It's a Big Country

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It's a Big Country
It's a Big Country FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
Story by Dore Schary
(story for picture)
Produced by Robert Sisk
Starring
Narrated by Louis Calhern
(uncredited)
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's Inc.
Release date
  • November 20, 1951 (1951-11-20)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,013,000 [1] [2]
Box office$655,000 [1]

It's a Big Country: An American Anthology is a 1951 American anthology film consisting of eight segments by seven directors: Richard Thorpe, John Sturges, Charles Vidor, Don Weis, Clarence Brown, William A. Wellman and Don Hartman.

Contents

Plot

Episode 1: "Interruptions, Interruptions" (directed by Richard Thorpe)

A professor traveling on a train is asked by a talkative fellow passenger if he loves America. The professor asks, "Which America?" After listening to the professor explain the different aspects of the country, the passenger hears a woman comment on America and asks, "Lady, which America?"

Episode 2: "The Lady and the Census Taker" (directed by John Sturges)

Mrs. Brian Riordan, an elderly Irish immigrant living in Boston, is upset about not being counted in the 1950 census. She visits newspaper editor Callaghan and asks him to intervene on her behalf. He sends reporter Michael Fisher to interview her by pretending to be a census taker, but she recognizes Fisher from the newspaper office. Callaghan phones every government office, including to the White House. When a census taker arrives, Mrs. Riordan insists on seeing his identification.

Episode 3: "The Negro Story" (no director)

In the five-minute narrated documentary, there are clips of a black midshipman becoming an ensign upon graduating from Annapolis, black sailors, WACs and paratroopers are shown, followed by scenes in London of the first black general, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., and his son Benjamin O. Davis Jr. The newsreel footage then covers prominent black sports figures, entertainers and other public figures.

Episode 4: "Rosika the Rose" (directed by Charles Vidor)

Hungarian immigrant Stefan Szabo claims that Hungarians and Greeks have hated each other for thousands of years. His daughter Rosa secretly marries Icarus Xenophon, a Greek man. When Stefan learns the truth, Icarus offers him a consoling cup of coffee.

Episode 5: "Letter from Korea" (directed by Don Weis)

Maxie Klein, a young Jewish soldier who was wounded during the Korean War, is on his way home. He stops along the way to find the widowed mother of an Army buddy who was killed in action. Maxie reads her a letter that he received from her son, and she asks for his mother's address so that she can write her.

Episode 6: "Texas" (directed by Clarence Brow)

A tall Texan tries to separate fact from myth.

Episode 7: "Minister in Washington" (directed by William A. Wellman)

In 1944, Rev. Adam Burch's parishioners in Washington, D.C. include the president of the United States, for whom he tailors his erudite sermons. The church sexton warns him that he is failing by ministering only to one person. Rev. Burch delivers a sermon apologizing for his neglect and the president congratulates him.

Episode 8: "Four Eyes" (directed by Don Hartman)

Miss Coleman, a school teacher in San Francisco, discovers that her pupil Joey needs glasses. Joey's father, Mr. Esposito, believes that the glasses are not necessary and will only bring Joey ridicule from his peers. However, Mr. Esposito learns the danger of his attitude.

Cast

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "[I]t is not modest or subtle in the way it professes a passion and devotion for the good old U. S. A. No writer of institutional advertising or Chamber of Commerce ballyhoo could be more facile with the verbiage than was the writer of the narration of this film. Such blushless enthusiasm, flowing as it does from the unmistakable voice of Louis Calhern, has a disquieting way of sounding like a rocks-and-rills 'commercial.' This is the chief flaw in the film. And it is the more distressing because the several vignettes contained, each written, directed and acted by different sets of artists and stars, are generally pleasant little items, not great or profound in any way but amusing and tolerably reflective of human foibles and attitudes. ... If it weren't for the shallow chauvinism of the narration, this would be an easy film to watch and generally enjoy. It's a big country, all right." [3]

According to MGM records, the film earned $526,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $129,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss to the studio of $677,000. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, CA: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, OCLC   801258228 .
  2. ↑ Glenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008, p. 60 ISBN 978-0-299-22834-7
  3. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (January 9, 1952). "The Screen in Review". The New York Times . p. 25.
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