So Big! (1932)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

J. Grubb Alexander (adaptation)
Edna Ferber (novel)

Release Date:

30 April 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Selina lived well until her father Simeon died. Her aunts sold the estate and put her in a boarding school...

Plot Keywords:

Sculptor | Farmer | Teacher | Chicago Illinois | Child

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Selina Peake De Jong
George Brent	...	Roelf Pool
Dickie Moore	...	Dirk De Jong (younger)
Bette Davis	...	Miss Dallas O'Mara
Mae Madison	...	Julie Hempel
Hardie Albright	...	Dirk De Jong
Alan Hale	...	Klass Poole
Earle Foxe	...	Pervus De Jong
Robert Warwick	...	Simeon Peake, Gambler
Dorothy Peterson	...	Maartje Pool
Noel Francis	...	Mabel, a 'Fancy Woman'
Dick Winslow	...	Roelf, age 12
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Cheron	...	The General (scenes deleted)
Guy Kibbee	...	August Hemple (scenes deleted)
Martha Mattox	...	Maiden Aunt (scenes deleted)
Willard Robertson	...	The Doctor (scenes deleted)
Arthur Stone	...	Jan Steen (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Dirk De Jong: Must a man be an artist to interst you?
Miss Dallas O'Mara: Good Lord, no! I'll probably marry some horny-handed son of toil, and if I do, the horny hands'll win me. I like them with their scars on them. There's something about a man who has fought for it: the look in his eye, the feel of his hands. You haven't a mark on you...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Child Stars" (2006)

Soundtrack:

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Beautiful cabbages

Edna Ferber's novel of the same title has been brought to the screen in several remakes. This 1932 film, directed by William Wellman, is a curiosity piece in that two of the best screen actresses of their generation appear in the same cast. Although it's clear this was a Barbara Stanwyck vehicle, Bette Davis is seen in a small role.

"So Big", adapted for the screen by J. Grubb Alexander, in this version, is a rather intimate picture where some of the epic aspects of the novel doesn't come into play. It's basically a story of riches into rags back to riches, as Selina Peake, its heroine, sees her fortune change from the high times to almost poverty when her dear father is fatally shot.

Selina is clearly a survivor. She projects a larger than life shadow over everything in the story. Her arrival at High Prairie under conditions she has never seen, makes her stronger. Selina sees beauty in the land that is going to serve as her home. She is a clever woman who inspires others, especially young Roelf Pool, the young boy who seems to be doomed to stay in the land of his ancestors, to strive for greatness.

Barbara Stanwyck makes the most out of Selina. She gives a controlled performance in sharp contrast with other characters she played in the movies. Bette Davis and George Brent, only appears shortly in the film. Alan Hale, Dickie Moore and Hardin Albright are seen in smaller roles.

"So Big" shows a slice of life in America at the beginning of the last century, a world, that alas, is gone forever.