Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film

by Don Graham

A larger-than-life narrative of the making of the classic film, marking the rise of America as a superpower, the ascent of Hollywood celebrity, and the flowering of Texas culture as mythology.

Featuring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor, Giant is an epic film of fame and materialism, based around the discovery of oil at Spindletop and the establishment of the King Ranch of south Texas. Isolating his star cast in the wilds of West Texas, director George Stevens brought together a volatile mix of egos, insecurities, sexual proclivities, and talent. Stevens knew he was overwhelmed with Hudson’s promiscuity, Taylor’s high diva-dom, and Dean’s egotistical eccentricity. Yet he coaxed performances out of them that made cinematic history, winning Stevens the Academy Award for Best Director and garnering nine other nominations, including a nomination for Best Actor for James Dean, who died before the film was finished.

In this compelling and impeccably researched narrative history of the making of the film, Don Graham chronicles the stories of Stevens, whose trauma in World War II intensified his ambition to make films that would tell the story of America; Edna Ferber, a considerable literary celebrity, who meets her match in the imposing Robert Kleberg, proprietor of the vast King Ranch; and Glenn McCarthy, an American oil tycoon; and Errol Flynn lookalike with a taste for Hollywood. Drawing on archival sources Graham’s Giant is a comprehensive depiction of the film’s production showing readers how reality became fiction and fiction became cinema.

Genres: Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Film, Pop Culture, History, Biography, Cultural

323 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2018

About the author

Don Graham was the J. Frank Dobie Regents Professor of American and English Literature at The University of Texas at Austin. He was the author or editor of numerous books and articles, including Kings of Texas: The 150-Year Saga of an American Ranching Empire (2003), which won the Carr P. Collins Prize from the Texas Institute of Letters as best nonfiction book of the year, No Name on the Bullet: A Biography of Audie Murphy and Lone Star Literature: A Texas Anthology (2006). He was a past president of the Texas Institute of Letters and a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly.

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I was disappointed that this book really didn’t rise above most books about the movies. Graham really belabors some points. And enough of James Dean. Jeez.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giant was a very well researched book, giving readers a great deal of information on both the actors and the film itself. The author did a good job at combining the topics of the lives of the actors and details of the filming. I personally am more interested in the film and in the filming process, then in depth details about the actors and actresses themselves. The author does include a great deal of information on the filming of the movie, which includes some great black and white photographs in the middle of the book. I believe that anyone who is a fan of the movie, Giant will enjoy this book and I believe that readers who are especially fans of history and film, will really love this book. Unlike some other books that I have read about movies, which often include a lot of pictures and information about where filming took place, Giant provides a much more in depth look at both the film and the actors included in it. I would highly recommend this book to readers who are big fans of actors like Elizabeth Taylor or James Dean or just this particular era of film.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for sending me an ARC of this book.

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazingly thorough and detailed research by the author, and the book is generally well-written too, but I felt that it got a bit repetitive and long-winded. Also, it wasn't very well-balanced as there was far more more about James Dean than anyone else, plus it was too gossipy for my taste - I learnt far more about the sex lives of Rock Hudson and especially James Dean than I ever wanted to know. Neither of them come off very well in comparison with Elizabeth Taylor. Personally, I think Dean was miscast, especially as he was only 5' 7" and playing a character supposedly capable of decking the 6'5" Rock Hudson. Robert Mitchum would have been more suitable. Strange that director George Stevens is excluded from the title while Edna Ferber (author of the original novel) isn't - he features in it much more than she does and, to me, is the most interesting person in the book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book through my love of West Texas and visiting sites related to the movie by chance. I like to tell myself I’m not interested in Hollywood gossip, but old Hollywood is a different story. They just don’t make them like they used to. Obviously a different time, where a lot of behavior was vehemently frowned upon (hypocritically) but is widely embraced today. Not making a statement, a lot of what is here is known, but what the author shares can be jolting at times. This is a book about the making of the movie Giant, but more so a bi-op on its stars and director and the Hollywood scene in 1955. Most notably is James Dean, who is by far the most interesting of all the characters and deservedly gets much page time. The author does a good job in laying out the facts and perspectives from all sides while injecting his opinion from time time which I never found offensive or out of line. It’s a well done book and if this is your sort of thing — ie. Hollywood, James Dean them this is a solid read. I got more into this as stated by W Texas and Marfa. The book spends quality time on the subject and how it affected the population and the legacy it left behind. While I came looking for one thing I ended up enjoying it for another. I guess I’m just shallow.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so conflicted.

