La vallée des géants

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.

"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

While certainly watchable, "The Big Trees" had the makings of what could have been a better, perhaps much better, movie. With Kirk Douglas in the lead role, a supporting cast of solid character actors, settings that lend themselves to visually appealing scenery, and a story that raises worthwhile environmental and ethical issues, it could have been quite good.

As a predatory but charismatic lumberman, Douglas has a role that allows him to use some of his best strengths as an actor, and the scenario provides him with two main characters to play off of, with Edgar Buchanan as a loyal but incorruptibly honest associate, and Eve Miller as an idealist determined to save the redwood forest that Douglas's character plans to exploit. Buchanan is especially believable in his role.

The story and script, though, don't give Douglas or the others a lot to work with. The story never tackles the most important issues head-on, nor does it explore the most significant of the possible tensions in the characters' relationships with one another. The important environmental questions and other such topics are dealt with only on a surface level, and aside from Douglas's own character, who changes rather abruptly and unconvincingly, there is little character development. The religious angle was certainly well-intentioned, but it never seems to fit in comfortably with the other story elements.

It's still all right for lighter entertainment, and there are some good scenes. Then too, when Douglas gets the chance, he can be quite interesting to watch in this kind of role. As long as you don't expect too much, it might be worth seeing, but it missed quite a few opportunities to be a much more substantial movie.

I have a home in the middle of a redwood forest, so I was thrilled to see "The Big Trees". Imagine my surprise when I then learned that the story was set very close to us--in the Mendocino National Forest. Much of the film was filmed closer to the coast in Eureka...but both are certainly beautiful places and are pretty much unspoiled today...something that might shock folks when they hear of California.

When the story begins in 1900, Jim Fallon (Kirk Douglas) is trying to fast-talk his men, as he keeps making promises but he's a lying huckster. Now his latest scheme is to get rich off California redwood lumber...and he has a new partner, Yukon Burns (Edgar Buchanan), and he sends the man out west to investigate the land before he arrives a bit later. When Fallon arrives, he learns that Yukon has been taken in by some very nice Quakers and this partner doesn't realize Fallon is a scheming jerk who wants to cheat those folks off their land.

So is this any good? Well, not especially. Although Warner Brothers did some nice location shooting and filmed the movie in color, it really is a B-western with only a few minor changes. This time, instead of the baddies trying to steal all the land for their cattle empires (the most familiar plot in these B-westerns), it's folks stealing land for trees. And, although Kirk Douglas stars in this one, he really wasn't a big star yet...though he was well on his way. But I couldn't love this slick movie because some of it simply doesn't make sense--especially the love interest. We are to believe that although Fallon, at least indirectly, was responsible for a man's death, only moments later in the film the dead man's daughter announces she's in love with Fallon! Plus, Fallon never really deserved this love...he was an underhanded jerk...at least until the obligatory redemption at the end. Overall, a nice looking film....and I liked the trees...but one that I can understand why Douglas himself wasn't very proud of the movie. Overall, watchable but not much more.

Hi, Everyone,

This movie lumbers along. I would (wood) be going out on a limb if I said it was exciting, but it has some good moments. The runaway train sequence is OK, but not up to some other movie runaway trains, like Runaway Train. The scenes with Kirk (or his stuntman) jumping onto a train work very well. He was in good physical condition when this was made. His closeups are even exciting during the action sequence.

Kirk Douglas has been much better in many other movies. He looks athletic here and he acts adequately. Edgar Buchanan is miscast, even though he does a good job as a tough guy, of sorts. I would have tried to get Victor Mature or maybe Robert Mitchum for the part Edgar did.

If you like train movies, try The Train with Burt Lancaster or Silver Streak with Gene Wilder. For better train wrecks, try Greatest Show on Earth or Bridge on the River Kwai.

There is one musical number that is done well. Beautiful scenery galore. A couple of good stunts. Not so good fight scenes. This would be a good film for a double feature Kirk Douglas night, but it is not his best.

I will leaf you now.

Tom Willett