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Kirk Douglas offered a very good performances in a movie that I really didn't expect much out of, but that turned out to be surprisingly interesting. Neither the title nor the plot gave me high hopes. The story is about the efforts of a religious community to prevent the cutting down of California's giant redwoods by a Wisconsin lumberman. It doesn't sound particularly exciting, but actually turns out to be pretty good. Douglas is the lumberman - Jim Fallon - a charismatic conniver who seems able to convince anyone of his good intentions, even while he plots to take as much advantage of them as he possibly can. There's some decent enough action, particularly the scene in which Fallon tries to rescue Sister Chadwick (Eve Miller) from the out of control train. There's also good use of humour, provided both by Douglas and Edgar Buchanan as "Yukon" Burns, who becomes first Fallon's right hand man and then his antagonist - and who actually ends up being appointed as a marshall by a local judge (Roy Roberts) who's sympathetic to the religious folk and is willing to twist and turn every law on the book to help them.

That evolution is one of the problems with the movie, however. People change too fast from good guys to bad guys, or from friends into enemies, and it's hard to really understand how the changes came upon them, which sometimes makes it hard to keep track of who's on whose side at any given time, and the final evolution of Fallon - telegraphed as it from the moment he arrives in California - is still hard to believe. I also thought that aside from Douglas and Buchanan, the performances were average at best. Still, it's not a bad watch. 6/10

The movie talks about a greedy lumberman called Jim Fallon (Kirk Douglas) who tries to make himself the owner of a redwood with impressive trees called ¨Sequoias¨ placed on California . A group of religious Quakers care the rousing trees like a holy mission . As a Quaker colony tries to save the giant sequoias from a timber baron . Meanwhile , Kirk falls in love with the leader (Eve Miller) , befriends a kind old man (Edgar Buchanan , a real scene stealer) and confronts enemies . Fallon will have to confront some of his own workers to vanquish the battle . The film deals upon the taking on amongst nasty timbermen and peaceful homesteaders .

The picture blends action western , a love story , thrills and stimulating outdoors . The landscapes with the Sequoais's woods are spellbound and breathtaking . There are excellent action sequences , as a train derailing where Kirk Douglas demonstrates his energy as action hero . Acting by main actors is top notch similarly to support cast (Edgar Buchanan , Patrice Wymore , Alan Hale and John Archer) in which everybody is awesome . Cinematography by Bert Glennon is glamorous and colorful but is quite worn-out ; in fact , in 2002 the rights to this film became public domain . This film compellingly directed by Felix Feist results to be a remake from ¨Valley of giants (1938)¨ by William Keighley with stock footage taken from this film and was starred by Wayne Morris , Claire Trevor and Alan Hale . The flick will appeal to landscape lovers and Kirk Douglas fans . Rating: Good . Well worth watching .

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+

"The Big Trees" is a Western, set in northern California around 1900. The main character is Jim Fallon, a timber baron who has recently moved to the state from Wisconsin. Fallon's motive is to take advantage of a new law which will allow him to stake a claim to the area's dense forests. Fallon especially has his eyes on the giant redwoods, the world's largest (and among its oldest) trees which he believes will net him a handsome profit. There is, however, a problem. A religious community have made their home in the forest and are determined to save the trees, which they regard as symbols of the power and majesty of God. So sacred are the trees to them that they even hold their services outdoors in a redwood grove rather than in a church. (The sect have some similarities with both the Amish and the Quakers, although they are probably not intended to be identified with either). A further complication arises when Fallon falls for Alicia, an attractive young widow who is a member of the sect.

In the first half of the film Fallon is portrayed as a rogue, smooth and plausible but unscrupulous and not always likable. About halfway through, however, he undergoes a change of heart and becomes one of the good guys, fighting alongside the sect in order to save the trees from his former associates, who turn out to be even more greedy and unscrupulous than he ever was.

The film has some good points. The photography of the Californian forests is well done and there are some good action sequences, including a scene where Kirk Douglas leaps onto a runaway train . The theme is a potentially interesting one; environmentalism was not as hot a topic in the early fifties as it has become since, so a film with a conservationist theme was something of a novelty. Moreover, the film gives an interesting slant to the subject, showing the religious roots of the environmental movement.

Despite this, however, the film also has its weaknesses. The plot is excessively complex; at times it seems as though you need a thorough knowledge of Californian land law in order to understand what is going on. It also goes through too many twists and turns, with characters assumed to be bad turning out to be good and vice versa, with abrupt changes of mood. At times it all seems fairly light-hearted and then turns into serious drama as two major characters meet violent deaths in quick succession. The acting is generally poor. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Douglas' best film or best performance, but the supporting cast are no better. Overall, "The Big Trees" tries to be unusual but ends up as just a standard action movie, and not a very good one. 5/10

Okay western tells the tale of Kirk Douglas as a would-be lumber baron with more charm than business savvy. Not as good as it could have been with a little sharper direction, but the dialog has some spark and Douglas shines like a new penny when he smiles.

He gets adequate support from the usual suspects, with Patrice Wymore particularly good as his dance hall prostitute girlfriend. Eve Miller as the real love interest is a bit flat by comparison, even granted that she's stuck in the role of a holy roller trying to protect California's giant redwoods.

The plot manages to get genuinely clever at times, with the local judge conspiring to help the Quakers foil Douglas's lumber scheme, Douglas scheming right back, and then the whole thing going topsy-turvy. Still, something is missing (and the faded print I saw didn't help) but the ending goes big to try to save it and nearly succeeds. Worth the time for fans of Douglas, but not a must-see title.