PBS film explores ethnic themes in 1956 classic 'Giant'

The sprawling 1956 epic "Giant" is remembered for a lot of reasons. It marked James Dean's last screen appearance and earned the actor a posthumous Oscar nomination. The Texas-based drama was a major box-office hit, despite running nearly 3½ hours.

The George Stevens film also is noted for its uncompromising look at the social and economic divide between Anglos and Hispanics. That situation existed in the west Texas town of Marfa, where the movie's exteriors were filmed.

"I think most members of the cast and crew didn't have a clue that was going on," says Hector Galan, who has directed "Children of Giant," a documentary that looks at the making of the movie. The film will open the fourth season of the PBS program "Voces," which explores Hispanic culture.

Stevens, who won an Oscar for "Giant," kept the set open and encouraged townspeople to watch the actors while filming. Some of the stars, most notably Dean, mingled with residents; "Children of Giant" includes photos and anecdotes involving the actor and locals.

But the documentary explores another aspect of the production. As the film sadly points out, the Mexican-American children who served as extras in the film watched the finished product in a segregated movie theater.

"For pretty much all the children who were in the film, it's kind of like their lives are before and after 'Giant,' " Galan says. "The movie put Marfa on the map and it really is a highlight for people who are connected with it, but then there are these sad connections with it."

Based on the best-selling book by Edna Ferber, "Giant" looks at the Benedicts, a wealthy Texas family (headed by Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor) in the early and mid-1900s. Oil drilling is a major factor, as are the attitudes of Texans toward Mexican-Americans. Tensions rise when the Benedicts' only son (Dennis Hopper) marries Juana, a woman of Mexican descent. She's played by Mexican actress Elsa Cárdenas in her Hollywood debut.

The documentary notes that in keeping with Western movies of the time, the filmmakers used makeup to darken Cárdenas' skin, approximating a more stereotypical look.

"She didn't like it," Galan says. "She started crying and she just didn't get it. The person who was putting the makeup on her said, 'It's not the color of your skin — it's because you're an actress.' I think she was worried what people back in Mexico would think."

It turns out they thought very little. In the documentary, Galan reveals that "Giant" was heavily edited when it first played south of the border, with most of the racially charged moments removed. That's an odd scenario, like watching "Psycho" without any murders.

"They didn't want to offend Mexicans," Galan explains. "You don't really see ethnic discrimination in Mexico to the level it is in the United States. Elsa didn't realize the situation that most Mexican-Americans in west Texas were living under."

He notes that Hispanic audiences perceived Juana's role as more pivotal than Anglo viewers do.

"It's what she represented and what it meant," Galan says. "She framed the true story of what was going on," particularly in a powerful sequence in which she is denied service at an upscale beauty salon.

"That type of scene hadn't been seen on-screen before," Galan says. "There were interracial type things, but you didn't see so much with different ethnicities."

In the documentary, Cardenas, one of the few surviving cast members, revisits Marfa. Galan didn't approach co-stars Carroll Baker or 88-year-old Jane Withers, whose health is reportedly unsteady. He did land Earl Holliman, who plays the Benedicts' son-in-law.

Holliman says he had no idea the area was so heavily segregated while making the movie. The documentary points out that even today, a barbed-wire fence divides a local cemetery into two sections: one for Mexican-Americans, the other for Anglos.

"Everybody was welcome to the set," Holliman recalls. "Anytime we were outside shooting, George encouraged the entire town to come and watch. There was no separating the gringos from the Mexican-Americans."

His memories of the film are all happy. He talks about spending two hours with Dean walking around town or watching Hudson drink scotch before shooting a scene: "I wasn't sure if he needed that or if he wasn't sure he could play a drunk convincingly," Holliman says.

"It was like George Stevens established this island of acceptance and tolerance," he says. "We didn't know about things like the cemetery. Everybody seemed nice. Everybody had a wonderful time. I mean, if we had stopped and thought about the fact that we were in west Texas, maybe it would have occurred to us. But it just didn't."

In the documentary, the remnants of Reata, the Benedicts' magnificent mansion, are shown weathering in the desert. The house was just a facade, but Holliman said it was glorious in person.

"That part made me kind of sad," he says. "I still remember the first time I ever saw it. Seeing it now like that makes you realize how much time has passed, so it's very bittersweet."

'Voces: Children of Giant'

9 p.m. Friday, April 17, on Channel 8 (KAET).

Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova