The Big Trees (1952)

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+

I wonder if this might have looked better in black and white? In colour it's a rather sterile and over-scripted, join-the-dots, take on the American pioneering story that never quite gets out of second gear. With the economy booming back East, there is an insatiable demand for lumber and so the government has pretty much declared open season on the nation's forests. "Fallon" (Kirk Douglas) sees a chance to make a fortune and so sets off to lop down some giant redwood trees. They are growing on land that has already been settled by some Quakers and they want him to leave well alone. Initially unmoved, he takes a bit of a shine to "Alicia" (Eve Miller) who just happens to be the daughter of their elder (Charles Meredith) and so he does a bit of the poacher turned gamekeeper. That epiphany puts him at odds with some of the men he had encouraged to come with him and develop a thriving lumber business - complete with it's own dam and railroad, so things quickly become distinctly dangerous for him, her and the majestic sequoia. It does come alive a bit towards the end, but for the most part it's not really much more than a stylishly photographed soap set amidst the Californian Redwood groves. Sure, it takes a pop at the venality of the developers, but Douglas just doesn't shine here and the likes of Edgar Buchanan and the younger Alan Hale don't really add much either. It's watchable, but pretty forgettable fayre.