User Reviews

This feature is an exercise in pure filmic story-telling for Howard Hawks; and the talented veteran director appears to enjoys this unusual freedom from having to worry about indoor sets, intricate lighting setups and costume designs (although Dorthy Jeakins' costumes are wonderful). Here he gets to realize the best elements of A.B. Guthrie's tough novel of the early West, "The Big Sky". Bringing to life the major characters of this exciting adventure are Kirk Douglas as happy-go-lucky Jim Deakins, Dewey Martin, adequate as Boone Caudill, Arthur Hunnicut in award-winning form as Uncle Zeb, Jim Davis as Streak, Steven Geray lovable as Frenchie, owner of the riverboat, the Mandan, Hank Worden as Poor Devil, and Elizabeth Threatt as Teal Eye, the Amerind girl Geray is returning so they can open fur trade with the proud and wary Blackfleet chiefs. The film tends to be a bit leisurely in its development, but the action sequences are unusually exciting, and the characters are very believable at every moment. The cinematography by Russell Harlan and the music by Dimitri Tiomkin are very fine indeed. What propels the first portion of the film narrated Hunnicutt, is developing friendship between Jim Deakins and enigmatic runaway youth Boone; then they find Uncle Zeb in a St. Louis jail and are freed to join a dangerous very-early voyage up the Missouri River. The battle between their group and deadly agents of "The Company", led by Davis, are the major elements in the remainder of this often-rough, humorous and very moving story. It would be hard to credit Hawks enough for all the good things that happen in this film; he even finds a way to enliven the story by playing up the differences between Martin and Threatt one of h signature male-female disagreements. Douglas and the other two form an interesting love triangle; and the climax that requires Martin to decide whether he is going to turn down what Douglas would give anything he has to obtain is very satisfying to my way of thinking. This a film that is atmospheric, always interesting, and a first-rate look at the old West as it was before it was changed forever. The characters' comments on the ant-hill aspects of overcrowded St. Louis, the jumping-off-place to the west, population 12,000, tell us that we are in a different, simpler and cleaner era of civilization. This is one of the best films about the era of the fur trappers and their ways and trade ever produced in every way.

The Big Sky is directed by Howard Hawks and adapted by Dudley Nichols from the novel of the same name written by A.B. Guthrie Jr. It stars Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt & Arthur Hunnicutt. Dimitri Tiomkin scores the music and Russell Harlan photographs on location at Grand Teton National Park & Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

1832 and Jim Deakins (Douglas) & Boone Caudill (Martin) meet by chance out in the wilderness. Quickly bonding they travel to St Louis together to seek out Boone's Uncle Zeb (Hunnicutt). After finding him via a bar room brawl, the two men agree to join Zeb in a venture up the Missouri river to trade fur with the unpredictable Blackfoot Indians; their insurance against attack by the Blackfoot coming courtesy of Teal Eye (Threatt), a beautiful Blackfoot princess kidnapped years previously and now being returned home. Along the way the party have to battle nature, the Indian factions and also the Missouri Company out to topple their enterprise for fear of losing their monopoly on trade. Perhaps worse still is that the new found friendship between Boone & Jim will be tested by their mutual attraction to Teal Eye?

Given the credentials that come with The Big Sky, it's a little surprising that it's not more well known. Hawks, Douglas and Tiomkin speak for themselves, while Guthrie wrote the script for Shane and Nichols wrote the screenplay for John Ford's 1939 pulse raiser, Stagecoach. Add in that Hunnicutt and Harlan were Academy Award nominated for Best Support Actor and Cinematography respectively, well you have a fine bunch of professionals involved with this movie. So why so ignored or forgotten? The starting point should be with Hawks himself, who openly had issues with the finished product. Originally the film was a huge 140 minutes long and was doing decent business at the box office. But the studio execs had it cut down to 122 minutes so as to fit one more screening in during the day. The film promptly flopped and was left for dead by director and studio. Hawks was also never fully behind Douglas in the role of Deakins, he had wanted Gary Cooper or John Wayne. It seems in the end that Hawks just walked away after release and lost faith in promoting it. Western fans were grateful that the experience didn't make him turn his back on the genre, tho, for he delivered Rio Bravo 7 years later.