Don Graham has written a straightforward, exhaustively researched, thorough book about the making of an epic movie. (When I say "epic", I'm talking Gone With the Wind level "epic". Just to clarify.) I have great admiration for his efforts and really enjoy his writing style. Somehow, he manages to combine human interest and cinematic detail in a chronicle that could last for 500 pages and bore the reader to death....but he masterfully distills it down into something readable.

That being said, I realized about halfway through the seemingly endless chapter on James Dean that there's such a thing as knowing too much about someone or something. If you love the movie or any of the actors on sheer entertainment face-value level, you won't probably appreciate this book. I happen to think Giant is an amazing movie (I used the word "epic", remember?) and now I look at it differently, less generously for the most part. And that's my personality, perhaps, more than anything.

I didn't think I liked the book, but the truth is that I didn't like what the book revealed.
My problem, not the book's flaw.

If you dig old Hollywood and have no romantic illusions about it, you'll love this book.
If you swoon when someone brings up the name "Elizabeth Taylor" or the title of the movie, this may not be your very favorite book ever written.
Either way, I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read it (thanks to the Goodreads giveaway program) and I'll pass it along to friends who are a little less sentimental than I am!

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into the movie and the time it was made. Needlessly padded with gossip (I was on the verge of diagraming who was sleeping with whom). It could have benefited from more context. What Hollywood was going through and how Giant was part of a trend to get people out of their living rooms and into the movie theaters.

[Lee Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have certain "pet" subjects about which I have dozens of books: the Manson Murders, Joan Crawford, the Jonestown tragedy, the Marx Brothers (in descending order of quantity of books per subject). If pressed, I could probably compile my own book about any one of these subjects based on the knowledge in my head and the research materials I have at hand.

But compiling a book and writing a book are two different things. Don Graham compiled this book.

First off, maybe I'm a little touchy because I just last month watched Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed, on HBO (I refuse to call it MAX). It was just an okay documentary, but it really put my sympathies with Hudson, so when I read this book, and heard that he was worried about James Dean stealing this movie from him, and Don Graham devoted scant pages to Hudson's, Taylor's, Stevens', and Ferber's biographies, yet over forty pages to Dean's life story, I wanted to throw it on the floor. I was a big James Dean nerd as a teenager, to be sure, but this book should have been a full telling of the making of the movie, and ALL the stars involved. Poor Sal Mineo, you'd hardly know he was here.

Most of the information here is stuff I already heard watching the short Return to Giant documentary. In fact, I think I learned more from that. There are also a few shadings of Graham's political leanings (Indigenous People referred to as Native Americans, in a way that feels somewhat grudgingly, and then as Indian in the same paragraph, just one example). In the second too-long James Dean chapter, about his death (seriously, there are how many other books out there that cover this ground?), he thinks Patsy D'Amore of the Villa Capri is a woman--it's short for Pasquale--something I sensed without fact checking, and then fact checked myself, and I'm not the author of the book. Shouldn't the author of the book be doing this himself? It took me one minute to Google it.

This whole book was kind of a waste of time. Just watch the movie.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but strangely written; the author weaves his personal opinions in and out of the narrative, but at jarring moments. It’s well written most the time, but occasionally clunky. It seems to be very well-researched and you do get a very intimate look at the filming of the movie and the lives of all of the players; James Dean comes in for the biggest treatment here, and like the movie, he becomes the star of the book even though he’s amidst a large cast.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film was just okay for me. 3 stars.

[Stacy Croushorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough study of the making of the iconic film.

[Tracy R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing style was definitely from that period, but a sentimental read (one of my mom's favorites).

