So Big (1953 film)
Encyclopedia
So Big is a 1953
American
drama film
directed by Robert Wise
. The screenplay by John Twist
is based on the 1924 novel by Edna Ferber
. It is the third adaptation of the book, following a 1924 silent film
with Colleen Moore
and So Big!
with Barbara Stanwyck
, released in 1932.
. There she rents a room in the home of Klaas Pool, who lives with his unhappy wife Maartje and intelligent but troubled adolescent son Roelf.
After discovering the boy has an ear for music, Selina gives Roelf piano lessons and encourages his artistic talents, leading him away from juvenile delinquency
. She meets Pervus DeJong and eventually accepts his proposal of marriage, settling into the daily routine of a farmer's wife. The two have a son they christen Dirk, but as he grows older he is nickname
d So Big.
Dirk, like Roelf, exhibits signs of artistic abilities, and his mother encourages him, despite her husband's disapproval. When the boy is eight years old, Pervus dies and Selina struggles to run the farm alone. She and Dirk travel to the Chicago Haymarket to sell their produce, but no one there will deal with a woman.
Facing financial difficulties, Selina reunites with Julie, now the divorced mother of two, and her father offers to invest in Selina's plan to grow exotic vegetables. Her asparagus is a huge success and she is able to send Dirk to college to study architecture
. Following graduation, he finds employment as a draughtsman
and continues his relationship with Julie's daughter Paula, a social climber who convinces him to forgo his career in favor of becoming a more immediate financial success. Dirk accepts a job in sales, disappointing his mother so much she no longer calls him So Big.
Dirk falls in love with artist Dallas O'Mara and proposes marriage and, although she likes him, she declines his offer, telling him she wants a man whose hands have been roughened by physical labor. Roelf, now a famous composer, arrives in Chicago and reunites with Dallas, whom he had met in Paris
. He, Dallas, and Dirk visit Selina, and the two women become friends.
Roelf and Dallas leave together, and Dirk bemoans the path his life has taken. His mother tells him it is not too late to pursue his creative dreams and, taking him in her arms, calls him So Big once again.
of the New York Times said, "Despite the fact that the story is 'dated,' that it offers a very familiar theme and that the present production is loaded with some typical 'Hollywood' flaws, there is still a great deal of solid substance in this latest retelling of the tale . . . For the better part of the picture, we are largely indebted to Jane Wyman . . . remarkably strong and effective in every forthright little bit she does. From her earliest appearance . . . to her ultimate poignant scene . . . she is humble, restrained and sure . . . Where the picture falls down is in those phases in which the grown-up son goes to Chicago and gets himself infected with false notions of a successful career. Here John Twist's adaptation and Mr. Wise's direction are unsure, and the acting by all and sundry has a specious and artificial quality . . . As a consequence of its downward tangent toward the end, the whole picture loses force. The poignance of the mother's disappointment in her dearly loved son goes awry. Even so, the performance of Miss Wyman holds up right through to the end, and the character she sets throughout the first part stands firm amid the flow of glycerin tears."
Radio Times
rated the film three out of five stars and commented, "The tale's a mite old-fashioned for today's tastes, but under skilled editor-turned-director Robert Wise the Warner Bros gloss is not too intrusive, and there are nicely honed performances from big Sterling Hayden and lovely Nancy Olsen in support."
TV Guide
rated the film three out of four stars and added, "A good production, but a bit inflated, So Big commits the same error as the 1932 picture in that it stuffs a quarter of a century and many characters into not enough time."
and Richard Egan
.
's September 21, 1954 broadcast with Ida Lupino
and Robert Stack
.
1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
. The screenplay by John Twist
John Twist
John Twist was an American screenwriter whose career spanned four decades.Born John Stuart Twist in Albany, Missouri, he began his career in the silent film era, providing the story for such films as Breed of Courage, Blockade, and The Big Diamond Robbery. He earned his first screenwriting credit...
is based on the 1924 novel by Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
. It is the third adaptation of the book, following a 1924 silent film
So Big (1924 film)
So Big is a 1924 silent film based on Edna Ferber's novel of the same name. It was produced by independent producer Earl Hudson the film was distributed through Associated First National...
with Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
and So Big!
So Big! (1932 film)
So Big! is a 1932 American drama film directed by William A. Wellman. The screenplay by J. Grubb Alexander and Robert Lord is based on the 1924 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Edna Ferber....
with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, released in 1932.
Plot
In the late 1890s, boarding school student Selina Peake learns of the death of her father, who has left her penniless as the result of bad business transactions. August Hempel, the father of her best friend Julie, secures her a teaching position in New Holland, a small Dutch farming community outside ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. There she rents a room in the home of Klaas Pool, who lives with his unhappy wife Maartje and intelligent but troubled adolescent son Roelf.
After discovering the boy has an ear for music, Selina gives Roelf piano lessons and encourages his artistic talents, leading him away from juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
. She meets Pervus DeJong and eventually accepts his proposal of marriage, settling into the daily routine of a farmer's wife. The two have a son they christen Dirk, but as he grows older he is nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d So Big.
