Giant

Giant (1956)

Timing: 3:21 (201 min)

7.6/10
743

7.482/10
3851

7.6/10
45000

All about film

Video 8

Photo 79

Actors and characters

Release date

1956-11-08

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, George Stevens Jr. Productions

Genre

Drama, Western, Romance

Budget

$5 400 000

Revenue

$32 855 818

Website

Director

George Stevens

Actors

Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

George Stevens, Henry Ginsberg

Operator

William C. Mellor

Composer

Dimitri Tiomkin

Artist

Audition

Hoyt Bowers

Editing

William Hornbeck
All team (34)

• An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.
• Most of the scenes were filmed in the vicinity of the town of Marfa, Texas, including the desert plains.
• Glenn Herbert McCarthy (1907–1988), a real-life oil tycoon, served as the prototype for Jett Rink. Writer Edna Ferber met McCarthy while he was living at the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, which was renamed Emperador in the film.
• Director George Stevens wanted to cast Alan Ladd in the role of Rink, but his wife advised against it. She then suggested James Dean. To play scenes of Jett in his older years, James Dean had his hair cut and dyed gray. Towards the end of the film, there is a scene in which Dean's drunken character delivers a speech at a banquet. Among Dean's former colleagues and fans, this scene is known as “The Last Supper,” as it was the last scene filmed before the actor’s unexpected death. Dean mumbled so diligently while portraying a drunk that the scene had to be re-dubbed with another actor – Nick Adams – during editing. As a result, the film spent almost a year in the editing room.
• William Holden was the primary candidate for the role of Bick Benedict. George Stevens gave Rock Hudson, who ultimately played Benedict, the opportunity to choose his partner for the role of Leslie – Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly. Hudson chose the former.
• Barbara Barrie made her film debut in “Giant.” Actress Carroll Baker—Elizabeth Taylor’s on-screen daughter—is actually one year younger than her “mother”.
• Capitol Records, which released part of the soundtrack recorded under the direction of Dmitri Tiomkin by the Warner Brothers orchestra on laser discs, later restored the compositions using digital processing and released them on CDs along with two tracks recorded with Ray Heindorf.
• In 2005, the film was added to the National Film Registry for possessing "cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance".
• Director George Stevens wanted to cast Alan Ladd as Rink, but his wife advised against it. She then turned her attention to James Dean. To play scenes of Jett in his older years, James Dean had his hair cut and dyed gray. Near the end of the film, there’s a scene where Dean’s drunken character delivers a speech at a banquet. Among Dean’s former colleagues and fans, this scene is known as “The Last Supper,” as it was the last scene filmed before the actor’s unexpected death. Dean mumbled so convincingly while portraying drunkenness that the scene had to be re-dubbed with another actor – Nick Adams – during editing. Because of this, the film spent almost a year in the editing room.
• Barbara Barrie played her first film role in "Giant." Actress Carroll Baker, Elizabeth Taylor’s screen daughter, is actually a year younger than her "mother."
• In 2005, the film was added to the National Film Registry, possessing “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.”