The Big Sky **** (1952, Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt, Arthur Hunnicutt, Buddy Baer, Steve Geray, Jim Davis) – Classic Movie Review 7315

The rousing 1952 Western film The Big Sky stars Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin as frontiersmen who sign up for trader Steve Geray’s fur-trapping trip along the Missouri in a keel boat.

Director Howard Hawks’s rousing 1952 black-and-white Western film The Big Sky stars Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin as frontiersmen Jim Deakins and Boone Caudill, who sign up for trader ‘Frenchy’ Jourdonnais (Steve Geray)’s fur-trapping trip along the Missouri in a keel boat in 1830, intending to establish a new trading post in friendly Blackfoot Native American country.

Hawks does a superior job on this very considerable epic wilderness adventure with an exciting, action-packed screenplay by Dudley Nichols, adapted from A B Guthrie Jr’s fine novel. It should certainly be considered among Hawks’s major achievements.

In the acting stakes, Douglas greatly impresses, though he does meet strong competition from Oscar-nominated Arthur Hunnicutt as Boone Caudill (Dewey Martin)’s old chatterbox of an uncle, Zeb Calloway.

It runs a massive 140 minutes but the cut version runs at 122 minutes.

It was Oscar nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Arthur Hunnicutt) and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Russell Harlan).

The Big Sky also features Elizabeth Threatt, Buddy Baer, Jim Davis, Hank Worden, Henri Letondal, Robert Hunter, Booth Colman, Paul Frees, Frank de Kova, Guy Wilkerson, Don Beddoe, George Wallace and Jay Novello.

The Big Sky is directed by Howard Hawks, runs 140 minutes, is made by Winchester, is released by RKO, is written by Dudley Nichols, based on A B Guthrie Jr’s novel, is shot in black and white by Russell Harlan, is produced by Howard Hawks, and is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin.

For the record, the films of Howard Hawks are: The Road to Glory (1926), Fig Leaves (1926), Cradle Snatchers (1927), Paid to Love (1927), A Girl in Every Port (1928), Fazil  (1928), The Air Circus (1928), Trent’s Last Case (1929), The Dawn Patrol (1930), The Criminal Code (1931), Scarface (1932), The Crowd Roars (1932), Tiger Shark (1932), Today We Live (1933), The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933), Viva Villa! (1934), Twentieth Century (1934), Barbary Coast (1935), Ceiling Zero (1936), The Road to Glory (1936), Come and Get It (1936), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Sergeant York (1941), Ball of Fire (1941), Air Force (1943), The Outlaw (1943) (uncredited), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Red River (1948), A Song Is Born (1948), I Was a Male War Bride (1949), The Big Sky (1951), Monkey Business (1952), O Henry’s Full House (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Land of the Pharaohs (1955), Rio Bravo (1959), Hatari! (1962), Man’s Favorite Sport? (1964), Red Line 7000 (1965), El Dorado (1966) and Rio Lobo (1970).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7315

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