another weakness is the fact that the farm background in the first half of the picture is drab and dreary. No fault can be found with Jane Wyman's acting: she can always be depended on to do her part right. There is some human interest here and there, and some mild comedy, but with a better script the picture might have been a powerful drama. The black-and-white photography is fair:-- On October 5, 1953, Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin rated So Big as good, with three dollar signs out of four, four being "tops." The review headlines with "New version of Edna Ferber novel filmization well-fashioned tear-jerker. Wyman performance ranks with her "Johnny Belinda" role. Strong fem appeal. Fine family attraction. Will build on word-of-mouth." The review states "Success of previous two (1925, 1932) versions of Ferber novel, plus Jane Wyman name and formidable word-of-mouth makes "So Big" good b.o. bet, except, perhaps, in action houses. Wyman's superb performance, matches Blue Veil and Johnny Belinda portrayals, makes bid for Oscar nomination...Roles are excellently portrayed, interest held throughout, no mean feat in episodic tale of this sort, Plenty of sure-fire angles and incidents to wet eyes, and bring a warm glow. Family spots will thrive on it." Release There is no record that a VHS version of the film has been released; So Big was released on VHS then the copies mysteriously disappeared. In 2019, the film was released in Australia on Region-free DVD. Awards and nominations Steve Forrest was awarded the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor with Hugh O'Brian and Richard Egan. Adaptations to other media So Big was adapted as an hour-long radio play on Studio One's December 29, 1947 broadcast with Joan Blondell, and on Lux Radio Theatre's September 21, 1954 broadcast with Ida Lupino and Robert Stack. References External links Edna Ferber e gli ideali della borghesia media americana del Midwest negli anni ’20 e ’30 Tvcinemateatro-i protagonisti 1953 films 1953 drama films American drama films American Western (genre) films 1953 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films scored by Max Steiner Films based on American novels Films set in the 1890s Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films directed by Robert Wise Warner Bros. films Films produced by Henry Blanke Films based on works by Edna Ferber 1950s English-language films 1950s American films