Having not seen the full uncut version of the film, I personally have to say that the 122 minute version viewed was pretty uneven and lacking a certain narrative spark to make it fully work. It's even episodic for the most part. What isn't in doubt is that visually it's one of Hawks' most rewarding pictures, with Harlan's photography sumptuous and period perfecto. Douglas is spirited and plays the black humour within quite nicely, while Martin is good foil for Douglas' beaming machismo, even if he's just a little too animated at times. Threatt doesn't have to do anything other than smile and look pretty, while Hank Worden shows up to neatly play a buffoon Indian called Poordevil! Undoubtedly the star of the show is Hunnicutt (who also narrates), tucking into a boozy, grizzled, teller of tall tales character, Hunnicutt lifts the film on the frequent occasions it threatens to sag beyond repair.

With the visuals and enjoyable Hawksian take on "man love" the film is worth the time of any Western fan. While the efforts to resist racism are honourable and neatly played. But in the end Hawks' frustration is justified, for it feels like a patched together adventure piece. And certainly not one that makes you think it's directed by the man who made Red River. I wouldn't hesitate to watch the full 140 minute cut of the film, but until then it will be some time before I can see myself watching this version again. 6/10

Footnote: Some Region 2 DVD's exist of the full cut, where the cut scenes have been spliced back in from a 16mm print. I'm led to believe that the quality is far from great. For British readers, the 122 minute cut shows up once in a blue moon on TV, where the BBC have the rights so at least it is advertisement free. As yet there is still no Region 1 release for the film.

This film is EXCELLENT and is filled with many vivid scenes of the Jackson Hole Valley country. Being shot along the Snake River and within easy sight of the Teton Mountain range it gives an amazingly accurate account of what early Keel Boat travel might have been like along the Missouri River and other Western tributaries. Kirk Douglas (Jim Deakins) is superb as he portrays one of three game hunters, along with Dewey Martin (Boone), and the comic backwoods relief of Arthur Hunicutt (Uncle Zeb). Mr. Hunicutt steals the show with his Southern drawl and folksy way cultivating a feeling for the viewer as being one of the "crew". The use of actual French actors & accents adds to the believable setting of the early 1800s environ and customs of the trappers and mountain men who blazed the trails into the West and survived through trade and co-operation with the Indian tribes who populated it. From using trees along the bank to catapult game down to the Keel boat, to the unforgettable scene where "medical" aid is rendered to Kirk.

Well worth your time and any children should be shown it as well because they'll remember it throughout their lives. I certainly have!

"The Big Trees" is a rather unusual film in that it talks about a period in American history that you rarely see in films--the American West BEFORE the time of the cowboys. And, in this case, the west isn't really all that far west. It's set around 1830 in the Missouri River region--what's now known as the American Midwest.

The story begins in Kentucky. Two adventurers (Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin) meet in an EXTREMELY unbelievable and contrived manner. They don't even know each other and start punchin' each other. In fact, although it's a good film, this is a big weakness in the movie--they seem to have too many fistfights and this is a rather limp way to inject comedy into the movie. However, as a result of one of these scraps, the two find Martin's uncle (Arthur Hunnicutt) and the uncle convinces them to join him in a rather dangerous journey into Blackfoot territory in order to trade for furs. Two problems stand in their way--the local trading company that wants a monopoly on furs and hostile tribes, such as the Sioux (who were in real life a fierce and rather warlike tribe). What's next? See the film.

In many ways, this film reminds me of a slightly better film, Clark Gable's "Across the Wide Missouri". I say slightly better because the film's vivid color really made it much more attractive than the black & white in "The Big Sky". Additionally, the Gable film was much less lighthearted and seemed a lot more realistic. However, both are still well worth seeing--particularly because they give a much more realistic view of the West than you find in about 90% of Hollywood's films. Well worth seeing.

