Reviews

"Giant was an excellent movie. The cast of characters was phenomenal. Rock Hudson, James Dean and one of the most beautiful actresses ever, Elizabeth Taylor were the stars. I was surprised to read recently that Rock and James did not like one another. This supposedly made the scenes between Rock and James very tense and difficult to do. I also read that some people thought James Dean was too short to play the part, opposite the towering Rock Hudson. I couldn't disagree more. Dean never for a moment allowed Rock's money, greed or size intimidate him. To the contrary, Dean seemed to constantly be an annoyance to Rock. You know from the onset of the movie that Rock and Dean are headed for a fistfight. To make matters worse, Dean is falling for Rock's wife, Elizabeth Taylor. She tries hard through the movie to keep the peace between the two. When Dean strikes it rich, the plot thickens. He makes a pass at Elizabeth Taylor and Rock levels Dean. A couple of guys hold Rock back, so you think the fight is over. Dean pretends to be exiting for home, but turns back and punches the hell out of Rock. Rock is still being held back and Dean just runs off. I wouldn't want to have seen the pounding Rock would have bestowed on Dean if he weren't being held back. When I think of the title of the movie, "Giant" it may refer to Rock Hudson as well. He was one tall, well built guy. Much of the remaining movie centers on Dean and Rock's bigotry, until Rock's son marries a Mexican. Again, Elizabeth Taylor tries to keep the peace. Dean is now a wealthy man. And of course, he and Rock still have animosity going back many, many years. At a banquet, in honor of, James Dean, Dean punches Rock's son out in a party room filled with people. That was the last straw. Rock then challenges Dean to a fight. Alone, the two head to a back room. I actually thought either Rock or Dean would have a weapon and kill the other. A real fistfight between these two guys? Give me a break. Rock, being about a foot taller than Dean and obviously much stronger, would break Dean in half. Even this part of the movie was very well done. As soon as the fight begins, the cameras move back to the banquet. You only hear loud noise coming from the back room. A few minutes later, Rock walks out. You know he beat the hell out of Dean. It just wasn't shown on the camera. Nicely done. Near the end of the movie, Rock has come to accept the marriage of his son to a Mexican Woman. When a restaurant owner refuses to serve Rock's daughter, because she is Mexican, it's time for another fight. This time the guy is as big as Rock and Rock gets beaten up badly. It was actually an excellent fight scene. In a way, I thought of the big guy as James Dean paying Rock back. In any case, "Giant" was a great movie.

I thought the movie was done relatively well, with a strong cast of characters. The plot was interesting as well. Big Rock Hudson trying to bring tough guy Kirk Douglas to justice. Beautiful and talented Dorothy Malone and daughter Carol Lynley falling in love with Rock and Kirk. Malone is married though and when her husband is killed, the tension mounts even further between Rock and Kirk. A little too much like a soap opera though. You know from the beginning of the movie that Rock and Kirk are going to have one hell of a physical conflict at some point. It was inevitable. You could cut the tension with a knife. And a good fight scene did develop in the middle of the movie. I was very curious as to who the winner would be. Two superstars duking it out. I couldn't see either guy winning decisively. Both had such macho images. Right before the fight, the guys were standing side by side. Rock was massive. So much taller and bigger than Kirk, yet Kirk looked like one tough guy. Realistically, it looked like Rock could break Kirk in half. Dorothy Malone broke up the fight in the middle, so it wasn't as if either guy was totally humiliated. It looked like a real fight, even though it was a movie. Or maybe Rock and Kirk really were going at it. You could actually see Rock using his tremendous height and superior size to his advantage, keeping Kirk in check. I'd have to say Rock had the upper hand and pretty much manhandled Kirk throughout most of the fight, although it wasn't totally one sided. The rest of the movie sort of dragged on and had a somewhat predictable ending.