Most westerns I've seen were set in the years after the US civil war but this one is set several decades earlier when much of the west was part of the United States in name only with vast areas that had rarely if ever been visited by white men. One such area was the upper reaches of the Missouri river; a land inhabited by the Blackfoot Indians. This film tells the story of a group of independent fur traders who intend to travel to this area because of the potential for profit and because most of the closer territories are controlled by 'The Company'. The protagonists are Jim Deakins and Boone Caudill; two men who became friends on the way to St Louis and signed up for the job there along with Boone's uncle Zeb who they met in jail. Normally such a job would be impossible as they would not be welcome in Blackfoot territory but the boat's captain has an Indian woman named Teal Eye on board; the daughter of a chief, who had had been captured by another tribe. One the way up river they have many things to contend with including Company men, Crow Indians, nature and Teal Eye who wants to kill Boone because he has the scalp of the Blackfoot warrior he believes killed his brother.
I was a little surprised when the film started to see it was in black and white and 'narrow screen' I'd imagined with a title like 'The Big Sky' it would be in Technicolor and widescreen to show of those big skies to maximum effect. Given its age I shouldn't have been too surprised though and the film still looked good; in fact the black and white was an advantage for the many night scenes where colour often looks slightly unnatural. The actors did a fine job although looking at it with a modern eye it is a pity that the Indian characters weren't played by Native Americans. That said the politics seemed admirably liberal for a film of this time; the Indians weren't portrayed as savages and most of the furriers respected them and Boone's dislike was based on his brother's death and even that changes over time. Even the hostile Crow are only hostile because the Company has stirred them up. As well as their various adventures there is the inevitable romantic subplot; Deakin's clearly has feelings for Teal Eye but by the end she sees him as a brother and fancies Boone something that will test their friendship. If you like westerns don't be put off by the lack of colour; watch it and enjoy a fine story well acted.
I was a little surprised when the film started to see it was in black and white and 'narrow screen' I'd imagined with a title like 'The Big Sky' it would be in Technicolor and widescreen to show of those big skies to maximum effect. Given its age I shouldn't have been too surprised though and the film still looked good; in fact the black and white was an advantage for the many night scenes where colour often looks slightly unnatural. The actors did a fine job although looking at it with a modern eye it is a pity that the Indian characters weren't played by Native Americans. That said the politics seemed admirably liberal for a film of this time; the Indians weren't portrayed as savages and most of the furriers respected them and Boone's dislike was based on his brother's death and even that changes over time. Even the hostile Crow are only hostile because the Company has stirred them up. As well as their various adventures there is the inevitable romantic subplot; Deakin's clearly has feelings for Teal Eye but by the end she sees him as a brother and fancies Boone something that will test their friendship. If you like westerns don't be put off by the lack of colour; watch it and enjoy a fine story well acted.