By the way, Hunnicutt received a Best Supporting Actor nomination and it was well deserved. He was, to me, the best actor in the film and had a nice opportunity to show more than his usual roles.

If ever a sprawling tale about an expedition up the Missouri river to trade furs begged for Technicolor photography, THE BIG SKY is it. Based on the novel by A.B. Guthrie, it has KIRK DOUGLAS in the lead as the head of the expedition but most of the footage belongs to young DEWEY MARTIN in his first big screen role. Why he never managed to become a more important player in Hollywood remains a mystery to me.

Unfortunately, Dudley Nichols' screenplay is rather episodic and there are many points toward the end of the film where it seems the story is about to end and then there are further scenes. I found none of the narration objectionable (as others here seem to imply), but the structure of the screenplay is awkwardly handled, especially toward the latter part of the film.

Another minus point, the night scenes in the woods look as though they were photographed in a studio and not on location which minimizes the sense of danger from Indians and other trappers that the story requires. But most of the exterior daylight scenes are photographed in crisp B&W photography in real outdoor settings which tend to jar against the studio-lit scenes, making them more noticeable.

There's plenty of male camaraderie and friendship among the trappers and colorful incidents involving the Indians, so if this kind of western is your thing you'll undoubtedly find it interesting. I watched the 140 minute version on TCM and it was slow going at times.

Summing up: Biggest drawback: should definitely have been filmed in breathtaking Technicolor.

It's 1832. Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) is a self-reliant man in Kentucky. Boone Caudill (Dewey Martin) becomes a fast drinking buddy and they're arrested for a bar fight. They find Boone's uncle Zeb as their new cellmate. They join Zeb and Frenchy who is leading an expedition of some thirty fur trappers and one woman, Teal Eye. She's one of the Blackfoot chief's daughter who escaped from an enemy tribe. They go up the Missouri to the Yellowstone River seeking trade with the Blackfoot nation.

This was nominated for Best Cinematography. I was expecting grand vista through the entire movie. I'm a bit disappointed that the vast majority is obviously filmed in a large interior set. It's standard practice but I was hoping for something akin to The Searchers (1956). My expectations were too high. The other issue is that there are too many characters. Fewer people on the boat would achieve better characterization. It's a fine action adventure but it's more a series of adventures. Overall, it's less than I expected but I may have expected too much.

"The Big Sky" is one of the most unique and entertaining adventure films ever made. Set in the American frontier of the early 1800s, it's the story of an ambitious party who pole their keel boat up the Missouri River into new territories, far beyond where other white men have ventured, to trade for furs with the Blackfeet Indians.

"The Big Sky" was filmed on location, and this alone makes the film worth watching, for the splenor of the Snake River and Grand Tetons, where the film was actually shot, is breathtaking.

But "The Big Sky" has other virtues which raise it far above the average "scenic". First, is the multi-layered plot. Besides the story of an enterprise, "The Big Sky" is about how men, in a time long past, interacted, when their differences were subordinated to a higher purpose. Second, is director Howard Hawks, whose trademark "naturalistic dialogue" technique is put to wonderful use here. Hawks works on complex relationships - male and female, "Frenchie" and Anglo backwoodsmen, Native Americans and whites - like a conductor a symphony. Third, and perhaps most touching, is the tale of male bonding not only among the group of men, but one-on-one between Jim Deakins, played by Kirk Douglas, and Boone, his young sidekick, played by Hawks protegé Dewey Martin. There's a nice, touching story toward the end.

This is a shamefully underrated film. Superb cinematography (Oscar nominated), rich plot, flawless casting (Arthur Hunnicutt nominated for Best Supporting Oscar), masterful direction, make "The Big Sky" a true classic.

