GIANT: Making of a Legendary American Film

Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean and Edna Ferber, this is a brilliant study of a classic American film. Giant was 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. Hudson's promiscuity, Taylor's high diva-dom, and Dean's egotistical eccentricity, the film nevertheless made cinematic history and won awards including Best Actor for Dean, who died before the film was finished. In this impeccably researched narrative history, Don Graham chronicles the stories of Stevens whose trauma in World War Two intensified his ambition to make films telling the story of America; Edna Ferber, a considerable literary celebrity who meets her match in the imposing Robert Kleberg, proprietor of King Ranch; and Glenn McCarthy, an oil tycoon and Errol Flynn lookalike with a taste for Hollywood. 'Don Graham digs into Giant like a wildcatter drilling for oil... He provides colourful tales with minimal Texas exaggeration and a plethora of facts and anecdotes.' - Philadelphia Enquirer. 323pp, paperback with candid off-screen photos.