Dirk, like Roelf, exhibits signs of artistic abilities, and his mother encourages him, despite her husband's disapproval. When the boy is eight years old, Pervus dies and Selina struggles to run the farm alone. She and Dirk travel to the Chicago Haymarket to sell their produce, but no one there will deal with a woman.
Facing financial difficulties, Selina reunites with Julie, now the divorced mother of two, and her father offers to invest in Selina's plan to grow exotic vegetables. Her asparagus is a huge success and she is able to send Dirk to college to study architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. Following graduation, he finds employment as a draughtsman
Draughtsman
A draughtsman or draftsman , is a person skilled in drawing, either:*drawing for artistic purposes, or*technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering...
and continues his relationship with Julie's daughter Paula, a social climber who convinces him to forgo his career in favor of becoming a more immediate financial success. Dirk accepts a job in sales, disappointing his mother so much she no longer calls him So Big.
Dirk falls in love with artist Dallas O'Mara and proposes marriage and, although she likes him, she declines his offer, telling him she wants a man whose hands have been roughened by physical labor. Roelf, now a famous composer, arrives in Chicago and reunites with Dallas, whom he had met in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He, Dallas, and Dirk visit Selina, and the two women become friends.
Roelf and Dallas leave together, and Dirk bemoans the path his life has taken. His mother tells him it is not too late to pursue his creative dreams and, taking him in her arms, calls him So Big once again.
Cast
- Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
..... Selina DeJong - Sterling HaydenSterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
.... Pervis DeJong - Steve Forrest ..... Dirk DeJong
- Nancy OlsonNancy OlsonNancy Ann Olson is an American actress.In Sunset Boulevard she played Betty Schaefer, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress...
..... Dallas O'Mara - Walter Coy ..... Roelf Pool
- Elisabeth FraserElisabeth FraserElisabeth Fraser , was a television, film and stage actress, best known for playing brassy blondes.Born as Elisabeth Fraser Jonker in Brooklyn, New York, Fraser began her acting career six weeks after graduating high school; she was cast as the ingenue in the Broadway production of There Shall Be...
..... Julie Hempel - Jacques Aubuchon ..... August Hempel
- Martha HyerMartha HyerMartha Hyer is an American actress.She attended Northwestern University and was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity. After completing her education, she next appeared in The Locket in 1946...
..... Paula Hempel - Roland WintersRoland WintersRoland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
... Klaas Pool - Ruth Swanson ..... Maartje Pool
- Richard BeymerRichard BeymerGeorge Richard Beymer, Jr. is an American actor known for playing Tony in the 1961 film version of West Side Story and Ben Horne on the 1990 television series Twin Peaks.-Life and career:...
..... Roelf, ages 12-16 - Tommy RettigTommy RettigThomas Noel "Tommy" Rettig was an American child actor,computer software engineer, and author. Rettig is best remembered for portraying the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's Lassie television series, from 1954–1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs as Jeff's Collie...
..... Dirk, age 8
Critical reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of the New York Times said, "Despite the fact that the story is 'dated,' that it offers a very familiar theme and that the present production is loaded with some typical 'Hollywood' flaws, there is still a great deal of solid substance in this latest retelling of the tale . . . For the better part of the picture, we are largely indebted to Jane Wyman . . . remarkably strong and effective in every forthright little bit she does. From her earliest appearance . . . to her ultimate poignant scene . . . she is humble, restrained and sure . . . Where the picture falls down is in those phases in which the grown-up son goes to Chicago and gets himself infected with false notions of a successful career. Here John Twist's adaptation and Mr. Wise's direction are unsure, and the acting by all and sundry has a specious and artificial quality . . . As a consequence of its downward tangent toward the end, the whole picture loses force. The poignance of the mother's disappointment in her dearly loved son goes awry. Even so, the performance of Miss Wyman holds up right through to the end, and the character she sets throughout the first part stands firm amid the flow of glycerin tears."
Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
rated the film three out of five stars and commented, "The tale's a mite old-fashioned for today's tastes, but under skilled editor-turned-director Robert Wise the Warner Bros gloss is not too intrusive, and there are nicely honed performances from big Sterling Hayden and lovely Nancy Olsen in support."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
rated the film three out of four stars and added, "A good production, but a bit inflated, So Big commits the same error as the 1932 picture in that it stuffs a quarter of a century and many characters into not enough time."
Awards and nominations
Steve Forrest was awarded the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor with Hugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
and Richard Egan
Richard Egan (actor)
Richard Egan was an American actor. In some films he is credited as Richard Eagan.-Career:Born in San Francisco, California, Egan served in the United States Army as a judo instructor during World War II...
.
Adaptations to Other Media
So Big was adapted as an hour-long radio play on Lux Radio TheaterLux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
's September 21, 1954 broadcast with Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
and Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
.
External links
- Edna Ferber e gli ideali della borghesia media americana del Midwest negli anni ’20 e ’30 Tvcinemateatro-i protagonisti