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I normally read, but Giant is one of my fave movies, so I felt this was a must read. I'm not disappointed! Very informative and interesting. I enjoyed it. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film by Don Graham is a non-fiction book detailing of the making of this landmark 1956 film. Mr. Graham is a Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin.

It is important to note that the author of this book is an expert on all things Texas including its culture, literature and history. The movie which is written about is the on screen representation of a book which tried to criticize Texas and what is stands for. Knowing all this, the reading of Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film by Don Graham makes it even more fascinating than just a history of a historic motion picture.

Mr. Graham wrote a fascination window into the America of the 1950s, with all the rot and glamour of Hollywood at a time when America was starting to look in the mirror and many didn’t like what they saw. The background of the author, actors, director and crew are all vivid and intelligently written, even the bad jokes by studio’s head are included for context.

This is not just a “making of” book, a piece of fluff Hollywood marketing, but an honest look at the difficulties and sacrifices many people make to make this vision come to life (or the theater). Liz Taylor, who was trying establish herself as a serious adult actress, was going through a divorce, James Dean was dealing with lifelong issues, Rock Hudson’s acting and more. The book also sets up the sexual abuse actors, both male and female, had to deal with which was part of the culture and the job.

The novel written by Edna Ferber in 1952 was a platform used to criticize the racial intolerance in the United States generally, and Texas specifically. The movie, shot on location in Marfa, TX was at first viewed in negative connotation, but as the filming progressed the Texas natives, many who benefited from the production, as well as fans who were welcomed to the open set changed their minds.

This book, chronologically chronicling the filming of the movie, presents many anecdotes on the set, including from residents who were around to watch the movie being filmed. Those anecdotes, of the actors, crew and witnesses is the strength of this book, which is easy to follow and an enjoyable read.

[Arwen Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and exciting read. Even though it’s nonfiction film history, it reads like a thriller. It’s also exhaustively researched—the notes and bibliography in the back are 48 pages long. You get a good picture of George Stevens’ (the director of “Giant”) principled and meticulous (sometimes infuriatingly so, for his actors and crew) working process. You also get an idea of how haunted he was by his time documenting the concentration camps in World War II (2 documentary films made by Stevens were admitted as evidence at the Nuremberg trials), which he left a lucrative film career behind in order to do.

There’s also a lot of juicy material about Henry Willson, the head of talent for David O. Selznick productions, who out-Harvey Weinsteined Harvey Weinstein before Weinstein was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye…with the twist that Willson was gay. Willson was responsible for molding green, awkward, shy Roy Fitzgerald from Illinois into Hollywood heartthrob Rock Hudson, who starred as Bick Benedict in “Giant”. Willson was also responsible for making sure that no one found out that Hudson was gay. Graham reminds the reader at least 3 times that being gay in Hollywood in the 50’s was considered as bad as being a Communist. And since Willson stood to make a lot of money off of Hudson, he couldn’t have that.

Then there’s Elizabeth Taylor, Hudson’s co-star, playing Leslie Benedict in “Giant”. Described as beautiful, spirited, steely, determined, a spitfire, generous, fiercely loyal to her friends, bawdy, lewd, a hopeless romantic, a great screen goddess, and with a mouth like a sailor’s, I wished that Graham had included more material about her. I would have enjoyed hanging out with her; she sounds like a hoot. Her advocacy for LGBTQ issues and lifelong dedication to her friends Montgomery Clift and Rock Hudson made her a gay icon, rightfully so.

And, of course, there’s James Dean, who, while playing the supporting role in “Giant” of Jett Rink, gets more material in this book than anyone besides Stevens—even Edna Ferber, who wrote the novel on which the film “Giant” was based. Dean’s tragic childhood makes you feel for him: his mother died of cancer when he was 9, and his emotionally distant father didn’t want him and sent him away from California to live with an aunt and uncle in Indiana, where Dean began a sexual relationship with a minister, the Reverend DeWeerd—though whether this was a “relationship” or whether Dean was, in fact, being molested, is a bit murky. This same minister would later speak at Dean’s funeral.

