Teal Eyes-- What Kirk's fightin' fur
Added 2/5/2009
In Howard Hawks's THE BIG SKY, Kirk Douglas is a frontiersman who accompanies a group of fur traders up the Missouri River. At the end of their journey lies a large haul of valuable pelts. Along the way however the men encounter many hazards, not the least of which is a band of river pirates led by the ruthless Louis MacMasters (Frees) and his cohort, 'Streak' (Baer).
In 1832, Jim Deakins (Douglas) meets and becomes friends with Boone Claudel (Martin), who's on the run after being falsely accused of a crime. The two get into a bit of trouble and once they're released from jail Deakins and Claudel decide to go on the fur trading mission. The company sets out for Blackfoot territory along with tribal princess Teal Eyes (Threatt)-- her presence is supposed to assure everyone's safety according to the expedition's leader, riverboat captain 'Frenchy' Jourdonnais (Geray).
After surviving river rapids and Indian raids, the encamped traders are attacked by confederates of MacMasters and Teal Eyes is abducted. Next, their boat is set on fire; two of its saboteurs are captured and confess to the girl's whereabouts. Now that he knows who is holding the princess, Deakins has to find a way to free her.
As of 2/09, "The Big Sky" was not available on a Region 1 DVD.
Also recommended:
The next western Kirk Douglas headlined was King Vidor's MAN WITHOUT A STAR (1955) (VHS) (DVD--Chinese import)
Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.
(7.1) The Big Sky (1952) - Kirk Douglas/Dewey Martin/Elizabeth Threatt/Arthur Hunnicutt/Buddy Baer/Steven Geray/Hank Worden/Jim Davis (uncredited: Paul Frees/Frank DeKova/Iron Eyes Cody/Jay Novello)
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movie evaluation
Added 5/22/2008
To each his own. I like movies about early American life which makes an attempt to show life as it was then. The story is interesting but not overly believable concerning the Indian girl being the daughter of an Indian chief ... but you get the feel of life as it was then. We must remember, without some story of interest, who would buy the video. I had seen this on TCM and wanted my own copy to give to my grandchildren.
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Lewis and Kirk
Added 2/2/2006
I have been reading from Lewis and Clark's journal and I have been trying to stay with them day by day 200 years later. It has been an interesting experience and helps bring history to life. I reflected on the Corps of Discovery last night as I watched, for the first time, the movie "The Big Sky". I found myself seeing scenes that took me back to passages from the journals. An on-screen depiction, if you will, of what I had been visualizing in my mind. Now, for the record, I had been visualizing this in color and watched it in black and white but I came away from "The Big Sky" impressed that the writer and director had done more than the normal amount of homework in putting this story on film. The scenes of the men pulling the boat along more difficult channels, the hunters traveling on foot to find meat for the explorers, etc. were well done, I felt. I'm not going to praise "The Big Sky" as an incredible documentary because there is plenty of Hollywood in it. However, within the plot is a reasonably good look at early European-American explorers of the West.
The plot is simple enough, two backwoods Kentuckians set out to find the uncle of one of them. This leads them to St. Louis and then on to an independent fur trading company. There are rivalries and an Indian maiden romance to keep things on edge. However, even in Black and White, the scenery, at times, is the main star of the show. Much of the film was shot around the Grand Tetons back when tourism in that part of the country wasn't the overwhelming thing it is today. It's as good as an excuse as any to watch this movie. The acting is good with Kirk Douglas giving his usual solid preformance. The second and third bills were new to me but I was glad to see Arthur Hunnicut came away with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The movie is a bit long although, in all honesty, if they were to cut the movie back to two hours, they'd probably slice out my favorite parts.
Thanks to the vast amount of old movies available on Turner Classic Movies, I have been able to see a number of movies from the distant and not-so-distant past. Many of them I never heard of and am seeing for the first time. I noticed the other day that my 13 year old son was trying to find a DVD to buy. His problem, as he looked over the latest selections, was that he'd already seen them all at least 2-3 times. I told him that, if he'd just lose his prejudice against anything from an earlier generation, he'd discover an endless treasure chest of great movies to pick from. That's the way it's been for me since we got TCM on cable two years ago. "The Big Sky" is another good (not great but good) example of that.
4 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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An ok movie, but a terrible adaption
Added 9/24/2005
This Howard Hawks' movie was supposed to be the film version of one of the truly great novels about the American west, A.B. Guthrie's "The Big Sky." However, as an adaption of the novel, this movie cannot be described as anything but as a miserable failure- a convoluted mish-mash of the three of novel's four parts with a completely contrived happy ending. (In the novel- the fate of the "Mandan" is not pleasant and the friendship triangle between Boone, Jim, and Teal Eye ends in tragedy.) If you love the novel then you're bound to be sorely disappointed by this film.
