The Big Country (1958)

I said before that I couldn't really characterize William Wyler's directorial style. Now I must be getting the hang of it, because as I watched TBC, I thought of two others: Friendly Persuasion and The Westerner. They're all set in the 19th century and have protagonists who are big on peace.

Rather unusually for a western, the hero in this one, James McKay (Gregory Peck), is a ship captain -- and a fish out of water. He comes to the frontier because it's home to Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), his intended. Apparently, no one warned him that her wealthy father, Henry (Charles Bickford), is leading one side of a feud with the rugged Hannassey clan, led by Rufus (Burl Ives), over access to a waterhole on land owned by Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who's on good terms with Jim and Pat but unwilling to sell to either patriarch. Like Julie, Jim doesn't let social closeness color his judgment of the situation. But to call him neutral would be misleading; he simply seeks a third option....

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

William Wyler was an unusual director, in that he made many hits and I've seen nearly half his body of work, yet I can hardly characterize his style. He did mostly drama, with perhaps greater overall emphasis on women than other directors did, but could excel in multiple genres. That explains why I keep forgetting -- completely -- which movies he directed, even after reviewing two of them on this blog.

In this case, I think I was drawn in less by the credit to Wyler and more by the plot summary. Based on a book by Jessamyn West, it details the Birdwells, a family of five Quakers in rural Indiana during the War Between the States. Their faith solidly supports abolitionism but forbids fighting in its name, or even in self-defense. But several factors weaken their convictions during the story, and not just regarding violence. Eliza (Dorothy McGuire), the mother, remains the most devout and thus the most upset by the changes, while father Jess (Gary Cooper) and elder son Josh (early Anthony Perkins) face building pressure to take up arms. Yeah, that's kind of a running theme in Cooper's acting career.

Carrie (1952)

The year above should tell you that this has nothing to do with the Stephen King story that became two horror flicks. It is instead a romantic drama directed by William Wyler, which, in my experience, means a minor gamble.

Based on a 1900 book confusingly titled Sister Carrie (she's not a nun and doesn't spend that much time with siblings), it follows a small-town young woman (Jennifer Jones) who moves to Chicago for opportunity. When things go sour, she turns to an outgoing new acquaintance, salesman Charles (Eddie Albert), for support. To minimize the scent of scandal, Carrie pressures Charles in vain to marry her. Then her heart wanders to their mutual friend, restaurant manager George (Laurence Olivier). He loves her too, but in his position -- wife Julie (Miriam Hopkins) owning the bulk of his wealth -- that's dangerous....

The Westerner (1940)

Bland title, ain't it? It came out the year after Stagecoach, so it's not like there hadn't been many westerns yet. Nevertheless, with William Wyler at the helm, I got curious. Thankfully, it's not what I'd call a generic western. The dynamic is too unusual for that.

From what I'd vaguely heard before about "Judge" Roy Bean, he was about as controversial as Wyatt Earp. This highly fictional telling casts him pretty clearly as a villain, however well-intentioned with regard to cattlemen. One man, Cole (Gary Cooper), gets mistakenly accused of running afoul of his "law" but curries favor by pretending to know personally Bean's celebrity crush, actress Lillie Langtry, the only other historically real character. In the grand western cinematic tradition of figuring out the morally right thing to do, Cole may jeopardize his fair-weather friendship by pressing for the rights of Texan homesteaders.