However, as iconic and larger-than-life as Dean’s image now towers in pop culture, you quickly come to realize that nobody was better at creating the myth of James Dean than James Dean. Ferber, who liked Dean, described him as “impish, compelling, magnetic; utterly winning one moment, obnoxious the next. Definitely gifted. Frequently maddening.” Supporting actress Mercedes McCambridge, who was also fond of Dean, seemed to sum it up when she said “A lot of people had a lot of problems with Jimmy. Nobody had more problems with Jimmy than Jimmy had.” Dean died while the film was still being made; teenage fans mobbed the premiere of the film, still in disbelief that he was really gone.

The other character that looms large in the book is the state of Texas, the setting for both the book and the film “Giant”. Stevens’ insistence on filming on location rather than on a studio lot to give the film a sense of place went against the studio’s wishes--too expensive. The filming took place in Marfa, Texas, which was then a backwater and is now an avant-garde art oasis (the installation “Prada Marfa”, the minimalist sculptures of Donald Judd), which Graham devotes much of the last chapter to covering.

I haven’t watched “Giant” yet—clocking in at 3+ hours, I have yet to set aside a chunk of time to devote to it. But with all the gossip and Hollywood history behind it, I hope it’s half as interesting as this book.

[Paul Womack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable read. The movie is entertainment I have rather enjoyed, and the book provides most helpful historical and social context. “Giant” is akin to Frankel’s “The Searchers” and “High Noon”, in providing an overview of people invested in bringing stories to film and the passions in their lives that give those stories depth. Now, I cannot wait to see the movie again.

[Debbie (Vote Blue) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite fascinating. This was recommended by a bookseller at Northshire a couple of years ago. I have seen the movie, in parts, I think. Might be time to watch it in its entirety, with a different eye.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel Giant was not much liked in Texas. The New York playwright novelist Ed Ferber had an entirely different worldview from those cowboys that put meat on her table and oilmen that put gas in her car. The studio was most worried about the Houston rancher that Ferber based this novel on. This wariness of Texans was a hurdle, because Stevens couldn't imagine not shooting this in Texas. The land itself is crucial to understanding the culture. Biographer Robert Caro understood this too by opening up his LBJ biography series thoroughly explaining the migrants that settled the hill country, this west Texas wasteland where Stevens got his location shots.

Stevens was a good director and also a good businessman. He kept an open set during his shooting in Texas. He made the town feel like a part of the movie. They rented houses, filled the hotel, and ordered plenty of catering. Locals were also hired as extras. He won the public relations war. It also turned out that many things that Ferber disliked about Texas were also the same things many Texans prized in themselves. Showing the moments in a straightforward way could please everyone. It reminded me of how much mobsters embraced The Godfather after its release despite the wariness of its creation.

Author, Don Graham, also writes lengthy biographies of the actors leading up to their roles in this movie. Rock Hudson was the consummate professional and not given enough credit for his work in the movie. Elizabeth Taylor was stunningly beautiful and seemed to deflect it by having a foul mouth and motherly persona simultaneously. James Dean was ambitious and annoyingly insecure in the real world although fascinating in this picture. He also describes the moment other actors learned of Dean's death. They were still shooting interiors to finish the film.

The author has great insight into George Stevens that helps round out the sainthood that his son portrays in the documentary of his life. He might have had progressive views for society, but he was a dictatorial on set as much as any of his contemporaries. At least Hitchcock had a sense of humor about it.

The war, of course, changed Stevens as everyone says. He went from making light comedies to serious social commentary. He didn't get the message from Sullivan's Travels. What was most surprising was Stevens's hatred for General Eisenhower. I'm not sure if that hatred began during the war or when he ran against Adlai Stevenson for President. Stevens had access to Ike during the war and when they captured a German general, Stevens asked Ike if he planned to talk to him. Ike Said, no, he was here to kill Germans not meet them. For some reason this was the cause of Stevens's hatred. It doesn't seem consistent with the director that was forever haunted by his liberation of concentration camps and even created a documentary to help the Judges at Nuremberg pass harsh sentences. Why did Stevens even join up if he didn't want to see the enemy die? Was he maybe a Hemingway adventurer that didn't want to miss it? Stevens dislike of Ike is as perplexing to the author as it is to the reader. Ike was a great American. I guess Stevens just needed a reason to vote for Adlai like his friends.

The movie was a big hit despite being over schedule and over-budget. The third highest grossing movie of the year. Stevens could give them the message and still take a whole lot of their money for hearing it. At least he could this one last time. He made three more films none of which made their money back. Like nearly all of his talented contemporaries, his films suffered in the 1960s when the movie factories could no longer supply the same level of professionals that the classic directors needed to thrive. His last movie, The Only Game in Town, takes place in Vegas but was shot indoors in Paris and it looks like some cheaply made TV movie.

Notes:

There is an interesting comparison of James Dean to Montgomery Clift, the actor Stevens paired with Liz Taylor in his earlier A Place in the Sun. Monty was a great actor that also had personal problems but was better liked by co-stars. I started to wonder whether troubled people were led to method acting or whether method acting keeps you from maturing as a human being. All this naval gazing can't possibly be good for people's psyche. And then you give them fame and fortune and those actors are shielded from growing up. It seems like a recipe for trouble alright. The young DeNiro and Pacino played around with method acting until they decided to fall into playing their personas like the classic actors. Paul Newman seemed to have given it up after emulating James Dean in the 1950s. It 's hard to think of a wunderkind actor that had any lasting power without maturing into an adult in his personal life. Brando made a bunch of junk in the 1960s. Then the Godfather. Then some junk here or there to pay his bills. I tried to imagine a mature James Dean playing Butch Cassidy. Maybe with a lot of growing up.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giant is not only known as the swansong of James Dean, but also as one of the deepest and most profound movies made about the Texas lifestyle ever. Starring the mega-diva Elizabeth Taylor and the personally troubled Rock Hudson, the film was billed as the movie of the decade. Closely based on Edna Ferber’s book of the same title, Giant was publicized as featuring “every personality, every emotion [and] every page of Edna Ferber’s great novel.” Such close depiction of the novel in cinematic form inevitably meant that the author was deeply involved in the filming process, which brought about its own conflicts when Ferber felt that there was deviation from the way in which she wished to have the story retold, which was no doubt fueled by her certainty that her way was the right way (after all, she was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist). The egocentrism of all three of the leading characters was also inevitably bound to clash at times with the directorial intention, despite Rock Hudson’s total professionalism in this regard. Don Graham’s portrayal of both the highs and the lows of movie making in such a context is particularly poignant, given that this was to be the final appearance of teenage icon, James Dean, on the silver screen.

A major element in Giant is the contextualizing of the incidents and events described as occurring in the lives of those involved in the making of the film. Not only is Giant, the book, replete with anecdotes about the stars’ antics both on and off set, but the work also serves as a social documentary of the 1950s as a whole (with the movie premiering in New York City on October 10, 1956). Don Graham’s being an English professor at the University of Texas in Austin serves to enrich the text with the doyen’s intimate knowledge of Texan history and culture, while losing nothing of the fluency and vividness of the telling. As a reflection on contemporaneous times, the release of the movie brought about a general outcry against it serving as an expose of the corruption and greedy land grabbing that was rampant at that stage in American history.

The raw grit and beauty of the American landscape also forms the formidable landscape against which the drama plays out. Graham devotes some time to revealing what effect the location shooting (first in Charlottesville, Virginia and later in Marfa, Texas) of the movie (on which director George Stevens insisted) had on the cast and supporting team involved. According to Graham, Albemarle County in Virginia was chosen as an appropriate setting for “its beauty and its historical associations with the Old South,” with the Marfa area of Texas being a perfect backdrop to such a lavish production as Giant, with one of the key supporting actors, Texas native Chill Wills (who played the role of Uncle Bawley, an affable elderly bachelor), having already made the low-budget movie, High Lonesome (1950), there half a decade before. To Stevens, Giant had to depict the real wild Texan West, so that including in the cast authentic-sounding and -looking characters was of prime importance.

Giant contains numerous black-and-white photographs of the lead actors, both on and off set, as well as of them hobnobbing with the production team. As befits a work of this nature, there are numerous notes, as well as a comprehensive bibliography and a well-compiled index. Such care has been taken with the accuracy of every detail that Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film should form a valuable addition to any film buff’s or cultural historian’s collection.