This western features lovely scenery (alas, in black and white), a fairly good chase story, impressive music, and some excellent props and sets. On the other hand, some of the dialog is ludicrous, the ending is predictable, and at times the acting is ridiculously bad. Smirking Kirk Douglas and ever smooth-shaved Dewey Martin, with his impeccable conk and very tight leather pants, are not at all convincing as rough and tough frontiersmen. The female parts, like the Indian and black roles, are stereotypical and far from politically correct. The movie is very long (141 minutes), but the action and suspense generally hold one's interest.

The Big Sky is generally considered inferior and less important compared to Red River, the Western Howard Hawks directed in 1948 or four years before this one and which already has a status of a classic and Hawk's masterpiece. Howard Hawks himself wasn't pleased very much with the final result because he wanted John Wayne to play Kirk Douglas's role and mainly because the studio insisted on cutting out 20 minutes of the film to facilitate its distribution. In a conversation with Peter Bogdanovich Hawks later recalled that he had a difficulty recognizing his own film after seeing it in that `butchered' version.

But in my opinion The Big Sky stands on the level of Howard Hawk's best work remarkable for its visual beauty (though filming it in colour would definitely improve it), fine performances (Kirk Douglas is magnificent here and it's hard to imagine other actor playing this role), wonderful music from Dimitri Tiomkin and interesting story of, basically, friendship, that even might be called love, between the two main characters of Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) and Dewey Martin (Boone Caudill) but friendship on a background of a perilous and adventurous journey up the Missouri river to the Indian territory where no white man ever set his foot before, with a group of peculiar French adventurers and an Indian princess Teal Eye (Elizabeth Threatt) who steals their hearts and threatens their friendship.

A must see classic. 9/10

This is a fascinating piece. Directed by Howard Hawks in the year after THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, THE BIG SKY postulates a highly liberal message about the possibilities of communication between Euro-Americans and Native Indians. Jim Deakins (Kirk Douglas) and sidekick Boone Caudill (Dewey Martin) join a group of fur-traders embarking on a perilous journey into America's wild interior. Despite their obvious resourcefulness, they find that they cannot do without the help of Native Indian girl Teal Eye (Elizabeth Threatt) and her ally Poordevil (Hank Woorden). The film outlines their various adventures, culminating in a climax that shows the two groups coming together - perhaps permanently. There are several familiar sequences showing the Euro-Americans repelling danger, as well as coping with potential threats within their own community (not everyone is as trustworthy as Douglas), but eventually the community emerges from the experience with a new sense of strength as well as a deeper sense of the lives of Others. There are certain scenes where the Native Indians are represented as savages - notably one sequence involving drums with strong visual links to Val Lewton's I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) - but Hawks tries his best to adopt an even-handed approach. Although the Native Indians are played by white actors, they are favorably portrayed: if people try to understand one another better, then perhaps they might get along.

Everything in "The big sky" has the brand of greatness: story, direction, acting, script, photography, locations. Yet there's something more. Along the film, director Howard Hawks keeps touching profound strings of our souls. Indeed, we grown-up viewers are, more or less consciously, brought back to the dreams of our prime, which is always a source of sweet, though melancholic, bliss. Every young boy has dreamed a totally free life like that of the guys on the screen. Action and adventure, merged into a wild, glorious, almost impossibly beautiful nature. Having fun with our mates, and, when necessary, fighting against the bad ones. Contacting the cultures of far-away, fascinating populations. And, as the main benefit, loving a gorgeous Indian girl.

Follows an incomplete exposition of the other merits of "The big sky". The film is brilliantly made and interpreted. The actors are all outstanding. Arthur Hunnicutt dominates. Kirk Douglas' natural dynamic way is perfect for his role. Dewey Martin is excellent, as well. Special mentions to Elizabeth Threatt as Teal Eye and to Hank Worden as the funny but smart Poordevil. The black and white photography is magnificent. Indeed, only black and white seems capable to render the incredible bright of Threatt's eyes. And it fully respects and gives depth to the beauty of nature.

