#elizabeth threatt

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Elizabeth “Betty” Threatt by Horst P. Horst 1948

[howardhawkshollywood]

Fashion model Elizabeth Threatt. She was born in Kershaw, South Carolina.

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Elizabeth Coyote Threatt from her one and only movie appearance in The Big Sky.

[70s80sandbeyond]

Elizabeth “Betty” Threatt, 1948

[project1939]

100+ Films of 1952

Film number 127: The Big Sky 

Release date: August 6th, 1952 

Studio: RKO 

Genre: western 

Director: Howard Hawks 

Producer: Howard Hawks 

Actors: Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt, Arthur Hunnicutt 

Plot Summary: In 1843, friends Jim and Boone join a group of trappers and become the first white men to travel 2,000 miles up the Missouri River from St. Louis to Montana. They bring a Blackfoot woman along, hoping to trade with her people once they arrive in Montana. A rival fur company is determined to keep the Blackfoot trade for themselves, however. 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***¼  

This was a fairly enjoyable western journey film made interesting by the excellent acting, beautiful location footage, colorful characters, and a somewhat humanizing and progressive view of Native Americans. (Spoilers!) 

The Good: 

Arthur Hunnicutt as Uncle Zeb. I loved him as a yarn-spinning bronco rider in The Lusty Men, and he is just as good here. He’s skilled at playing kooky characters in a somewhat understated manner for the time.  

Kirk Douglas as Jim. It’s hard to find a bad performance by Douglas, and he was excellent here as a salty-tonged backwoods trapper. It was interesting to see the differences between this Jim and another Jim he played in a western in 1952. In The Big Trees, his character was a city schmoozer anti-hero, and he played both roles equally well. The two characters could have been enemies in a different film! 

This was an enjoyable journey/travelling story. It was easy and fun to follow their adventures on the Missouri River. 

Dimitri Tiomkin’s score was gorgeous. 

There was a liberal amount of location shooting in this, and seeing the Missouri river against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains was stunning. 

By the early 1950s some westerns were trying to present Native Americans in a more nuanced way, and this was one of them. Boone hated “Indians,” but he was clearly showed to be wrong. The wisest characters saw Native Americans as decent people with a rich and interesting culture of their own. Characters like Zeb even understood how unfairly they were being treated by white men.  

The Blackfoot characters spoke in their own language rather than the cringey way too many Indians in old films did- like “Me no shoot. We be friends now.” 

This quote: Zeb says the only thing Native Americans really fear is a white man’s sickness. “The Grabs. White men don't see nothing pretty unless they want to grab it. The more they grab, the more they want to grab. It's like a fever and they can't get cured. The only thing for them to do is to keep on grabbin' until everything belongs to white men and then start grabbin' from each other. I reckon injuns got no reason to love nothing white.” 

The Bad:  

As much as the portrayal of Native Americans could be positive... one character was a horrifying stereotype. Poordevil was a Blackfoot Indian with an IQ of about 60 who drank too much whiskey and giggled over everything. At least Teal Eyes called him a disgrace to his people, but it was still awful even if it was called out. It was made even worse by the fact that he was played by a white man in brown makeup. 

Brownface. Poordevil and some other Indian characters were obviously played by white men. Even Teal Eyes, whose actress was part Cherokee in real life, looked like she had to wear some darkening makeup. 

The “romance” between Teal Eyes and Boone. They couldn’t say a single word to each other, and I didn’t buy it for a second! 

I never fully warmed to the character of Boone. 

The pace was too lazy sometimes, and the film could have benefitted from a shorter running time. 

The narration by Zeb was often overly folksy and obvious for me. I didn’t hate it, but I sometimes wished it was toned down a little. 

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[howardhawkshollywood]

Russell Harlan was also nominated for his fine cinematography. He began working with Howard Hawks on Red River, and went on to photograph Hawks’ The Thing, The Big Sky, Land of the Pharaohs, Rio Bravo, Hatari and Mans Favorite Sport. 

Arthur Hunnicutt-Elizabeth Threatt-Kirk Douglas "Río de sangre" (The big sky) 1952, de Howard Hawks.

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[howardhawkshollywoodannex]

Howard Hawks directs Elizabeth Threatt (her only screen appearance) and Kirk Douglas on location for The Big Sky (1952).  Hawks always enjoyed shooting outdoors on location, far away from watchful studio executives.

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Elizabeth Threatt in a pale lilac linen dress by Hattie Carnegie, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe for Harper's Bazaar, 1951

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Model Elizabeth Threatt wearing a pale lilac linen dress by Hattie Carnegie | photo Louise Dahl-Wolfe | Harper’s Bazaar, 1951

[howardhawkshollywood]

Elizabeth Threatt in a publicity still for The Big Sky (1952) with Dewey Martin, Kirk Douglas, and Hank Worden.

[love-pinups]

Elizabeth Coyote Threatt from her one and only movie appearance in The Big Sky.

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3.31.20

[gatutor]

Elizabeth Threatt (Kershaw, Carolina del Sur, 12/04/1926-Concord, Carolina del Norte, 22/11/1993).

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Elizabeth Threatt