[Laura Cobrinik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Graham's "Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film," a page turner, and almost on the par with a mystery or "a true crime" work.
I found the reporting of how Steven's directed the film and was surprised that he did not listen to Edna Ferber who had written the best-selling novel, "Giant" whom Steven's was basing his film on. It was hard to believe that Steven's didn't even listen to the criticism regarding Elizabeth Taylor's last line in the movie to match the last line in Ferber's book.
I also thought how interesting it was that Rock Hudson's sexual orientation was kept such a secret, and how it had to be almost fictionalized in real life once "Giant" was ready to "roll" in the theaters. I could not believe that Steven's kept James Dean as in the movie with his work habits, "coming in late," "drinking," and "acting" his way rather than taking the directions which were written on the script.
After finishing Graham's book, I now wonder what the critics would say if James Dean did not die before the movie was released. Not knowing before I read this book that James Dean died before the filming of Giant was completed, I now realize that the comments about Dean were really foreshadowed before the reader came to that spot in the movie.
I recommend this book to film buffs and lovers of the classic films of the 1940's and the 1950s. I also found the cultural and historical arguments during the filming of "Giant" very interesting, and thought how Steven's used a diner scene to bring back that part of history-----
--My one dislike about Graham's information contained in his book, was that he shared with his readers where the "racist" sign which was used in the movie could be found. I feel that I the age of Donald Trump being our President, that, that information should have been kept locked up for a later date.
However, I could not put this book down, possibly it was because of my love of Edna Ferber's novel, "Giant," and also for her other books, "So Big," and "Saratoga Trunk." I hope that Graham writes about the making of these movies soon....
I would recommend this book to all film buffs who love the classic movies from the "golden age," of cinema, i.e., the 1940s and the 1950s. All in all, this book was a very entertaining and thought-provoking work.
Laura Cobrinik,
Boonton Township, NJ

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a bibliography of roughly nineteen pages of very fine print listings of sources, it is hard to believe that Don Graham’s Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film clocks in at 260 pages. This is a concise monument to an iconic movie whose three stars proved, ultimately, to be larger than life. Graham, whose Texas books range from topics such as ranching to literature, has tackled the making of and the impact of one of Hollywood’s great films. Without having to scan all of those diverse sources listed in that enormous bibliography, we are treated to all the details of the creation of the film, the peccadilloes of its stars, the reactions of bystanders, the critiques of the film, and the film’s lasting impact. Graham pulls no punches about Taylor, Hudson, or Dean. We learn that Dean, the relative newcomer to films (although Giant would prove to be his last of three he made before his untimely death,) was not even remotely considered a “star” of the film by its auteur George Stevens or the “powers that be.” The real stars were Taylor and Hudson. The film actually made both their careers as mature actors. But it is Dean who arguably became the star of the film because if his antics and the legend that grew around him after his death. We, as readers, grow to understand the young actor perhaps but, as Graham describes him, I for one didn’t learn to like the erratic, emotionally charged hellion James Dean was. Taylor and Hudson’s faults are liberally pointed out in the book, but their reputations pretty much remain intact by the end of the tale. This book is fascinating and a welcome addition to any movie buff’s collection. After reading Edna Ferber’s novel Giant a few months ago, I immediately watched the film, all three hours, twenty minutes of it, for about the six or seventh time. Now, having read Graham’s book, the movie is once again cued up on my DVR, awaiting recording so I can view it again with a new, fresher, more discerning outlook.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but unnecessarily long book about the making of "Giant", a film which, although it does have its merits, is probably still in the public consciousness because it was the last film in which James Dean appeared.
I love film history, and there's lots of detailed information about the actual filming of "GIant", as well as interactions between novelist Edna Ferber, director George Stevens, and actors Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. But there's also a lot of repetition, especially when it comes to James Dean. There's A LOT of information about Dean here, mostly to the effect that he was often rude and unpleasant and juvenile, and how some people didn't have a problem with that, but other people did. Or sometimes didn't. But wasn't he an extraordinary actor, so you could maybe forgive him being so awful. Or not. This kind of stuff, quotes from people who liked him, quotes from people who didn't, went on and on. I didn't really care about all of this so much, except when it came to the making of this particular film, which is why I picked up the book.
Some of the repetition also seemed to occur because of the way the book is structured, which felt clunky to me. At one point, Dean's death is introduced in a sort of matter-of-fact way, and Taylor's reaction to it is explored. But then, pages later, we go into detail about Dean's last days, and the circumstances of the accident that killed him, and we revisit the death. The author often seemed to cycle back like this, bringing up an incident that was already written about, but now doing it from another person's perspective, or giving it more detail. I kept getting feelings of deja vu - didn't I read about this already?
If you like Hollywood/Film history, or you're a total James Dean addict, this book is for you. If not, you can probably give it a miss.

