The Big Sky (1952)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay)
A.B. Guthrie Jr. (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

19 August 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

And now...for the first time...comes the towering story of the men who battered down the barriers to the untamed northwest and linked it with a great new Nation! (re-release poster)

Plot:

Jim Deakins is a frontiersman and Indian trader who is making a perilous journey with a group of other...

Plot Keywords:

River | Expedition | Missouri River | Fur Trader | Henchman

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Jim Deakins
Dewey Martin	...	Boone Caudill
Elizabeth Threatt	...	Teal Eye
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Zeb Calloway
Buddy Baer	...	Romaine
Steven Geray	...	'Frenchy' Jourdonnais (Riverboat Captain)
Henri Letondal	...	La Badie
Hank Worden	...	Poordevil
Jim Davis	...	Streak
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beulah Archuletta	...	Blackfoot Dancer (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Singer (uncredited)
Don Beddoe	...	Horse Trader (uncredited)
Eugene Borden	...	Tavern Proprietor (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Iron Eyes Cody	...	Blackfoot Subchief (uncredited)
Booth Colman	...	Pascal (uncredited)
Victor Cox	...	Fort Henchman Grabbing Poordevil (uncredited)
Mae Old Coyote	...	Indian Woman (uncredited)
Frank DeKova	...	Moleface (uncredited)
Abe Dinovitch	...	Singer (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Louis MacMasters (uncredited)
John George	...	Passerby (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Sam Eggelston (uncredited)
Barbara Hawks	...	Indian Woman (uncredited)
Jim Hayward	...	Trapper (uncredited)
Robert Hunter	...	Chouquette (uncredited)
Ray Hyke	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Anthony Joaquin	...	Trapper (uncredited)
Frank Lackteen	...	Indian (uncredited)
Nolan Leary	...	Storekeeper (uncredited)
Cactus Mack	...	Streak Henchman (uncredited)
Jay Novello	...	Trapper (uncredited)
Larry Randall	...	Boatman (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Friend (uncredited)
Sherman Sanders	...	Dance Caller (uncredited)
William Self	...	Boatman (uncredited)
Theodore Last Star	...	Chief Red Horse (uncredited)
Veola Vonn	...	Barmaid (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Eggelston Henchmen (uncredited)
George Wallace	...	Thug in General Store (uncredited)
Crane Whitley	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson	...	Henchman Longface (uncredited)
Louise Worden	...	Indian Villager (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Dudley Nichols		(screenplay)
A.B. Guthrie Jr.		(novel "The Big Sky")
Ray Buffum		adaptation (uncredited)
DeVallon Scott		adaptation (uncredited)

Produced by
Howard Hawks	....	producer
Edward Lasker	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Christian Nyby

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Perry Ferguson

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
William Stevens

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist (as Don Cash)
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Arthur Siteman	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director
Arthur Rosson	....	unit director

Sound Department
Phil Brigandi	....	sound
Walter Elliott	....	sound effects (as Walter G. Elliott)
Clem Portman	....	sound
John Speak	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald Steward	....	special effects

Stunts
Fred Graham	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Pittack	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Harvey Clermont	....	casting assistant

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	music coordinator
Gordon Clark	....	French lyrics by
Richard C. Harris	....	music editor (as Richard Harris)
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	music director
Lucien Cailliet	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Taylor	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Arnoldo Foà	....	voice dubbing: Kirk Douglas (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• Winchester Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (as R K O Radio Pictures, Inc.)
• RKO Radio Films A/S (1953) (Norway) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures Argentina (1953) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1953) (Australia) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1953) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (A/SIA) (1953) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Films (1953) (France) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures Near East (1953) (Egypt) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures[ph] (1953) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures de México (1953) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures Chilena (1953) (Chile) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Radio Pictures of Panama (1953) (Panama) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures del Peru (1953) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Radio Films Lda. (1953) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (UK) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1958) (USA) (TV)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS) (For Fox Hills Video)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• RKO Radio Films (1953) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sascha Filmverleih (1953) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1967) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• Pan Vision Oy (2001) (Finland) (VHS)
• Pan Vision Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1975) (1988) (2002) (2003) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior  grateful acknowledgment is made to, for their assistance in photographing the natural beauty of Grand Teton National Park (as The National Park Service United States Department of the Interior)

