Hecht-Lancaster Productions' second film to be released in 1955 was The Kentuckian, another large-budget adventure film shot in Technicolor using the CinemaScope widescreen technology on location in the Kentucky mountains. the screenplay was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. B. Guthrie Jr. from Felix Holt's novel The Gabriel Horn and was Burt Lancaster's official directorial debut. Guthrie had already famously adapted Shane in 1952 and his novel, The Big Sky, was made into a successful Western by Howard Hawks that same year. Hecht and Lancaster hired famed composer Bernard Herrmann for the soundtrack, already renowned at the time for his work with Orson Welles. Herrmann is now best remembered as a close collaborator of Alfred Hitchcock, composing the soundtracks to Psycho, Vertigo and North By Northwest. In addition to starring Lancaster, The Kentuckian featured Dianne Foster, Diana Lynn, John McIntire and was the film debut of Walter Matthau, who played the heavy. As part of its publicity, Hecht hired artist Thomas Hart Benton to paint a life-sized portrait of Lancaster and Donald MacDonald (in character), posing with their dog Faro. The painting, also known as The Kentuckian, has been exhibited at a number of museums over the years and is currently part of Los Angeles County Museum of Art's permanent collection.Kansas City Performing Arts The film competed at the Venice Film Festival for its top prize, the Golden Lion Award.
