Synopsis~
Giant is just that, right down to the 201-minute running time. Based on Edna Ferber's bestselling novel, the film stars Elizabeth Taylor as the spoiled daughter of a wealthy Virginia family. She is courted by handsome Texas ranch owner Rock Hudson and by dirt-poor ranch hand James Dean, but it is Hudson who wins out. When Dean strikes oil, he uses the leverage of his wealth to get even with Hudson, buying off all the surrounding land as he builds up his "black gold" empire. Many years pass: Hudson, possessed of the inbred prejudices common to many of his fellow Texans, virtually disowns his son Dennis Hopper when the boy marries Mexican Elsa Cardenas. Meanwhile, Hudson's daughter Carroll Baker becomes the semi-mistress of aging millionaire Dean, who uses this relationship as another revenge tactic against Hudson. When Dean insults Hopper's Mexican wife, Hopper slugs him, only to be beaten up by Dean's henchmen; dad Hudson, finally seeing the error of his ways, rushes to Hopper's defense, publicly humiliatingDean. In a climactic confrontation with a racist restaurant owner, Hudson proves to his proud wife Taylor that he has now shed himself of all prejudice towards his Mexican daughter-in-law and mixed-blood grandchildren. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, Giant earned but one statuette, for George Stevens direction. This was James Dean's last film; his voice is dubbed in several scenes by his good friend, actor Nick Adams. ~ Hal Erickson
Review~
Even if it hadn't starred three of the most iconic screen figures of the 1950s, George Stevens's Giant would still be an emotionally powerful and visually striking film; adding Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean (in his final performance) to the mix was just the icing on the cake. Dean contributes the highest-caliber fireworks, though his "Method" style sometimes blends uncomfortably with the more traditional performances of the other actors, but Stevens also drew atypically strong performances from Taylor and Hudson, who delivers perhaps his best performance on screen next to Seconds (1966). Based on Edna Ferber's novel, the story is a glorified soap opera, but Stevens's epic production strengthens the narrative rather than drowning it, providing a visual metaphor for the intimidating vastness of the Texas landscape. The image of the vast Benedict mansion slowly appearing as a tiny dot on the horizon is only the most memorable of the film's many indelible images. Giant is as big and sprawling as Texas itself; it's the tininess of the larger-than-life characters in the oilfields of the Southwest that keeps them human, and makes them all the more fascinating. ~ Mark Deming |