As usual in Howard Hawks' works, the movie is based on swift-pace-action amalgamated with the human interaction of the characters. Here we have a world with no established laws, out of those of nature. People survive if they recognize who is a friend and who is an enemy, independently on being white or native. The mixture of languages, English, French, Native, and related, often funny, translations, is a fine device to give realism to the script. The love story develops at the rhythm of nature, similarly to the endless journey of the keel-boat, and it's even touching at the ending. We also see that irrational hate is not just criminal nonsense, it's even ridiculous.

It seems that "The big sky" was considerably cut by the studios. In fact, some magnificent choral scenes appears to be too short. One instance for all: the paramount scene of the Blackfeet hauling the keel-boat on the river lasts just few seconds. To cut the film was certainly a very bad idea. Fortunately, "The big sky" remains a masterpiece, worth of Hawks' immense talent and genius. Well, it's enough clear that I like this movie. Indeed, I strongly believe that Howard Hawks was born to give us joy. "The big sky" is a major evidence in favor of my opinion.

This film is a true joy, and one of Hawks's greatest works, though it's often underrated. It has all the great Hawksian themes: adventure, feisty women and cool men who, no matter how cool they are, need the feisty women. It's also a great classic Western, with beautiful outdoor photography and a terribly poetic evocation of going down the Missourri (it's vaguely based on Lewis and Clark). It's leisurely and enthralling in the way only Ford and Hawks could do. While Arthur Hunnicut in no Walter Brennan, and Dewey Martin is cute rather than great, Kirk is superb as ever. Don't miss.

I enjoyed this movie. I would rate it a 7.5 if the rating scale allowed. Director Howard Hawks has quite a varied filmography: comedies like Bringing up baby, westerns like Rio Bravo, noirs like the Big Sleep. And add adventures like this one to his credit. I wish it was done in color! It would have been fitting for it's beautiful setting. I know many of the scenes were shot on a sound stage but the panoramic scenery shots would have sparkled in color.

Kirk Douglas rarely gave a bad performance and this is no exception. It might not be Oscar worthy but he is convincing with his natural virility and famous on screen magnetism. His sidekick Arthur Hunnicut adds his endearing quality to the film as he usually does. It's also fun to see Jim Davis before his Dallas days as well as Dewey Martin (The thing from another world, The longest day) and Paul Frees (countless movie voice overs).

Although not my favorite adventure film, the story is believable and without any serious gaps. It's simple but includes some humor and added character development. Just a bit on the long side, it's a pleasant 140 minute diversion.

This is the boys' adventure novel version of Red River, the story of a dangerous trek on a mission into the wilds that no one has done before but lacking a lot of the drama and focus of the earlier film. It also seems to have one too many main characters, diverting attention in weird directions here and there when it shouldn't have. It's a fine little adventure, but it just doesn't quite come together enough.

Kirk Douglas is Jim Deakins and Dewey Martin is Boone Caudill, two wanderers who come together and form a friendship. They travel to St. Louis to meet up with Boone's uncle, Zeb Calloway (Arthur Hunnicutt). Zeb has a business partner, the very French Frenchy (Steven Geray), and they have a plan to go further along the Missouri River than any other white man has to trade for furs from the Blackfoot tribe. Not even the dominant fur trading company has managed to get that far, unable to find a way to ingratiate themselves with the Blackfoot enough to even initiate trade. Zeb and Frenchy have a secret weapon, though, they've found a Blackfoot princess who had been separated from her tribe for a few years. They'll return her in the hope that the magnanimous move will allow them to trade. They build a crew, including Jim and Boone, of course, and head westward on the river.

