Giant (1956)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Edna Ferber (novel)
Fred Guiol (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 November 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

From the novel by EDNA FERBER

Plot:

Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.

Plot Keywords:

Texan | Rancher | Epic | Cattle | Land

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Leslie Benedict
Rock Hudson	...	Jordan 'Bick' Benedict Jr.
James Dean	...	Jett Rink
Carroll Baker	...	Luz Benedict II
Jane Withers	...	Vashti Snythe
Chill Wills	...	Uncle Bawley
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Luz Benedict
Dennis Hopper	...	Jordan Benedict III
Sal Mineo	...	Angel Obregón II
Rod Taylor	...	Sir David Karfrey (as Rodney Taylor)
Judith Evelyn	...	Mrs. Nancy Lynnton
Earl Holliman	...	'Bob' Dace
Robert Nichols	...	Mort 'Pinky' Snythe
Paul Fix	...	Dr. Horace Lynnton
Alexander Scourby	...	Old Polo
Fran Bennett	...	Judy Benedict
Charles Watts	...	Judge Oliver Whiteside
Elsa Cárdenas	...	Juana Guerra Benedict (as Elsa Cardenas)
Carolyn Craig	...	Lacey Lynnton
Monte Hale	...	Bale Clinch
Sheb Wooley	...	Gabe Target
Mary Ann Edwards	...	Adarene Clinch
Victor Millan	...	Angel Obregón Sr.
Mickey Simpson	...	Sarge
Pilar Del Rey	...	Mrs. Obregón
Maurice Jara	...	Dr. Guerra
Noreen Nash	...	Lona Lane
Ray Whitley	...	Watts
Napoleon Whiting	...	Jefferson Swazey
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Adams	...	Jett Rink - Giving Banquet Speech (voice) (uncredited)
Perfideo Aguilar	...	Jordan Benedict IV - As an Infant (uncredited)
Elsa Aguirre	...	(uncredited)
Fernando Alvarado	...	Busboy (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Gov. North (uncredited)
Barbara Barrie	...	Mary Lou Decker (uncredited)
Ray Bennett	...	Dr. Borneholm (uncredited)
Dave Bishop	...	Jordan Benedict III - As an Infant (uncredited)
Richard Bishop	...	Jordan Benedict III - As an Infant (uncredited)
Claudia Bryar	...	Older Beauty Operator (uncredited)
John Caler	...	Driver (uncredited)
Georgann Cashen	...	Judy Benedict - As an Infant (uncredited)
Mary Ann Cashen	...	Judy Benedict - As an Infant (uncredited)
Pat Cortland	...	Vashti's Daughter (uncredited)
Colleen Crane	...	Judy Benedict II - As an Infant (uncredited)
Marlene Crane	...	Judy Benedict II - As an Infant (uncredited)
Dana Dillaway	...	Judy Benedict - Age 4 (uncredited)
Tex Driscoll	...	Clay Hodgins Sr. (uncredited)
George Dunn	...	Vern Decker (uncredited)
Pete Dunn	...	(uncredited)
Juney Ellis	...	Essie Lou Hodgins (uncredited)
Ella Ethridge	...	General's Wife (uncredited)
Vera Lee Friedman	...	Vashti's Daughter (uncredited)
John Garcia	...	Angel Obregón II - As an Infant (uncredited)
Maxine Gates	...	Waitress at Sarge's (uncredited)
Ethel Greenwood	...	Governor North's Wife (uncredited)
Bill Hale	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Marc Hamilton	...	Guard (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Governor's Ball Guest (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
David Jiminez	...	Angel Obregón - Age 5 (uncredited)
Steven Kay	...	Jordan Benedict III - Age 4 (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Governor's Ball Guest (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	General (uncredited)
Jill Lent	...	Luz Benedict II - Age 2 (uncredited)
Judy Lent	...	Luz Benedict II - Age 2 (uncredited)
Jack Lomas	...	Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)
Ana Maria Majalca	...	Petra (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard	...	Governor's Ball Guest (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Lupe (uncredited)
Charles Meredith	...	Minister (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Wedding Guest / Governor's Ball Guest on Dais (uncredited)
Tom Monroe	...	Guard at Governor's Ball (uncredited)
Carl Moore	...	Toastmaster (uncredited)
Tony Morella	...	Busboy (uncredited)
Ina Poindexter	...	Young Woman (uncredited)
Ramon Ramirez	...	Jordan Benedict IV - as an Infant (uncredited)
Martha Randall	...	Young Beauty Operator (uncredited)
Julian Rivero	...	Old man (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Square Dance Extra (uncredited)
Bob Shurley	...	Extra (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Wedding Guest / Governor's Ball Guest on Dais (uncredited)
Mitzi Sutherland	...	Vashti's Daughter (uncredited)
Slim Talbot	...	Clay Hodgins, Jr. (uncredited)
Guy Teague	...	Harper (uncredited)
Max Terhune	...	Dr. Walker (uncredited)
Wanda Lee Thompson	...	Judy Benedict II - Age 2 (uncredited)
Felipe Turich	...	Gómez (uncredited)
Natividad Vacío	...	Eusebio (uncredited)
Francisco Villalobos	...	Mexican Priest (uncredited)
Christine Werner	...	Luz Benedict II - As an Infant (uncredited)
Dan White	...	Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)
John Wiley	...	Assistant Manager (uncredited)
Rush Williams	...	Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
George Stevens

