''Big Jack'' is a 1949 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film starring

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...

and

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and ...

. The movie was directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his en ...

, and the screenplay was written by

Gene Fowler Gene Fowler (born Eugene Devlan) (March 8, 1890 – July 2, 1960) was an American journalist, author, and dramatist. Biography Fowler was born in Denver, Colorado. When his mother remarried during his youth, he took his stepfather's name to be ...

and Otto Eis from the novel by

Robert Thoeren Robert Thoeren (1903–1957) was a German screenwriter and film actor. Thoeren was born in Moravia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the First World War the German-speaking Thoeren emigrated to Germany where he became a theatre an ...

. The picture is a comedy-drama, set on the American frontier in the early 1800s, about outlaws who befriend a young doctor in legal trouble for acquiring corpses for anatomical research. This was Wallace Beery's final film, believed to be his 230th. He died on April 15, 1949 at age 64, three days after this movie's release. Also the final film to have a musical score by

Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...

, who had died two months before the film's release.

Plot

Cast

as Big Jack Horner *

as Dr. Alexander Meade *

as Flapjack Kate * Edward Arnold as Mayor Mahoney *

Vanessa Brown Vanessa Brown (born Smylla Brind, March 24, 1928 – May 21, 1999) was an Austrian-born American actress who worked in radio, film, theater, and television. Early life Born in Vienna, Austria, to Jewish parents (Nah Brind, a language teacher, a ...

as Patricia Mahoney *

Clinton Sundberg Clinton Charles Sundberg (December 7, 1903 (some sources say 1906) – December 14, 1987) was an American character actor in film and stage. Early years Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota. He graduated from Hamline University in St. Pau ...

as C. Petronius Smith *

Charles Dingle Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early life Dingle was born December 28, 1887, in Wabash, Indiana. His father was John Crockett Dingle, and he was said to be a descendant of Davy ...

as Mathias Taylor *

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

as Saltlick Joe * Jack Lambert as Bud Valentine * Will Wright as Will Farnsworth * William Phillips as Toddy *

Syd Saylor Syd or SYD may refer to: * Syd (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Syd.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Hans Sydow (1879–1946), German mycologist * Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ** IATA code for Sydney Airport, New Sout ...

as Pokey *

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...

as Putt Clegghorn * Richard Alexander as Bandit (uncredited)

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $759,000 in the US and Canada and $156,000 elsewhere, resulting in a $291,000 loss.

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also