The Big Country: A Western for Everyone

I've been dealing with an elderly parent over the last few months and finding the proper place for her care has been a challenge. Yet all has finally worked out and I couldn't be happier with the facility I found to meet my mother's assisted living needs and her memory care issues. After getting her settled, my husband and I went on vacation to Utah to see Bryce Canyon and Escalante National Monument. What breathtaking scenery! God's exterior design is magnificent and unbelievable! While vacationing, we passed by numerous cattle ranches that reminded me of the movie The Big Country, which I absolutely love! I told my husband about the plot with cattle and a fight for water rights, and he actually wanted to see it. He's not a fan of old movies like I am, but last week we watched The Big Country together on Amazon Prime where it's available for free. He enjoyed it, and so did I for about the seventeenth time! But I can  appreciate it even more now because of all the canyon scenery I've had a chance to experience for myself.

With my mother taken care of, I believe I can finally get back to writing, blogging, and podcasting! So in honor of The Big Country and my vacation, I'm reposting an article I wrote from November 26, 2012. Enjoy!

I'm not a fan of westerns, however, one of my favorite movies of all time is The Big Country, starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, and Chuck Connors.

This is a great film, with an amazing cast and an unforgettably awesome musical score!  I fell in love with this motion picture when I was in middle school--back in the days of the CBS late night movie.  Anybody out there remember those, or am I the only one?

I enjoyed The Big Country so much, that as an adult I purchased it on video--as you can tell, that was quite a few years ago.  I haven't gotten around to ordering it on DVD yet.

The setting of the story helped to inspire part of my upcoming novel, Masquerade: Book Two of the Unchained Trilogy.  Masquerade is not a western, but the hero and heroine of part one, Escape, eventually end up in California where they raise their family on a huge ranch.

The Big Country actually takes place in Texas (though filmed in California), as an easterner, the honorable Jim McKay (Gregory Peck), moves there to be with his fiance, Pat Terrill (Carroll Baker), whose family owns an enormous ranch.  In Masquerade, a New Yorker ventures to California in search of answers.

Although the plots aren't similar, (The Big Country focuses on two clans fighting over water rights, while Masquerade revolves around the revelation of true identities), I love the feel of the West portrayed in The Big Country.  Watching it inspired my writing, and Chuck Connors's bad guy, Buck Hannassey, inspired one of my characters.  And yes, I admit, I re-crafted a little of his dialogue for one of my scenes!

My kids love Chuck Connors in reruns of the Rifleman television show, but they'll probably hate him after watching The Big Country--he plays such an excellent dirt-bag. They'll hate Burl Ives too, the jovial grandfatherly folksinger of "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Frosty the Snowman."  He plays Connors's father, a senior dirt-bag, and he did it so well, he won a best supporting actor Oscar!

Here's a great article at the Bijou Blog for some fun behind the scenes facts!

If you haven't seen The Big Country, it's worth watching--even if you don't like westerns!  It's actually based on the serialized magazine novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton.

Do you like westerns? Have you ever seen The Big Country?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!