[Tyler Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read if you like classic Hollywood and filmmaking! I have always been a huge fan of George Stevens’ Giant. I think it’s one of his best works and it’s certainly a best for all 3 actors involved (Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean). They all shine and I love how this book brought the relationships and making of the film to the forefront. I knew Dean and Hudson didn’t get along at all, but I like the subtext and layers Graham adds to the feud. Both actors had gay rumors swirling about them and both have been known to use their physical appeal to propel their career further with powerful gay men in Hollywood. It’s no surprise that they wouldn’t want to associate with each other, not just because they couldn’t stand each other, but for survival. I do think there were times in the book Graham focused too much on Dean’s sexuality. It really wasn’t all that important to the making of the film and as a gay man it started to irk me a bit and feel like a tabloid gimmick in some parts with Dean and Hudson. I also wished we could’ve got Taylor’s state of mind better during the making of the film. I felt like she took a back seat during the book, which I did not expect. The star of the book is definitely Dean, Stevens and Texas, maybe rightly so, but I would have loved more Taylor. I do love the things I learned about Stevens while reading this book. I love him for fighting with Jack Warner over the scene showing Angel’s death. It’s such a moving and effective scene. I simply couldn’t imagine the film without it. I love a director who sticks to his guns and I love a film that will call Americans right out and let them know we can do better with each other. Giant is one of those films and I love it so much. It was a labor of love and a whole hell of a lot more, but hey it is Texas and Jimmy Dean we’re talking about. Highly recommend this read!

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an excellent book about the movie Giant. The way it was made from the director to the actors and the people behind the scenes. The author will start with the author of the original book and move through the differences between the book and the film. He will tell you how the director already had certain people in mind to play the parts and for the most they all panned out, except for James Dean who the director did not want but finally settle on. After watching the movie once again but this time after reading the book I really cannot imagine the film with another actor in the roll of James Dean. Yes he does things that some of the actors according to them were stealing the scene but really he made the film. It was his little add on in a scene that was not called for anything, like when he was walking the fence line after inheriting the land, and stand in the room twirling the rope when they read the will. Those are just two examples. He learned the rope tricks on location from the man who was their hired to teach Rock Hudson to speak Texan, that man was from Texas and was a stuntman in Hollywood and paid a good amount for teaching in the day and drinking at night with Dean. The author will take you into the back ground and life of the actors and will take you through the town they used and what has happened to the town since. A wonderful book and full of good information about the movie and the stars. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago I read Edna Ferber's Texas-based novel Giant and found it pretty interesting. I especially appreciated its progressive, critical eye, esp of the Texas ethos of Bigger is Better and We're #1, etc etc, ad nauseam. Due to Ferber's anthropological focus over a Sweeping Family Saga sort of thing, it wasn't always the most riveting book but I was glad I read it. I recently saw the 1956 film version again on the big screen here in Minneapolis and really enjoyed it (much more so than Ferber's tome), so when I came across this account of the making of the film I thought, why not? Graham's history starts out well, but eventually his account of events gets rather unhealthily focused on James Dean over everything else. The repetition of comments and quotes from those who knew and worked with Dean eventually overwhelmed the book's midsection. The fact that Dean was clearly a self-involved prat in the first place led me to question why readers needed to be inundated with so much anecdotal evidence attesting to that. But the details about Director George Stevens, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson are often fascinating, even juicy, and the material on the film's legacy was good stuff (of which I wanted much more). There's certainly enough meat on this book's bones to keep you reading. And now I actually want to see the movie again! Final score: B-

[Jennieke Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, well-researched book about a movie I really enjoy. Though I wouldn't go so far as to say GIANT is one of my favorite movies, if you ask me, it is a great movie still well-worth watching today. When you think about all the players and huge egos involved in the making of the movie (Jack Warner, George Stevens, Edna Ferber, not to mention all the actors) it really is interesting to see how well the final film turned out. Though I'd read much of the information about Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor from various sources, including TCM's online database of articles, the information about how the cast and crew lived and worked and interacted with the locals while they were filming in Marfa, Texas was all new to me and probably my favorite part of the narrative. I have never been a James Dean fan, and I will say that this book made me dislike him as a human even more. Graham doesn't shy away from showing the unfavorable side of anyone involved, which has the odd effect of making you wonder why you're reading a book about these strange creatures who worked in Hollywood. But then you remember the movie and say to yourself: maybe it's time to watch it again.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great account of the making of an epic film, and the many people involved in the process. Nice insights into George Stevens and his methods and background, maybe a little too much on James Dean. Elizabeth Taylor is shown as a real human being, and Rock Hudson got a huge career boost after Giant was released. This movie made him and he never forgot it. A number of other people are met along the way, some of the "little" people who added so much behind the scenes, other people who had big ideas and advice to give, but George Stevens made HIS movie, HIS way, and we are the ones who benefit. I'm a Texan, I was 8 years old when my parents drove 50 miles one way to see Giant--no freeways! It has always been a special favorite of mine and Don Graham's well researched and well written book has only added to that--so much so that I got out my DVD and spent the 3 hours plus that it takes to watch again last night. As fresh as ever and so much more interesting, having read the book.

[Conny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a First Read Winner of this book, and since I loved the movie I was really looking forward to reading it. Granted I saw the movie when I was a kid and I thought that this was what American lives where like, I grew up in Germany, and the prejudice against Mexicans went right over my head at the time. So I was very keen on revisiting it all with this book and looking at it with adult eyes. I was a little disappointed that it did not contain more pictures, but the backstory of each actor was very interesting, and I did enjoy the bit of gossip too. It was a bit dry on occasion but overall it gives one a better understanding of what went into making a movie in the 50is and on how to deal with the different egos. Overall very entertaining and beautifully researched.

[Lee Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admission of guilt:
Since 1970 this film has been an annual viewing for me.
I mean, come on - Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean - the iconic triumvirate.
What's not to like?
This book blows away myth and replaces those myths with hard facts and history.
I found the book to be engrossing (I'm prejudiced), enthralling, disconcerting (director vs. author) and filled with the fascinating minutiae and insights that tantalize and enthrall.
Some folks may take a scan and wave it off as Hollywood scandal, but this seems to be the history that is most often abandoned for the sake of civility.
Overall a thoroughly engrossing work.
Thank you for the copy and the opportunity to read and review.

[Barry Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any fans of the movie Giant, or fans of Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean or Rock Hudson should enjoy this book immensely. Author Donald Graham highlights the interesting dynamics between the stars. Readers also will learn a lot about director George Stevens and his relationship with the stars. He saw James Dean's greatness and was willing to put up with a lot from the young star. Dean could be crude, rude, standoffish and outlandish. Stevens was particularly hard on Elizabeth Taylor after Dean's death, which occurred shortly before they wrapped up the movie. Taylor and Dean didn't hit it off at first, but the two came to like each other. Dean and Rock Hudson never cared for each other, and they battled for Taylor's attention.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not really happy until I know the entire story about a thing and if you don't discover EVERYTHING about the film "Giant" after reading this book, well, I don't know. This is an exhaustive look at the players, the process, and the history of this great film. As soon as I finished, I went out and bought the latest 2 CD version and watched the movie again with commentary by George Stevens Jr (one of my personal heroes). The book could have used a better editor, because the author repeats himself a couple of times, but the stories, the detail...it is all irresistible. I gave it to my mom for Mother's Day because she was a "Giant" fanatic. A film before it's time and very timely now.