The Big Trees (1952)

★ 5.5 1h 29m IMDb

In 1900, unscrupulous timber baron Jim Fallon plans to take advantage of a new law and make millions off California redwood. Much of the land he hopes to grab has been homesteaded by a Quaker colony, who try to persuade him to spare the giant sequoias...but these are the very trees he wants most. Expert at manipulating others, Fallon finds that other sharks are at his own heels, and forms an unlikely alliance.

The Big Trees

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Cast

Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas as Jim Fallon Died 2020 · Amsterdam, New York, USA Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas...
Eve Miller
Eve Miller as Alicia Chadwick Died 1973 · Los Angeles, California, USA Eve Marilyn Miller (born Marilyn Miller; August 8, 1923 – August 17, 1973) was an American actress who appeared in 41 films between 1945 and 1961. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and died by...
Patrice Wymore
Patrice Wymore as Daisy Fisher / Dora Figg Died 2014 Patrice Wymore (born December 17, 1926) is an American television, film, and stage actress of the 1950s and 1960s. Description above from the Wikipedia article Patrice Wymore, licensed under CC-BY-SA...
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan as Walter 'Yukon' Burns Died 1979 · Humansville, Missouri, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edgar Buchanan (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson fr...
John Archer
John Archer as Frenchy LeCroix Died 1999 · Osceola, Nebraska, USA John Archer (May 8, 1915 – December 5, 1999) was an American movie and television actor. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Archer,  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors...
Alan Hale Jr.
Alan Hale Jr. as Tiny Died 1990 · Los Angeles, California, United States Alan Hale, Jr. (March 8, 1921– January 2, 1990) was an American movie and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper (Jonas Grumby) on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the look...

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 6/10 Apr 06, 2018
Old-fashioned atypical Western laden by complex legal/financial talk, but has several highlights

RELEASED IN 1952 and directed by Felix Feist, "The Big Trees" stars Kirk Douglas as a conniving lumber baron, Jim Fallon, who schemes to make it rich in Northern California in 1900 when a new law means large tracks of land are up for grabs to whoever can pay the fees. He plans to cut down the mighty redwoods but a colony of homesteading Quaker-like Christians are unwavering in their resolve to save the largest of the sacred trees, which are the ones Fallon wants most. Edgar Buchanan plays Fallon’s sidekick-turned-marshal in the Redwoods, Walter "Yukon Lucky" Burns.

This was a remake of Warner Brother's "Valley of the Giants" from fifteen years earlier. While Douglas worked for free to get out of his WB contract it doesn’t seem like it, as he has his usual gusto. The old-fashioned tone will likely turn off modern viewers but the environmental message was certainly ahead of its time. The story lacks drive, however, due to the convoluted dialog about legalities & finance; it's as though you need a doctorate on California land law in order to follow what’s happening.

Fallon (Douglas) naturally becomes smitten by religious beauty Alicia Chadwick (Eve Miller) while having dubious links to blonde showgirl Dora "Daisy Fisher" Figg (Patrice Wymore). Speaking of whom, jaw-dropping Wymore has a memorable song & dance sequence that’s worth the price of admission, particularly when she, um, never mind.

There are several other highlights, like a scene that shows how ancient the redwoods are (e.g. they were fully grown when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066). Furthermore, there are fistfights, a falling tree that crushes a cabin, a dynamited dam, a thrilling runaway train sequence, a huge trestle that collapses under the train, a sacrificial death and a good moral(s).

I should add that the script perpetuates the myth that “The Lord helps those who help themselves” comes from the Bible. While a worthy proverb, it’s not Scripture.

Watch out for Alan Hale Jr. (the Skipper from Gilligan’s Island) playing Tiny.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 29 minutes and was shot in Redwood Groves, Orick and Eureka, California. WRITERS: John Twist and James R. Webb wrote the screenplay from Kenneth Earl’s novel.

GRADE: B-/C+

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