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So Big

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
877
YOUR RATING
Sterling Hayden and Jane Wyman in So Big (1953)
In the late 1890s, a young widowed woman becomes a successful farmer and can send her son, nicknamed 'So Big', to college. After graduating, he finds a job as an architect, but forgoes his dream in favor of an immediate financial success.
Play trailer2:40
1 Video
16 Photos
DramaRomanceWestern

In the late 1890s, a young widow becomes a successful farmer and can send her son, nicknamed 'So Big', to college. After graduating, he finds a job as an architect, but forgoes his dream in ... Read allIn the late 1890s, a young widow becomes a successful farmer and can send her son, nicknamed 'So Big', to college. After graduating, he finds a job as an architect, but forgoes his dream in favor of an immediate financial success.In the late 1890s, a young widow becomes a successful farmer and can send her son, nicknamed 'So Big', to college. After graduating, he finds a job as an architect, but forgoes his dream in favor of an immediate financial success.

  • Director
    • Robert Wise
  • Writers
    • Edna Ferber
    • John Twist
  • Stars
    • Jane Wyman
    • Sterling Hayden
    • Nancy Olson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    877
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Wise
    • Writers
      • Edna Ferber
      • John Twist
    • Stars
      • Jane Wyman
      • Sterling Hayden
      • Nancy Olson
    • 12User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:40
    Trailer

    Photos16

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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Jane Wyman
    Jane Wyman
    • Selina De Jong
    Sterling Hayden
    Sterling Hayden
    • Pervus De Jong
    Nancy Olson
    Nancy Olson
    • Dallas O'Mara
    Steve Forrest
    Steve Forrest
    • Dirk De Jong
    Elisabeth Fraser
    Elisabeth Fraser
    • Julie Hempel
    Martha Hyer
    Martha Hyer
    • Paula Hempel
    Walter Coy
    Walter Coy
    • Roelf Pool
    Richard Beymer
    Richard Beymer
    • Roelf, Age 12-16
    Tommy Rettig
    Tommy Rettig
    • Dirk, Age 8
    Roland Winters
    Roland Winters
    • Klaas Pool
    Jacques Aubuchon
    Jacques Aubuchon
    • August Hempel
    Ruth Swanson
    • Maartje Pool
    Dorothy Christy
    Dorothy Christy
    • Widow Paarlenberg
    Oliver Blake
    Oliver Blake
    • Adam Ooms
    Lillian Kemble-Cooper
    Lillian Kemble-Cooper
    • Miss Fister
    • (as Lily Kemble Cooper)
    Abdullah Abbas
    • Hawker
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Aldrich
    Fred Aldrich
    • Moving Man
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Alexander
    Richard Alexander
    • Bidder
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Wise
    • Writers
      • Edna Ferber
      • John Twist
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    6.7877
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    Featured reviews

    7mls4182

    Jane Wyman, the original independent woman

    Jane Wyman has made every type of film there is. She had been miscast in comedic and romantic roles. She is best as the independent woman, struggling and succeeding on her own. She gives a great performance in this film.

    The beginning is awkward, since it starts with a romance with Sterling Hayden. Their scenes are awkward, and not because of the disturbing mental pictures you get because of her 5'2" height to his 6'4" frame. Neither is suited fir romantic scenes,

    The middle is all about Jane's character is the best.

    The last third of the film just falls apart. The focus switches to the son, who has changed from the sweet boy to an ambitious man.

    It is still worth watching.
    10ralphsampson

    Hollywood at its best

    Remarkable soaper gets bravura lead performance by Jane Wyman. The scenes in New Holland are excellent with young Richard Beymer a standout as a student who has a crush on Wyman. Steve Forrest is excellent as Wyman's son. Martha Hyer is a bit out of her league as the would-be vamp seeking to lead Forrest astray. But, why quibble? The production values are first-rate, the writing is excellent, and the score is magnificent.
    6SnoopyStyle

    Jane is the Big One

    Selina (Jane Wyman) is a happy student in a pricey girls' boarding school. Her world is turned upside down when her father dies leaving her alone and broke. She is reluctant to accept any help. She becomes a teacher in small rural town. She nurtures student Roelf, and he develops a crush on her. She marries farmer Pervus De Jong (Sterling Hayden) and they have a son, Dirk nickname So Big.

    There is a bit of sentimental hokum and melodrama in this film. It's calling back to an olden times and olden ways. It's trying very hard to push the ideals of substance over money. Through it all, Jane Wyman maintains its sincerity. When she leaves the screen, the movie struggles. She is the biggest One of them all. This movie wants to be an old time character epic and I want it for Jane. She pulls it through the finish line. Her reunion with Roelf is ten times more compelling than all of Dirk's drama.
    8aromatic-2

    Vintage Wyman in a four-hankie tear-jerker

    If you like terrific acting, triumphs over adversity, laced with plenty of life's heartbreaks, So Big is what Hollywood does best for you. Contrived? A bit. Overly Theatrical? guilty as charged. Gripping melodrama from beginning to end? You bet. It's all relationship-driven so men who disdain "chick-flicks" should leave this one alone. All others should find it as wonderful as I do.
    10christian7

    Values

    I enjoyed the movie, not just because of the cast, but because of the faithfulness to detail, r/t the actual book, "So Big" by Ferber. It shows the values of responsibility not just to our work, but to people, and to the beauty that is all around us, if we would just open our eyes and see it.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. in The Searchers (1956)
    Western

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Author Edna Ferber based the character of the Widow Paarlenburg on the real life Antje Paarlberg. The Paarlberg house and farm is now the Paarlberg Historical Farm and Museum in South Holland, Illinois, a suburb near the southern border of Chicago.
    • Goofs
      The math problems on Salina's chalkboard would be tricky even for modern high school students, much less unschooled children in a Dutch farming community in the 1890s.
    • Quotes

      Dallas O'Mara: What I don't have, Dirk, I don't need.

    • Connections
      Referenced in They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968)

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    FAQ16

    • How long is So Big?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 31, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Ein Herz aus Gold
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 41m(101 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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