Also Known As:

"Howard Hawks' The Big Sky" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)
"Das Geheimnis der Indianerin" - Austria, West Germany
"Die Flußpiraten vom Missouri" - Austria, West Germany
"Bezkresne niebo" - Poland
"Céu Aberto" - Portugal
"Der weite Himmel" - Austria
"Flodöverfallet" - Sweden
"Határtalan horizont" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Het groot avontuur" - Belgium (Flemish title)
"I epelasis ton hilion keravnon" - Greece (reissue title)
"Il grande cielo" - Italy
"Korkean taivaan alla" - Finland
"La captive aux yeux clairs" - France
"La grande aventure" - Belgium (French title)
"Les hommes de l'ouest" - France
"Les hommes de l'ouest - La captive aux yeux clairs" - France (reissue title)
"Pelsjægerne" - Denmark
"Río de sangre" - Spain
"Riu de sang" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Stavroforoi tis Dyseos" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"The Big Sky - Der weite Himmel" - West Germany (restored version)
"The big Sky - Der weite Himmel" - West Germany (long title)
"Trapper am Missouri" - West Germany
"Under hög himmel" - Finland (Swedish title) (imdb display title)
"Veliko nebo" - Yugoslavia (Serbian title) (informal literal title)

Runtime:

140 min | 122 min (edited version) | West Germany:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:A (1953) | West Germany:6 (cinema rating: cut version) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #15447)

Filming Locations:

Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

During the shooting of "Red River" there was a proposed scene that Hawks vainly urged John Wayne to do. It involved his getting a finger mangled between a saddle horn and rope, resulting in Wakter Brennan's amputating it. Hawks reportedly replied, "if you're not good enough, we won't do it." According to Hawks biographer Todd McCarthy, he did it with Douglas in "The Big Sky" and it came off so funny that Wayne later declared to Hawks, "If you tell me a funeral is funny, I'll do a funeral."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Story takes place in 1832. Automobiles are visible during prologue.

Quotes:

Zeb Calloway:[narrating] Ain't it funny. Two men is friends. Then a girl comes along an... an pretty soon they ain't friends no more. And now with one of 'em walking out on what the other'n would give his right arm for, I kept wondering what they would do to settle it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

Soundtrack:

Brandy Leave Me Alone

`The land sure is big here, only the sky is bigger.'

The Big Sky is generally considered inferior and less important compared to Red River, the Western Howard Hawks directed in 1948 or four years before this one and which already has a status of a classic and Hawk's masterpiece. Howard Hawks himself wasn't pleased very much with the final result because he wanted John Wayne to play Kirk Douglas's role and mainly because the studio insisted on cutting out 20 minutes of the film to facilitate its distribution. In a conversation with Peter Bogdanovich Hawks later recalled that he had a difficulty recognizing his own film after seeing it in that `butchered' version.

But in my opinion The Big Sky stands on the level of Howard Hawk's best work remarkable for its visual beauty (though filming it in colour would definitely improve it), fine performances (Kirk Douglas is magnificent here and it's hard to imagine other actor playing this role), wonderful music from Dimitri Tiomkin and interesting story of, basically, friendship, that even might be called love, between the two main characters of Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) and Dewey Martin (Boone Caudill) but friendship on a background of a perilous and adventurous journey up the Missouri river to the Indian territory where no white man ever set his foot before, with a group of peculiar French adventurers and an Indian princess Teal Eye (Elizabeth Threatt) who steals their hearts and threatens their friendship.

A must see classic. 9/10