The Big Country is a novel.
The Big Country is a 1958 American epic Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gregory Peck , Jean Simmons , Carroll Baker , Charlton Heston and Burl Ives . The film is one of very few pictures in which Heston plays a major supporting role instead of the lead . The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for the musical score by Jerome Moross . The Big Country is a Western novel by Donald Hamilton that was expanded from his original short story Ambush at Blanco Canyon . The Crossing is the first studio album released by Scottish band Big Country .