It's a Big Country: An American Anthology

"It's a Big Country" is a significant film. Created only a few years after the victorious effort of WWII, it was delivered to an American public that was exercising newfound powers, economic and political. It was a society undergoing rapid change for the same reasons and also due to changing mores in gender and race relations (caused by war experiences) and due to changes in technology and infrastructure (the car, interstate highways, etc.). The film fairly pleads for factions of the country to remain united despite their tendency to seek their own identities.

This film feels like a moving representation of Norman Rockwell paintings, displaying a homespun, good-natured respect for traditions and the values that drove the United States to become successful. From the viewpoint of the 21st century, some of these values seem naïve. In our post-Watergate world, fewer Americans see government authority and other established authorities as innately benign. But it is simplistically easy to view this film as merely propaganda or naïve.

Most of the episodes in this collection of vignettes champion values that were and are important to embrace: Racial understanding. The American melting pot. The Constitutional freedoms. But reading some reviews of the film, it is clear that some viewers also see the film as a documentary on American exceptionalism. And it's a subtext that cannot be ignored. Various individuals have always promoted the idea that America is the greatest country that ever existed--teachers, politicians, the military, the clergy.

The thing that is exceptional and unique about the U.S. is its Constitution. Sometimes that message is lost in the nationalistic clamor.

The film has an exceptional cast (Frederic March continues to amaze), exceptional writing that stirs the heart and summons tears, and solid production values. For those of any age, it can serve as a marker designating the state of the country circa 1950. So many complex factors have affected the evolution of the U.S. from what it was to what it is now. I like being reminded of the optimism of that time, however naïve. And it can remind us of the values we need to preserve and the viewpoints we have thankfully left behind.

I saw this movie when it originally came out and I took more people to see it in at least two successive trips to the old Crawford Theater. It is touching and worthwhile and depicts an America that all should see. Ethel Barrymore gives one of the best performances of her career. The preacher to the President is another vignette that stands out. There are memorable performances by Gary Cooper, Van Johnson, Gene Kelly, and Marjorie Main. Each vignette is a memorable one and all touch your heartstrings and provoke thought. It would be nice if it were available on DVD or even tape. What a delightful anthology this is. I recommend this to all. It is a movie you will enjoy.

The precursor to How the West Was Won, It's a Big Country is a rah-rah Americana production with a long list of MGM stars to praise their great country right after the end of a war and the start of another. America is the greatest country on Earth-and if you agree, you'll want to watch this unapologetic love letter to the United States.

In the first vignette, William Powell and James Whitmore get into an argument on a train about what America really means. It's a bit boring and not the best one to start with, but have no fear, it only gets better from then on out. In the second segment, Ethel Barrymore stars as a lonely, old Irishwoman who merely wants to be known. It's a very touching segment, as she appeals to newspaper men George Murphy and Keenan Wynn to include them in the US Census.

Next up is S.Z. Sakall, a Hungarian with five daughters who harbors prejudice towards her eldest daughter's new boyfriend, a Greek. Janet Leigh is about as Hungarian as Gene Kelly is Greek, but it's the story that's important. In America, different ethnicities come together in the great melting pot, even though sometimes the parents aren't very supportive to start with.

There's also an interesting documentary portion of the film that showcases African-Americans. Real footage is shown of black units of every branch of the armed forces, as well as commanders and recipients of medals. It seems pretty dated by today's standards, but at the time, it was noteworthy. At a point in American cinema when black actors were finally being cast in important, inoffensive roles, it was a natural step for this segment of an Americana movie to include prominent black athletes, entertainers, politicians, doctors, college students, and even Mother of the Year. In 1949's Home of the Brave, James Edwards's character repeats, "I'm just like everyone else!" emphatically, to drive it home to the audience that African-Americans fought and died for their country, just like everyone else. In It's a Big Country, narrator Louis Calhern gives the same message.

Gary Cooper talks directly into the camera in the Wild West segment, as he explains that Texas is full of wide open spaces, cattle, cowboys, and oil wells. It's quite funny to see him convincing the audience that he's the great American cowboy when he owes that persona to Randolph Scott, who made more western movies than even John Wayne! Native Southerner Scottie was hired back in 1929 to teach Gary how to talk with a Southern accent. Alas, since Scottie didn't belong to MGM, he wasn't included in this anthology.

MGM was home to Lewis Stone, and in fact, he held the longest contract in MGM history, from 1920 to 1952. In his vignette, he plays a retired minister in Washington making way for newcomer Van Johnson. Van is so preoccupied in delivering a speech worthy of the President of the United States-who never shows up-that he's not paying attention to his flock. Lew's job is to give him advice, and also to keep the audience from getting bored out of their skulls.

