). Here he gets to realize the best elements of A.B. Guthrie's tough novel of the early West, "The Big Sky". Bringing to life the major characters of this exciting adventure are Kirk Douglas as happy-go-lucky Jim Deakins, Dewey Martin, adequate as Boone Caudill, Arthur Hunnicut in award-winning form as Uncle Zeb, Jim Davis as Streak, Steven Geray lovable as Frenchie, owner of the riverboat, the Mandan, Hank Worden as Poor Devil, and Elizabeth Threatt as Teal Eye, the Amerind girl Geray is returning so they can open fur trade with the proud and wary Blackfleet chiefs. The film tends to be a bit leisurely in its development, but the action sequences are unusually exciting, and the characters are very believable at every moment. The cinematography by Russell Harlan and the music by Dimitri Tiomkin are very fine indeed. What propels the first portion of the film narrated Hunnicutt, is developing friendship between Jim Deakins and enigmatic runaway youth Boone; then they find Uncle Zeb in a St. Louis jail and are freed to join a dangerous very-early voyage up the Missouri River. The battle between their group and deadly agents of "The Company", led by Davis, are the major elements in the remainder of this often-rough, humorous and very moving story. It would be hard to credit Hawks enough for all the good things that happen in this film; he even finds a way to enliven the story by playing up the differences between Martin and Threatt one of h signature male-female disagreements. Douglas and the other two form an interesting love triangle; and the climax that requires Martin to decide whether he is going to turn down what Douglas would give anything he has to obtain is very satisfying to my way of thinking. This a film that is atmospheric, always interesting, and a first-rate look at the old West as it was before it was changed forever. The characters' comments on the ant-hill aspects of overcrowded St. Louis, the jumping-off-place to the west, population 12,000, tell us that we are in a different, simpler and cleaner era of civilization. This is one of the best films about the era of the fur trappers and their ways and trade ever produced in every way.