One of my central problems steadily arose as they started the journey. Zeb and Jim seem to be two manifestations of the same stock character in slightly different form. They perform a lot of the same basic narrative functions, and this ends up creating three main characters (Boone being the third) where there should probably only be two. They're both the older, more experienced man on the trip, offering a more guiding hand to Boone. It's true that Zeb has the experience on the river that Jim doesn't, but that's kind of why I feel like it was one character split in two. This was adapted from a novel by A. B. Guthrie Jr., so I imagine that this is how it was in the novel. It might have worked in the novel, too, but I feel like combining these two into one might have been a better approach for a cinematic creation. It's not just that they feel redundant, it's that they occupy screen time drawing them fairly specifically that should have probably been spent on Boone. As it currently is, I see three main characters, but I think that there really should have been one, Boone.

Boone's an interesting character on his own. He's going out west to find his uncle to make some kind of living, and he is the one to get romantically involved with the Blackfoot princess Teal Eye. It's nothing groundbreaking. They start antagonistic (around Boone carrying around a Blackfoot scalp Zeb says belonged to the Blackfoot that killed his father) and grow closer as dangerous events bring them together, in particular when Boone rescues her after she falls off the boat. Further dangers bring them closer together.

Along the way, the boat is pursued by agents of the fur trading company. This is the purely adventurous part of the story that works best. The company tries to burn the ship in the middle of the night, only to have the crew turn it all around on them, stealing the company's horses and guns. The company convinces a tribe of Crows to attack the boat, which the company fights off. During the attack Jim, Boone, and Teal Eye get separated from the rest of the crew for over a week. The company uses the opportunity of the crew losing Teal Eye, their key to trade with the Blackfoot, as leverage to begin negotiations to stop, but the three separated come back just in time. It's amusing, solidly done stuff.

The final scenes prove to me that Boone should have been the one and only main character. He's the only character with an emotional decision to make. For the rest, including Zeb and Jim, it's just the end of an adventure. For Boone, it's a potential turning point in his life. I really think Zeb and Jim should have been combined into one character, and more attention should have been paid to Boone. I think this would have been a good way to imbue some actual subtext to the film. My problem with the film isn't that it lacks much subtext, but that the text itself is just fine while there's no subtext to help provide extra dimension to the story.

Acting is fine all around while the production makes good use of the outdoors to create some striking visuals, extending the strong visual streak that Hawks had been developing over the past few films. It's a somewhat frustrating little film that could have used another couple of drafts at the script stage.

Oscar nominated in it's day, the flick is very dated today, with way to many studio bound sequences and far to little wide open frontier, and the black and white photography handicaps the picture for modern audiences. As with so many of Howard Hawks drama's there is a overdose of talk with action thinly spread and without top stars with big personalities the movie soon drags. Though from 1952 the pacing and look of the movie makes the film seem far older than it's actual years. One for hard core vintage film buffs only and insomniacs addicted to the late shows.

I saw the entire film for the first time last night. It had scenes that I had never seen before with a run time much longer than any other versions I had watched. The additional scenes explained a few things, like how Zeb became so fluent in the Blackfoot language and what Deakins was hauling to Louisvulle in the first place. I was unaware that Deakins had come to a toll ferry in the river. Every other version I saw started with him on the road. Also the additional dance scene in the Blackfoot village was very interesting. I loved the movie before but this gave it much added depth. I just wish it was commercially available on DVD so I could add it to my collection.

An American adventure film. A story set in 1830 about two Kentucky frontiersmen who, along with a band of trappers, decided to pioneer the Indian territories. This is a coming-of-age tale about brotherhood and of an American past rich in courage and adventure. Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin have rapport as the pioneer partners. Arthur Hunnicutt sums up the travails of a "Mountain Man" of the period and is Oscar nominated for his fine effort. Also Oscar nominated was the cinematographer Russell Harlan, who beautifully captured the majestic sweep of rivers, mountains, passes and woods of Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The film plods from sequence to sequence in the middle and its characters lack the psychological urges and motivations which drove the real pioneers to the northwest (captured in the the novel) but, all in all, it is a visually satisfying film.

One of my favorite Kirk Douglas films is The Big Sky where he plays mountain man/trapper Jim Deakins. It's a great part for Douglas with his incredible charm and quick burn when someone does him wrong.

