MovieChat Forums > So Big (1953) Discussion > How old were the actors in this film?

How old were the actors in this film?

posted 11 years ago by shanehaynes
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Each actor seemed waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to old for the character they were portraying. At the beginning of the movie, Jane Wyman was susposed to be a young school girl yet she looked to be mid 40s. When she arrived at the farm, the lady of the house stated she was 28 yrs old yet she looked to be easily in her 50s. Later on, when Roelf reappeared as a celebrated musician....he too seemed to be middle aged. The casting of the characters just seemed way off age wise.

[–] MikeNTxs 8 years ago

According to IMDB, Jane Wyman was probably about 36 when she was cast, so the age range she plays was a bit much.

It is a fact, though, that people born in the late 19th and early 20th centuries tended to visibly age earlier and die younger. Add to that that the kind of farming they were doing in the movie aged people young. The sun, the manual labor, the nutrition and malnutrition, and the level of medical care all aged people prematurely.

For those reasons, Roelf's mother could be 28 and look 40.