However, taken on its own merits without reference to its source material the movie is fairly entertaining. With Howard Hawks behind the camera and Kirk Douglas and Arthur Hunnicutt in front of it, the movie cannot help but be anything else!
The movie starts in 1830 Kentucky with boisterous Jim Deakins (Douglas) befriending taciturn Boone Cardell (a wooden Dewey Martin). The two young men go to St. Louis where they meet with Cardell's Uncle Zeb Calloway, an experienced mountain man played by Hunnicutt. Uncle Zeb takes the two young men under his wing as hunters for a trading expedition heading up the Missouri River in order to open trade relations with the hostile Blackfeet. It's a dangerous gamble, but the expeditionary leader, a Frenchman, has an ace of up his sleeve- Teal Eye, the daughter of a Blackfoot chief, who could be the key to establishing friendly relations with the tribe. The movie details the ardous journey up the Missouri and all the adventure and danger that entails.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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A most excellent Western adventure
Added 8/15/2005
Kirk Douglas is Jim Deakins, a Kentucky backwoods type who is looking for something new to challenge him. Dewey Martin is Boone Cardell, a similar soul who is initially hostile to Deakins but they soon become inseparable friends. Their search for excitement inevitably leads them westward, where they find far more than they had bargained for. It's a great story, loaded with authentic touches that show how such men coped with the difficulties of this kind of life. Terrific movie, one of the NY Times' "1000 Best Films Ever Made."
Occasionally time forgets some movies. I don't fully understand why this is, but "The Big Sky" is a land that time forgot. Perhaps soon it will be newly remastered in a DVD version of the first quality; until then, this precious VHS copy will have to do. Finally restored to its full 140-minute length, the sound and picture quality change noticeably when the restoration of edited-for-TV footage is reinserted (the film was released for TV use in a 122-minute version). This is jarring but let us be thankful the footage has been recovered. This is usually not the case for films this old.
7 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Great, classic movie. A rare jewel.
Added 5/2/2003
The "Big Sky" is probably one of the best frontier movies ever made. Howard Hawks did a fantastic job of directing this one of a kind movie for it's time. The screenplay is brilliant and the folksy dialogue is pure "Hawks". You can see his brilliance in developing the relationship between characters. The casting is great, with Kirk Douglas and a great supporting cast. Arthur Hunnicutt is outstanding as the old frontiersman and received an Oscar nomination for his performance. This movie was also filmed on location on the Snake River, which was very rare in those days in Hollywood. The sets and scenery in this movie are real and authentic because they were filmed on location. This movie has been given high reviews by almost everyone and is considered to be a classic of it's time. I highly recommend it to everyone. It is one of those rare jewels that few people know about. This is a great film for those who love classic movie making from a great director. Curl up with a good blanket and some popcorn and gather the whole family around.
17 out of 19 people found this helpful.
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The Big Studio
Added 3/2/2003
That's what they might have called this film, directed by the great Howard Hawks, but a poor job nonetheless. There is scarcely a single believable scene, just contrived rivalries between trading scows and upset Injuns during a Missouri River run in the early 19th century. More than half the action takes place at night but apparently Hawks had a phobia about night-shooting outdoors, and the sets are lousy. If he had tried day-for-night it would have added to the realism and made a little better film.
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Kirk times three
Added 7/8/2007
The KIRK DOUGLAS TRIPLE FEATURE showcases three of the actor's earliest films.
In MY DEAR SECRETARY, Douglas seems so young he's almost unrecognizable. This screwball comedy has Kirk portraying a playboy-author who hires a gal straight out of a writing class to take shorthand for his next novel. A mutual attraction leads to marriage, and later, a rivalry. Keenan Wynn, as the zany next-door/live-in neighbor, steals the show.
THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS is the most famous movie in this small set. A classic film noir starring Barbara Stanwyck as a ruthless, domineering businesswoman with a deep, dark secret. Douglas, in one of his more complex roles, is her alcoholic D.A. husband.
THE BIG TREES is a tecnicolor feast about dishonest lumberman and all-around heel Douglas who cheats his workmen and alienates everyone closest to him. After relocating from Wisconsin to California, Kirk intends to rob land from a religious sect and cut down the ancient redwoods on it. Tragic events make him change his ways, and by story's end bad guy becomes hero.
(5.6) The Big Trees (1952) - Kirk Douglas/Eve Miller/Edgar Buchanan/Alan Hale Jr.
(5.8) My Dear Secretary (1949) - Laraine Day/Kirk Douglas/Keenan Wynn/Rudy Vallee
(7.5) The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - Barbara Stanwyck/Van Heflin/Lisabeth Scott/Kirk Douglas/Judith Anderson
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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