So Big is a 1953 American Drama Western film directed by Robert Wise and starring Jane Wyman, Sterling Hayden and Nancy Olson.

In the late 1890s, boarding school student Selina Peake learns of the death of her father, who has left her penniless as the result of bad business transactions.

August Hempel, the father of her best friend Julie, secures her a teaching position in New Holland, a small Dutch farming community outside Chicago.

There she rents a room in the home of Klaas Pool, who lives with his unhappy wife Maartje and intelligent but troubled adolescent son Roelf.

Following graduation, he finds employment as a draughtsman and continues his relationship with Julie's daughter Paula, a social climber who convinces him to forgo his career in favor of becoming a more immediate financial success.

[7] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wroteDespite the fact that the story is "dated," that it offers a very familiar theme and that the present production is loaded with some typical "Hollywood" flaws, there is still a great deal of solid substance in this latest retelling of the tale ...For the better part of the picture, we are largely indebted to Jane Wyman...remarkably strong and effective in every forthright little bit she does.

From her earliest appearance...to her ultimate poignant scene...she is humble, restrained and sure...Where the picture falls down is in those phases in which the grown-up son goes to Chicago and gets himself infected with false notions of a successful career.

Wise's direction are unsure, and the acting by all and sundry has a specious and artificial quality...As a consequence of its downward tangent toward the end, the whole picture loses force.

[8]Radio Times rated the film three out of five stars and commented "The tale's a mite old-fashioned for today's tastes, but under skilled editor-turned-director Robert Wise the Warner Bros gloss is not too intrusive, and there are nicely honed performances from big Sterling Hayden and lovely Nancy Olsen in support.

"[9] TV Guide rated the film three out of four stars and added "A good production, but a bit inflated, So Big commits the same error as the 1932 picture in that it stuffs a quarter of a century and many characters into not enough time.

"[10] The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) had a special preview in Washington of the highly influential group in 1953, and it was a big hit with the toppers.

The millions of women who create the Federation will receive that message, and the Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin claims that will assure a pre-sold audience.

[11] On October 3, 1953, Harrison's Reports wrote "Despite its length, this remake of Edna Ferber's prize-winning novel is only a fair drama...The trouble with this third version is that it lacks unity of plot -- it wanders all over the lot, and is packed with details which, for the most part, are tiresome.