Little Big Man

1970. Dir: Arthur Penn. Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam and Jeff Corey. ●●○○○



In the 60's and 70's the Western was breathing it's final laboured gasps, and so in a desperate attempt to turn the tide the comedy western was born. Sometimes it worked (Blazing Saddles, True Grit) but often it did not. Little Big Man is a noble failure in the history of cinema.

Ostensibly it's the life story of 120 year old Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman) who was raised by Native Americans and fought with General Custer, add to this brushes with the church, 2 marriages, selling snake oil and a brief career as a gunslinger. Naturally all this is allegorical, the central conflict being not only an indictment of the US policy towards Native Americans but also a thinnly veiled attack on the Vietnam conflict.



Every character and chapter of the story is hiding some deeper truth about the state of Modern America, from faux mysticism to the failure of big business and the emptiness of the hawkish right wing rhetoric from the White House.

There is nothing wrong with allegorical movie making, however the broad nature of the satire (no element of society is left out) and the feeble comedy work against the motice of the film. And believe me the comedy really is dire. Hoffman's whiney, in-on-the-joke narration is off-putting enough but Faye Dunaway's lavicious ministers wife pantomiming her way through bathing Hoffman wouldn't be funny enough to go in a Carry-On movie.

There are elements to enjoy. Chief Dan George is suitably stoic as Hoffman's adoptive grandfather and the make up effects in the bookending segments are very impressive.

Overall though it's a mess, with the message being unforgiveable lost.