Lo zar dell'Alaska

... based on the Edna Ferber novel. It's the multi-generational story of two men, Zeb Kennedy (Richard Burton) and Thor Storm (Robert Ryan), who begin as friends and fishermen in Alaska during the years after WWI. When they both fall for the same woman (Carolyn Jones), the two split, with Zeb becoming a bitter but wealthy cannery magnate, while bitter but motivated Thor fights for Alaskan rights and eventually statehood. Their children and grandchildren also grow to adulthood against this backdrop.

The novel was a big hit, although critics thought it was bad. Its success is credited with helping Alaska become a state in '59. The movie is a big, ponderous bore, stretching an interminable 143 minutes, with Burton and Ryan trying to out-scowl each other. A bear attack looks very silly, with a guy in an obvious bear costume stomping around an unconvincing snowy forest set. This was Diane McBain's debut, as well as the credited movie debut of 22-year-old George Takei, playing a Chinese immigrant friend and servant to Burton. At one point, Takei's character is supposed to be frantic, and he lapses into his native "Chinese" language, but it's hilariously apparent that the Japanese-descended Takei is just spouting gibberish.

Another Edna Ferber saga about the largest state of the union ; she did the same for Texas .Two giants. But whereas "giant" sprawled over three hours , "ice palace " moves at the speed of sound and gives the filling of watching a digest,sometimes even an interminable trailer ; one moves from generation to generation in a jet plane;time moves so fast that the plot suffers accordingly.

Burton is the equivalent of Dean ,a self-made man (though he's helped by his father-in-law ) who becomes a tycoon via overfishing and unfair competition ; like Jett ,he's a hateful racist who does not like the half-breed (remember the scene of the Mexican wife in the beauty parlor ).

Robert Ryan portrays the liberal hero ,but your belief has to be suspended if you are to believe in his political career :from humble trapper to the White House, in such a small time, ( the facile trick of the newspapers headlines ) ; And pregnant Shirley Knight crossing the icy territories on a sleigh when she's expecting her baby any day now is beyond belief !

But there's a compensation :you don't have time to get bored ,and if you like melodramatic family saga ,you"ll get something out of it. What about a miniseries(and not a remake) which would do Ferber more justice?

I got this because of the great cast, and I was entertained by it, all the whole. It was helped by good performances and most of the dialogue was well written. Having said that, this melodrama had a sense of camp to it, and there were instances of unintended hilarity for me, as we see Robert Ryan pushing the dog sled. I don't know why that was so funny to me. Richard Burton got more hardened and cold to others, as he barked orders. One wonders how can so much happen to these people. It seemed to get more and more preposterous. It would go from a tragedy into a zippy and carefree scene, like it was totally logical. Looking back on it, the love triangle of Richard, Robert and Carolyn was the best part. But, overall, the entertaining factor outweighs the obvious faults it has. I would recommend this for a non-thinking night at the movies.

The growing tension between Richard Burton and Robert Ryan is amazing. Both actors were as serious, driven, righteous (in their own minds), and caring as the other. All performances were believable and interesting. The change from generations to generation was seamless. And character change melded nicely with Ryan and Burton. Carolyn Jones however did not impress me as much as she did in the beginning. She somehow lost her luster as the film seemed to continue without her. Strangely this also was her role through the duration of the film. And I felt she seemed to be going through the motions towards the end. Just my opinion. I also found the characters of Christopher and Grace charming at first and utterly brainless towards the end. You have to see it and the circumstances to believe it. The innocent bliss that leads them throughout the film culminates. To mention Jim Buckus, his performance was quite an agitation to most every event in the film due to his characters business interests. Believable even if you still see him as Mr Howell! LOL! Four years later, character development, who can say, Recommended if you looking for a (mini) epic that might just keep your interest.

I'm keeping my copy!

Otherwise outstanding performances

Alaskan melodrama in which Richard Burton rises from unemployment to cannery mogul, getting everything he wants through ruthless determination. Carolyn Jones is the other side of the coin, a woman who fails through indetermination to get anything she wants out of life - including Burton.

It's another Edna Ferber novel about industrial pioneers with an underlying environmental message (the devastation of fish stocks). It's unappealing and humourless, with Burton laying it on too thick, and the drama driven by unpleasant people finding excuses to get on each others' nerves.

Then (like Ferber's Giant) it starts to creak across generations with lots of unconvincing aging and new characters appearing late in the film we are surprised to have to care about. Finally, just to ratchet up the excitement, it gets all political.

Watching pack-ice breaking up would be more satisfying.