Question 1

Which U.S. president gave The Big Country four consecutive White House screenings and called it his favorite film?

Accepted Answer

Then President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the movie four consecutive showings at the White House and called it "simply the best film ever made. My number one favorite film."

Question 2

Why did Jean Simmons refuse to discuss The Big Country for years after making it?

Accepted Answer

Jean Simmons was so traumatized by constant script rewrites during production that she refused to talk about the film until an interview in the late 1980s.

Question 3

Why did director William Wyler almost replace the film's composer despite the score becoming a classic?

Accepted Answer

Director William Wyler hated Jerome Moross's score and wanted to hire another composer, but preview audiences loved it so much that Gregory Peck persuaded him to keep it. Moross earned an Oscar nomination.

Question 4

Why did Charlton Heston initially turn down his role in The Big Country?

Accepted Answer

Charlton Heston initially turned down the role of ranch foreman Steve Leech because he didn't think the part was big enough, but his agent convinced him to work with Gregory Peck and William Wyler.

Question 5

Which actor doubled for Gregory Peck in a dangerous horse-riding scene and why?

Accepted Answer

Slim Pickens doubled Gregory Peck when Peck's character was bucked off a horse because Pickens owned the horse and didn't want anyone else riding it.

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The Big Country

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