The Big Sky was RKO Pictures big production for 1952. I'd like to say that Howard Hughes spared no expense in making this film, shooting a good deal of it in the Grand Tetons, the actual location for the adventures of many fur trappers. But for the life of me I don't understand why Hughes and RKO after doing that, didn't spring for color.

Possibly because director Howard Hawks wanted black and white. His last epic film Red River had done well in black and white. Still I really think something was missed. RKO did use color on films with a lot less budget.

There's a lot of similarity between The Big Sky and Red River. Both films involve a group of men on an epic journey into the unknown for business reasons. In Red River, John Wayne has to get that huge herd to market and has to use a trail few have used. In The Big Sky a group of independent trappers basically want to land a nice fur contract with the Blackfeet Indians where few whites have gone up the Missouri River. Going against them is a fur trading consortium kind of like the one John Jacob Astor put together.

The trappers are mostly French Canadian Metis headed by Steven Geray, but also along is Arthur Hunnicutt who speaks the Indian language. Their ace in the hole is Elizabeth Threatt, a Blackfoot princess the trappers have rescued and are bringing back to her people in the hopes that her old man will be grateful. Hunnicutt is also the narrator of the film.

Douglas and Dewey Martin join up with the group in St. Louis and the trappers have the usual adventures as they take the flatboat up into the Missouri River country. The scenes showing journey upriver are nicely photographed.

Two others in the cast merit attention. Hank Worden does a nice job as a lost Blackfoot Indian who the trappers pick up. He may not be playing with a full deck, but he does come in handy. Jim Davis is one lean and mean villain as the company troubleshooter who wants to keep the independents out.

Arthur Hunnicutt got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role, The Big Sky proved to be his career film. Unfortunately he lost to Anthony Quinn for Viva Zapata. Still Hunnicutt's folksy charm was always something to look forward to in any film he was ever in.

The Big Sky is one of the best films ever done about the mountain man era of the American frontier. If they'd only spent for color.

A splendid example of how Hollywood could (and still can) take a masterpiece of literary fiction and stupidly foul it up.

In the case of "the Big Sky," writer Dudley Nichols and company arrogantly assumed they could improve upon a classic pioneer novel by the Pulitzer prize-winning author, A.B. Guthrie. In so doing, they removed the soul of the story and any edge and impact it may have had as a film adaptation.

The epic nature of Guthrie's book and the evolution of its main character, Boone Caudill, from a naive, Kentucky lad into a hardened and competent survivor/mountain man, has been replaced with a downscaled riverboat farce that bears little resemblance to the author's intent. In the movie version, Boone's presence is nothing except underwhelming.

Intriguing and even shocking plot elements that give Guthrie's novel impact and excitement have been removed for no apparent reason whatsoever. Most puzzling of all is the emphasis placed upon the Zeb Calloway character, who was an incidental, minor character in the book, only occupying a handful of pages. On the other hand, a very important and fascinating character, Dick Summers, the veteran pioneer, is missing altogether!!! It is also apparent that director Hawks decided the Zeb character in the movie, played by actor Hunnicutt, wasn't irritating enough. So Zeb/Hunnicutt was given a significant amount of time doing that obnoxious, voice-over narration that is the Hollywood short cut for incompetent screen writing, editing, and direction.

Some movies have actually improved upon the books upon which they were based (William Wyler's "Ben-Hur" is an excellent example). But this is horrible and depressing not only as an adaptation of a novel but as a film unto itself.

The story is dull and clichéd, and the characters - at least the ones that have not been edited out of the script - are just shallow and boring shadows of Guthrie's literary vision. And unfortunately, Kirk Douglas' star appeal, which could have helped lift this film, was scuttled by the milktoast role he was given.

If you can believe it, the film version of Guthrie's Pulitzer prize-winning sequel, "The Way West," also starring Kirk, is even worse.

In my opinion, "The Big Sky" further solidifies Howard Hawks' place as one of the most overrated, tepid directors in the history of cinema.