This Is The Giant

A Texan family deals with its legacy, race, and their place in early 20th century America in George Steven’s masterful epic saga, Giant (1956).

Giant seems an appropriate title for this movie. As I have touched on recently, a movie like Lawrence of Arabia is big to be sure in its look and sound. This movie is that as well but it also spans a large amount of time in its telling; 25 years, dealing with two generations of a family. Based on the book by Edna Ferber, it chronicles the Benedict family led by patriarch Jordan ‘Bick’ Benedict, trying to preserve his domestic and professional legacy through changing times.

Rock Hudson plays Benedict, a proud Texan oil Baron, who travels to Maryland on a horse-buying trip. There he meets socialite Leslie Lynnton and they fall in love. They travel back to Texas and thus begins their saga. He is conservative in his ways, she is a liberal looking forward, who begins to chip away at the man’s belief system.

Stevens shoots this to look big. People are dwarfed by the landscape. In fact, the image of the Benedict residence dwarfed by surrounding sand and stone in middle of nowhere acts as the ultimate metaphor for America.

It’s a potentially hostile land of opportunity for those that can tough it out. When I first saw Giant I thought it rambled a bit. It’s a story about family, yes. But it also tackles the racism of many AngloEuropean Americans in Texas during the mid-twentieth century, and the discriminatory social segregation enforced against Mexican Americans. That was quite a bit to take in at a young age (15) but as the years go on, I love and appreciate Giant more and more. I love the characters. I particularly empathise with Bick. He wants to maintain a legacy but finds his plans and aspirations being altered at every turn. Bick is not a bad guy by any means, just uninformed in times that are changing. But he learns and grows. It’s wonderful to watch.

Giant has a great cast of actors; James Dean, Dennis Hopper, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, to name a few. A rising star, James Dean was 24 when he was killed in an automobile accident one month before Giant’s premier. It was a tragedy that tainted the success and accolades the movie would receive in the wake of its release. Giant completed a trilogy that was to be it for him. He remains forever young, to quote a Bob Dylan song.

They say life happens in between plans and that is certainly true here. I equate Giant with The Godfather trilogy in that the great works of art give back to us what we bring to them. As we age, they seem to age with us.

Giant was definitely a massive influence on the hit television show Dallas (1978 - 1991) with its chronicling of a family’s trials and tribulations and the oil business in the heart of Texas. It’s a movie of the 1950s to be sure but it’s surprisingly relevant today. Its tackling of racial prejudice sadly still applies in our current climate.

At 197 minutes, it’s a big one to take in but I cannot recommend it enough. So goes the closing lyrics of it’s great opening music Theme from Giant, regarding the state of Texas - “This is the Giant, Land I love”. Well this is Giant, a movie I love. Available on DVD, Blu Ray and to rent on YouTube.