The Big Cat
About The Big Cat
A drought drives a cougar down onto Utah cattle. Danny Turner (Lon McCallister) comes to live with his stepfather Tom Eggars (Preston Foster) and meets Doris Cooper (Peggy Ann Garner). Neighbor Gil Hawkes (Forrest Tucker) and his son Jim (Skip Homeier) want Danny gone. On a hunt, the cougar kills Tom. Doris asks Danny not to follow it. He and his dog corner the cat in a cave, and Danny kills it.
Cast & crew
More about The Big Cat
Phil Karlson directed this Technicolor outdoor film. Morton Grant wrote the story. Grant and Dorothy Yost wrote the screenplay. William Moss produced. Eagle-Lion released it in April 1949. Carroll Pictures reissued it on 12 February 1954. The year kept for the title is 1950.
Themes
Background
A 1949 Eagle-Lion Western-style outdoor picture, released into a market still full of studio ranch films, but shot on Utah locations.
Look
W. Howard Greene photographed it in Technicolor on the Utah locations, including Cedar Breaks and Parowan Canyon.
Music
Paul Sawtell composed the score.
Preservation
Entered the public domain in 1976. Copies are on the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Karlson called it a complete social statement and his answer to John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath.
- Sara Haden and Gene Reynolds are in the cast.
- It entered the public domain in 1976.
Scenes
- The cougar drops on Tom from above and kills him.
- Danny and the dog corner the cat in a cave.
Also available
- Internet Archive (The_Big_Cat)
- Wikimedia Commons (The Big Cat.ogv)
