It’s a wonder that this film could become a Western masterpiece: filming was absolutely chaotic

If The Great Outdoors often appears among the monuments of the Western, it is due to both its scale and themes, its protagonist is a pacifist and therefore different from the usual characters of the genre. In case you’re wondering, it’s currently hosted on Amazon Prime Video.

James McKay unwittingly finds himself at the center of a conflict between his fiancée’s family, the Terrills and the Hanaseys, neighboring ranchers. But the existence of this great film is a pure miracle…

From the damn script

As of this writing, it’s a disaster. Seven screenwriters were hired in turn, and despite this, the film’s two producers, actor Gregory Peck and director William Wyler (the future author of Ben-Hur), were not at all satisfied. However, the shooting date arrives, the teams are ready and the money is invested: they are forced to do the first shot in July 1957, until they really like the script.

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The film’s leading lady, Jean Simmons, said years later:

We learned our lines, then came up with a new version. We would spend the night studying it and in the morning we would shoot another version. It made our life as actors impossible.

Simmons continues: “Willie Wyler was really evil and impossible to work with. In every movie, he was looking for a victim, and this time he hit me.”During another interview he added*: “He would ask me to do scenes over and over again without telling me why. I was completely confused. And if I made an unexpected move, he would tell me I had succeeded. He wanted the unexpected.”

Settling scores at Weiler Corral

On the set, Gregory Peck and William Wyler do not get along at all, their quarrel revolves less about the actual packaging of scenes, but primarily about the shooting schedule and therefore the budget. The pressures of production weigh on both of them, and Wyler doesn’t like what he’s done because the script doesn’t speak to him enough. The California heat is also a source of stress and fatigue.

Only the actor Burl Ives, who received an Oscar for his role as a wonderful ranchero who has to manage a turbulent and dangerous son, had kind words for the director: “Will was nice to me. He never annoyed me and I learned a lot from him.”

The shooting of The Great Spaces then continues in the studio, where the two men do their work without speaking to each other. Post-production is also difficult. Wyler wants to change the music in the film. Composed by Jerome Moros, it was well received by test audiences and Peck insisted on keeping it. He will win his case and he will win an Oscar nomination.

Unresolved installation

But to make it even more difficult to manage, the director offers a 4-hour cut that won’t be released in theaters. An hour had to be cut and Wyler refused, trying to strip Peck of his co-producer credit.

The final version is “only” 2h46 long. While promoting the film, Wyler would say: “I will never do a movie with Greg Peck again…you can quote me”. Atmosphere!

* Sources: Jean Simmons: Her Life and Career by Michelangelo Capua