An epic film of fame and materialism, Giant is based around the discovery of oil at Spindletop and the establishment of the King Ranch of south Texas. Adapting Edna Ferber's novel was never going to be easy; director George Stevens brought together a volatile cast that included diva Elizabeth Taylor and the egotistical and eccentric James Dean, who died before the movie was completed. Stevens's Best Director Award at the 1957 Academy Awards was far from inevitable, however, and here Don Graham reveals the real-life sources of the novel, and the countless challenges to completing this Hollywood epic.

"Graham, long a keen student of Texas literature, has given us a brilliant study of a classic American film."—Larry McMurtry