Marjorie Main isn't given a very lengthy vignette, but it's quite touching. She plays a grieving mother visited by soldier Keefe Brasselle, a Jewish friend of her son's. At first, she's hostile towards him, but when he reads her son's last letter before his death, she softens. I'm sure she was very happy to act in it, since she wasn't usually given a chance to show off her acting chops.

The last vignette, as is often the case, is the best. I didn't recognize him, but I'll give you a heads up: Fredric March plays an Italian and gives Charles Laughton a run for his money! He's the patriarch of a large Italian-American family in San Francisco, and the father of young Bobby Hyatt. Bobby's schoolteacher Nancy Davis finds out that his eyesight is poor, but Freddie is too proud to let his son wear glasses. He's absolutely hilarious, trying endlessly to prove his point and being too stubborn to understand the bigger picture. If you don't know it's Fredric March under the mustache and wild hair, you'll think he's a real Italian; his accent is great, and his emotions are right on his sleeve.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During Gary Cooper's segment, the camera frequently swishes to the left and right, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

WARNING: These comments may reveal portions of the film's plot.

I had thought that the "episodic" film format was an invention of the 1980's art film. "It's a Big Country" killed that myth by presenting a film about the USA that is built on eight different episodes. The episodes are drawn together by a common narration, their focus on different ways of looking at the USA, and the introductory episode which lays out the concept for the film.

In the opening segment, James Whitmore rides a commuter train and tells another rider, "I love this country?" The other rider's response catches Whitmore off guard. "Which country?" He then points out that the USA is many countries -- political, military, religious, industrious, urban, rural, and many others. Each of the following seven segments of the film then focus on various ways of looking at the USA.

The actors in those seven segments are a "Who's Who" of 1950's film. The already mentioned Whitmore, Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Gary Cooper, Janet Leigh and Keenan Wynn share the screen along with many others, including legends Ethel Barrymore and Fredric March. If you are a classic film lover, check out the list of credits and you'll find at least one favorite among the actors.

The film overall only comes across as average however -- it seems rather "preachy" on the concept of acceptance, and the happy endings of the segments come across too sugary. Fortunately the great acting in some of the segments pull them to the top of the heap. Gary Cooper's deadpan delivery combined with his Texas drawl in the one true comedy segment work's well. And the final segment in which a young immigrant boy finds he must wear glasses at the risk of ridicule of his father as well as his friends at school is equally appealing.

There is one glaring inconsistency in the film. The overall point seems to be that we must drop our racial stereotypes. To that end virtually every racial stereotype is presented and cut down. Each of the episodes of the film is presented as independent stories within the film -- little stories within the story. But when they presented the segment focusing on African American's, no story is given, only a narrated segment with stock shots of black America are presented. Not one known American actor of African descent is included. In this respect, Hollywood seems to have been unable to overcome it's own prejudice and exclusionary practices of that time.

You might enjoy portions of this film, but most persons will either stop part way through or fall asleep during this average film.

I'm not sure why this anthology film was made, but its segments seem to reflect a desire by new MGM head of production Dore Schary, a Democrat, to demonstrate that liberal values are American values. (There was a lot of equating liberals with communists, at that time).

An opening segment on a train, that draws us into the whole thing, features James Whitmore as a patriotic, "I love America" type. "Which America?" asks the always-debonair and well-spoken William Powell. We then see the many sides of our country depicted through vignettes.

There are a couple of segments against prejudice. One is about a Greek-hating Hungarian American father of several girls (S. Z. Sakall) whose eldest daughter (Janet Leigh) falls for a young Greek American (Gene Kelly - actually pushing 40 at the time but you'd never guess it). As a piece against xenophobia, it's nice, and gets its point across with humor, wit, and romance.

There's also a segment against religious prejudice, where an ex-seviceman named Maxie Klein (Keefe Brasselle) visits the mother (Marjorie Main) of a dead war buddy. At first the mother doesn't know the man because her son had used his nickname in his letters. She's suspicious of his motives because he's Jewish. Eventually she's grateful for the comfort the stranger has given her, putting aside whatever prejudices she was harboring, and requesting his mother's address so that she can write her about it all.

The segments are all fairly interesting, but not exactly first-rate drama or comedy.

There's one about a minister (Van Johnson) who learns a lesson in humility from a deacon (played by Louis Stone). There's one in which Fredric March plays a working-class Italian American who won't be convinced by a schoolteacher (Nancy Davis) his son needs glasses. Gary Cooper plays a cowboy in a humorous monologue about Texas. Louis Calhern narrates a documentary sequence about African Americans. Ethel Barrymore and George Murphy star in a dramatic sketch wherein an old Boston-Irish woman is upset because the US Census ignored her. Etc.

The overall effect is a little like picking up an old copy of Reader's Digest.

Without the stars, this would be very minor, indeed. With them, it becomes a big film. Not a great film, but, undoubtedly, a big one. It covers a lot of ground, and comes up a little bit short.