Opening Titles and Song: The Big Country (1958)

Here’s hoping we truly are in a better place at stemming the spread of COVID-19¹ as more of us have returned to watching movies once again on the big screen rather than at home or on mobile devices. Am cautiously joining in as viewing a movie on a large screen, in a grand hall made for it, has been a unique and thoroughly enjoyable endeavor in my life.

With that said, and since one of my older movie articles has been ticking up on blog views, thought to give the referenced film’s opening titles an appreciation.

Director William Wyler’s The Big Country (1958) is very much that. Big. Everything about it was oversized: a 2 hours and 46 minutes (166 min.) run time — the average for a 1950s movie was 100-110 minutes². Its aspect ratio³ was 2.35:1⁴ for the 35mm print used in theaters. Even its production issues were more than ample⁵. Some of that mattered when it came to its “big” opening sequence, which was one of best done by the famed graphic designer, Saul Bass⁶.

“If there’s anything I admire more than a dedicated friend, it is a dedicated enemy.” —MAJOR HENRY TERRILL

The above quoted dialogue is featured in another fine summary post of this movie at the Art of the Title site by Pat Kirkham⁷, who also authored Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design. Once more, I highly recommend reading both as they give the famed graphic artist his due. The film’s opening incorporated its titles into an rousing film sequence that framed tight action shots and panoramic stretches of the old west on the big screen with equal aplomb. 

The title sequence was also a testament to cinematographer Franz F. Planer’s keen lens in capturing Wyler’s view of the West’s expanse; and in doing so visually coalesced the segment with the Saul’s distinct credits, as well as its glorious movie score. As Pat put it:

“Saul created a title sequence, a symbol and a comprehensive advertising campaign for this drama about a cultured Easterner (Gregory Peck) trying to make peace between two Western families fighting over water rights.”

The Big Country remains one of the definitive westerns to come out of the 1950s. A period near and dear to my colleague Colin McGuigan, as shown in his wonderful Riding the High Country blog and in his excellent review of the film from a few years back. I’ll also cite from his post as it emphasized what’s in plain view from inception:

“William Wyler’s masterful use of the wide lens, but it’s to be seen all the way through the film. The whole thing is a visual delight that takes in both the sprawling prairie vistas and the blanched rocks of the canyon between Terrill’s ranch and the Hannassey’s place.”

Let’s add in Saul Bass’ thoughts from Pat’s article, as well:

“To express the distance from the East, to convey the vastness of empty spaces, and thus dramatize the isolation of the Western town, I used a series of shots showing a stagecoach as a tiny object on the horizon, cross-cutting to intense ultra close-ups of the stagecoach on the move.., the horses’ hooves flashing, hitting the ground, the blurred wheel spokes and hubs as they revolved furiously, the horses’ manes whipping through the air, their heads and eyes flashing through the frame.”

Elmer Bernstein’s The Magnificent Seven‘s theme and Ennio Morricone’s for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly would be the comparables.

All of this will only highlight the sequence’s equally thrilling use of the movie’s theme. A startling brassy orchestral piece that drives the segment to justly higher fidelity. A sweeping track that soars and ebbs with a breathtaking musical escalation, and is easily one of the best by the notable composer and orchestrator, Jerome Moross. An instrumental that matches and reflects the imagery on the screen to a dramatic effect, which only a few western theme songs have ever achieved.

The director had turned to the famed tunesmith to symphonically showcase his thinking man’s western; one who had orchestrated dozens of movies, as well as musicals and concert halls. Even if he wasn’t thrilled by the result⁸, the theme to The Big Country is a thing of beauty. A Classic FM article on the movie and the Moross score encapsulated it best:

“While the Big Country’s Oscar-nominated score is somewhat reminiscent of the wild west ballets of Aaron Copland, Moross attributed his unique sound to his first experience of the Great Plains, which he visited in 1936. He later described the journey in great detail: ‘I got to the edge of town and walked out on the flat land with a marvellous feeling of being alone in the vastness with the mountains cutting off the horizon.

The Big Country was Moross’s most important contribution to film music, clearly influencing the great western scores that followed.  Although several memorable themes are woven through the film, it is the main title track that has become a movie classic.”

Come to think of it, time to end this quote fest with another from Colin’s article. One that serves as an elegant précis for one of the foremost pairings of moving images, opening titles, and song: “… a genuine classic that ought to have a place on the shelf of those who consider themselves western fans, or even just fans of quality cinema.”