Writing credits
Edna Ferber		(novel)
Fred Guiol		(screenplay) and
Ivan Moffat		(screenplay)

Produced by
Henry Ginsberg	....	producer
George Stevens	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
William C. Mellor

Film Editing by
William Hornbeck

Production Design by
Boris Leven

Set Decoration by
Ralph S. Hurst		(as Ralph Hurst)

Costume Design by
Marjorie Best

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Tom Andre	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Guiol	....	second unit director
Russell Llewellyn	....	assistant director: second unit (as Russ Llewellyn)
Joseph E. Rickards	....	assistant director (as Joe Rickards)

Sound Department
Earl Crain Sr.	....	sound

Stunts
Eli Bo Jack Blackfeather	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Burke	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Melton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Edwin B. DuPar	....	photography: second unit (as Edwin DuPar)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Moss Mabry	....	costumes: Miss Taylor

Editorial Department
Philip W. Anderson	....	associate editor (as Phil Anderson)
Fred Bohanan	....	associate editor

Music Department
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Lucien Cailliet	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Manuel Emanuel	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Michael Heindorf	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Gus Levene	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Taylor	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Wally Cech	....	craft service (uncredited)
Narciso Gonzalez	....	horse wrangler (uncredited)
Bob Hinkle	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Ralph McCutcheon	....	horse trainer (uncredited)
George Stevens Jr.	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Giant Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Runtime:

201 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:T | Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #17675) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Giant Productions

Trivia:

In the 40s and 50s the usual policy for films where characters would start young and get older was to cast older actors and de-age them to show them as their younger selves. "Giant" took the then largely radical step of doing the opposite - casting younger actors and using make-up to make them appear older.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the confrontation between Bick and Jett in the hotel banquet hall stockroom, Bick throws a "basket" knocking over several storage shelves. The shelves start to fall before the basket actually makes contact.

Quotes:

Jett Rink: Everybody thought I had a duster. Y'all thought ol' Spindletop Burke and Burnett was all the oil there was, didn't ya? Well, I'm here to tell you that it ain't, boy! It's here, and there ain't a dang thing you gonna do about it! My well came in big, so big, Bick and there's more down there and there's bigger wells. I'm rich, Bick. I'm a rich 'un. I'm a rich boy. Me, I'm gonna have more money than you ever *thought* you could have -- you and all the rest of you stinkin' sons of ... Benedicts!

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Wedding March

Giant success

Based on a novel by Edna Ferber, Giant is an appropriately Texas-sized western/generational saga that parallels familial evolution with the changing socio-economic nature of the United States over an approximately 30-year period from the 1920s through the film's present, and by extension, a turn of the (20th) century mentality segueing into a more contemporary outlook. It is filled with excellent writing, fabulous direction and technical elements, outstanding performances, gorgeous photography, and plenty of depth via subtly implied philosophical ideas.

