BEFORE: I've hit a bit of a thematic break, just in time for the birthday of James Dean, who gets SHOUT-out #10. Today would have been, could have been, James Dean's 80th. I had a choice between this film and "Rebel Without a Cause", I hope this one fits my February theme better.
THE PLOT: Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
AFTER: Damn, this was a long movie - clocking in at three hours and 20 minutes! But it's an epic, a Texas-sized tale covering two generations of the Benedict family. And it does fit my theme, because at the center of the story is the often-stormy marriage between a Texas cattleman (Rock Hudson) and a Maryland socialite (Elizabeth Taylor). Meanwhile, James Dean's character (with one of the best names ever, Jett Rink) gets a little piece of land, drills for oil, and pines after what the Benedicts have.
There is a lot of ground covered here - Texas politics, gender stereotypes, discrimination against Mexicans. A reflection of changing times and changing attitudes from the 1930's (?) through the 1950's. Liz Taylor's character learns the ins and outs of a Texas cattle ranch, and Rock Hudson's character (eventually) learns that he can't solve every problem with his fortune and his fists. Meanwhile James Dean's character gets rich, gets drunk, and gets old.
It's an odd thing to see James Dean playing a middle-aged character, since we all know he died at age 24, a year before this film was released. So we get a glimpse of what he'd look like in an alternate timeline - sort of like how we glimpsed Orson Welles' future look at the end/beginning of "Citizen Kane". Also interesting is seeing Dennis Hopper playing a young man, since his most famous roles, like "Apocalypse Now" and "Blue Velvet", came along later in his life.
I guess tonight's lesson, from both the plot and the careers of the actors, is that you can't always see what's ahead in life, what with all its twists and turns. There's a constant set of surprises coming, and that's both good and bad.
Also starring Carroll Baker, Mercedes McCambridge, Rod Taylor, Sal Mineo.
RATING: 6 out of 10 derricks (penalties incurred for a dire need for some editing, and some very fake fight scenes)
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