Giant (1956)

Giant
Directed by George Stevens
Written by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffitt from the novel by Edna Ferber
1956/USA
Giant Productions/Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix
#325 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Leslie Benedict: Money isn’t everything, Jett.
Jett Rink: Not when you’ve got it.

George Stevens gives us an epic on a very human scale.

The story begins in Maryland where rancher Jordan ‘Bick’ Benedict, Jr. (Rock Hudson) has traveled to purchase a prize hunter.  He winds up leaving with both the horse and its rider, the beautiful and feisty Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor).  The enormously wealthy Bick takes them back to his massive cattle ranch in the dusty heartland of Texas.  Leslie is met by Bick’s sister Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), who expects to continue running the household.

Leslie has to adjust to a totally new set of expectations.  She never completely does so.  One thing that she can’t get used to is the way the Texans treat their Mexican and Mexican-American employees.

Leslie feels a closer kinship with fellow outsider Jett Rink (James Dean), an equally fierce Texan with dreams above his station.  For his part, Jett makes no secret of his attraction to Leslie.  When Luz dies she leaves Jett a parcel of land he refuses to part with at any price. After many setbacks, he hits oil, gets rich, and feels he can now lord it over the gentry.  He may have more money but that is definitely not enough to ingratiate him with the Benedicts and their ilk.

The saga encompasses 25 years in the lives of these people, including ups and downs in the Benedicts marriage and two generations of their descendents.  With Dennis Hopper as the Benedicts’ son; Carol Baker as their wild daughter; Sal Mineo as the son of the Mexican foreman; Jane Withers as a neighbor and Chill Wills as a friend of the family.

I liked this much better than I expected to.  I was especially impressed with Elizabeth Taylor and with the proto-feminist message of the film.  Hudson is solid.  I thought Dean was somewhat miscast. He has the outcast role nailed but not so much the two-fisted tycoon.   I think I’ve missed out completely on seeing Carol Baker before this.  The seduction scene with fellow Actor’s Studio alumnus Dean is wonderful.  She is really a force of nature and I’m looking forward to Baby Doll now.   The time passed easily.

George Stevens won the Academy Award for Best Director.  Giant was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Actor (Dean); Best Actor (Hudson); Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes McCambridge); Best Writing, Best Screenplay – Adapted; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Film Editing; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

Trailer