Editing Giant (1956 film) (section)

==Production==
===Writing===
The character of Jordan Benedict II and the depiction of the Reata Ranch in ''Giant'' were inspired by Robert "Bob" J. Kleberg Jr. (1896–1974) and the [[King Ranch]], located in [[Kingsville, Texas]]. Similar to the fictional Reata—which spans over half a million acres—the King Ranch encompasses approximately 825,000 acres (3,340 km²; 1,289 sq mi) and extends across six Texas counties, including the majority of [[Kleberg County, Texas|Kleberg County]] and a significant portion of [[Kenedy County, Texas|Kenedy County]]. Historically, the King Ranch operated primarily as a livestock enterprise before the discovery of oil on the property.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-11-07 |title=Edna Ferber, Giant, & James Dean |url=https://eastoncourier.news/2020/11/07/edna-ferber-giant-james-dean/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Easton Courier |language=en-US}}</ref>

The character of Jett Rink was partially based on [[Glenn McCarthy]] (1907–1988), a flamboyant Texas wildcatter whose rags-to-riches rise to wealth and notoriety helped shape the character. Author Edna Ferber met McCarthy while staying at his [[Shamrock Hotel]] in Houston, Texas, an encounter that contributed to the creation of the fictional Emperador Hotel featured in both the novel and its film adaptation.<ref name=":0" />

===Casting===
Australian actor [[Rod Taylor]] was cast in one of his early Hollywood film roles after being noticed in an episode of [[Studio 57|''Studio 57'']] titled "The Black Sheep's Daughter".<ref>Stephen Vagg, ''Rod Taylor: An Australian in Hollywood'', Bear Manor Media, 2010 p49</ref>

Director George Stevens offered Rock Hudson a choice between [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Grace Kelly]] for the role of Leslie; Hudson selected Taylor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Giant: Summary and Notes |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/53655-GIANT |access-date=November 17, 2022 |work=Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |quote=According to modern and contemporary sources, Grace Kelly was sought for the role of Leslie Benedict. Modern sources claim that once her engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco was announced, however, M-G-M decided not to loan her out for Giant. Elizabeth Taylor, who ultimately received the highly desirable role, was also under to M-G-M, which loaned her out to Warner Bros. Modern sources also claim that Hudson, when given the choice of his leading lady by Stevens, chose Taylor.}}</ref>

Stevens, known for his meticulous approach to filmmaking, spent an entire year editing the film.<ref>Perry, p. 200.</ref> Following the death of [[James Dean]] late in production, actor [[Nick Adams (actor, born 1931)|Nick Adams]] was brought in to overdub several of Dean’s lines as Jett Rink, which were deemed nearly inaudible during post-production.<ref>Perry, p. 201.</ref>

===Filming===
[[Image:GiantSet.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Cast members and crew at work on the Reata mansion set. The [[Second Empire architecture|Second-empire]] [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] mansion facade designed by [[Boris Leven]] became an iconic image for the film.]]
The film begins with Jordan "Bick" Benedict, played by Hudson, arriving at [[Ardmore, Maryland]], to purchase a stallion from the Lynnton family. The first part of the picture was actually shot in [[Albemarle County]], [[Virginia]], and used the [[Keswick, Virginia]], railroad station as the Ardmore railway depot.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maurer|first=David|title=Giant effort to make it in movies|url=http://www2.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/cdp-lifestyles/2008/may/11/giant_effort_to_make_it_in_movies-ar-79181/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121123030/http://www2.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/cdp-lifestyles/2008/may/11/giant_effort_to_make_it_in_movies-ar-79181/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 21, 2013|newspaper=Daily Progress|access-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref> 
Much of the subsequent film, depicting "Reata", the Benedict ranch, was shot in and around the town of [[Marfa, Texas]], and the remote, dry plains found nearby, with interiors filmed at the Warner Bros. studios in [[Burbank, California]].<ref name="Moss2015">{{cite book|author=Marilyn Ann Moss|title=Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPEhCJbul9QC&pg=PA217|date=August 4, 2015|publisher=Terrace Books, University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-20433-4|page=217}}</ref> The "Jett Rink Day" parade and airport festivities were filmed at the [[Bob Hope Airport|Burbank Airport]].

===Music===
The Oscar-nominated musical score was by Russian-born composer and conductor [[Dimitri Tiomkin]], who conducted the Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra.

===Themes===
The movie is an epic portrayal of a powerful Texas ranching family challenged by changing times and the coming of big oil.<ref name=McMurtry>{{cite news|last=McMurtry|first=Larry|title=Men Swaggered, Women Warred, Oil Flowed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/29/movies/men-swaggered-women-warred-oil-flowed.html|access-date=August 21, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=September 29, 1996}}</ref> A major subplot concerns the [[racism]] of many Anglo-European Americans in Texas during the mid-twentieth century, and the discriminatory social [[Racial segregation|segregation]] enforced against [[Mexican American]]s.<ref name="Stacy2002">{{cite book|author=Lee Stacy|title=Mexico and the United States during that time in history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSzyMGh8pNwC&pg=PA326|date=October 1, 2002|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7402-9|page=326}}</ref> In the first third of the film, Bick and Luz treat the Mexicans who work on their ranch condescendingly, which upsets the more socially conscious Leslie. Bick eventually comes to realize his moral shortcomings&nbsp;–  in a climactic scene at a roadside diner he loses a fistfight to the racist owner, but earns Leslie's respect for defending the [[human rights]] of his brown-skinned daughter-in-law and grandson. Another subplot involves Leslie's own striving for women's equal rights as she defies the [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] social order, asserting herself and expressing her own opinions when the men talk. She protests being expected to suppress her beliefs in deference to Bick's; this conflict leads to their temporary separation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Giant: Summary and Notes|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/53655-GIANT|work=Catalog of Feature Films|publisher=American Film Institute|access-date=November 17, 2022}}</ref>

''Giant'' is [[Edna Ferber]]'s third novel dealing with racism; the first was ''[[Show Boat (novel)|Show Boat]]'' (1926), which was adapted into the legendary Broadway musical ''[[Show Boat]]'' (1927); her second was ''[[Cimarron (novel)|Cimarron]]'' (1929), which was adapted to film twice, in [[Cimarron (1931 film)|1931]] and [[Cimarron (1960 film)|1960]].<ref>"Best Movie About Texas:  Creating a True 'Giant', Mod X, http://modxman.com/2017/07/28/creating-a-giant/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015100647/http://modxman.com/2017/07/28/creating-a-giant/ |date=October 15, 2020 }}.</ref><ref name="McGraw2014">{{cite book|author=Eliza McGraw|title=Edna Ferber's America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ut2dAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA50|date=7 January 2014|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0-8071-5189-1|page=50}}</ref> Ferber's ''Giant'' was a blockbuster, selling 52 million books by 1956.<ref>Chris Gray, "Everything you've always wanted to know about ‘Giant’" Houston Chronicle, April 12, 2018.</ref>