At its heart, Giant is the story of Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson), heir, along with his sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge) to a family cattle ranch that exceeds half a million acres. As the film opens, Bick has traveled to Maryland, ostensibly to purchase a horse from Dr. Horace Lynnton, who has a sizeable ranch of his own, but also perhaps to search for a wife. Whether the latter was his initial intention or not, he ends up finding a spouse in Dr. Lynnton's opinionated and somewhat irascible but beautiful daughter, Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). Bick moves Leslie from the rolling green pastures that she calls home to the huge, dusty plains of Reata, his Texas ranch.

In the process, she ends up turning his world upside down. Luz sees Leslie as a threat to their routine, an interpretation that Leslie doesn't exactly try to deny. Leslie integrates herself into the daily workings of Reata and initiates changes in the way Bick and Luz behave towards their mostly Mexican staff, among other things. Bick and Leslie have children, but they're not exactly keen on following the family tradition. Other challenges and perhaps the strongest cultural change in the film comes via Jett Rink (James Dean), who goes through a gradual transformation from his early status in the film as a dirt-poor, uneducated ranch hand.

At a three and a half-hour running time, and covering decades in the lives of many different characters, Giant is nothing if not sprawling. But this is the kind of sprawl that works. Unlike most sprawling films, the cast of characters in Giant actually turns out to be relatively small, we always have a clear idea of who each character is, and every event leads to the next in a very tightly-written, logical manner.

In fact, one of the more unusual but laudable aspects of Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat's script is the way that characters will mention something in an almost off-the-cuff manner before we immediately cut to the full realization of the previous comment. For example, Leslie and Bick are barely courting before we see them married. Other examples--Leslie goes from telling Bick that she's pregnant to having the baby in the next instant; Bick says that he's going to fly in a plane low over a particular hotel--just for dramatic effect with respect to a certain character--and in the next shot, this is just what he's doing. The first couple times this happens, it's almost a bit unnerving because of its uniqueness. We figure that the characters are in the middle of a dream sequence. But it quickly becomes apparent that the device is designed to enable large time span passages in an instant, and for the overall structure of the film, it works perfectly.

Given that structure, it was also unusual in this era to pick younger actors who would then have to be aged 30 years or so (the more standard procedure was to pick middle aged actors who could be made both younger and older through make-up and lighting). But Hudson, Taylor and Dean are perfect. Dean is especially impressive as he undergoes the most significant transformation. All three of his major films are almost heartbreaking to watch; he was an incredible talent but didn't have a chance to do much with it before he tragically passed away. But all three principal cast members are at the top of their game here; each is able to do a bit of scene stealing if they want. It creates a lot of energy throughout the film and enhances the occasional tensions in the script.

The smaller roles are perfectly filled as well. I was particularly amused with Dennis Hopper among the supporting cast. Hopper portrays Bick and Leslie's son, Jordan III. This was his first major role, and he meshes well, but at the same time, you can easily see the more infamous Hopper ala Easy Rider's (1969) Billy, Blue Velvet's (1986) Frank Booth, or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2's (1986) Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright.

The cinematography and production design are consistently beautiful. The stark Texas landscapes (filmed primarily in the town of Marfa) couldn't have more impact. The Benedict home is oddly Gothic and a bit eerie in its exterior (especially post-Psycho, 1960), and lushly gorgeous and Victorian inside. Later scenes give the interior a redecoration to match changing fashions.

Giant is extremely engaging in its soap-operatic family drama, but just as captivating for its subtle handling of important social themes. Leslie's respect for the Mexican ranch hands and servants parallels the slowly and occasionally painfully evolving public opinion about different ethnicities that is still developing. She also tries her best to usher in a bit of woman's liberation, open-mindedness in child rearing, and many other "progressive" attitudes. She's a symbol, in some ways, of Northeastern (U.S.) thinking filtering across the country in the early part of the 20th Century.

Giant is heavy on symbolism in many ways. Jett Rink's newfound fortune isn't just a personal transformation, but it symbolizes changing technology and the necessary adaptations to remain viable economically; it's a move away from a more agrarian existence. There is also pithy commentary on World War II--just look at who returns in one piece and who doesn't, and the different attitudes towards this.

It would probably take a book to just give an adequate analysis of this film. It goes without saying that you need to see Giant if you haven't already.