Seeing red over film set
QUESTION Where is Blanco Canyon, which featured in the film The Big Country?
THE BIG Country was a 1958 epic Western starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Burl Ives — who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar — and Charlton Heston in a rare supporting role. It is well known for its evocative theme music.
Directed by William Wyler, it tells the story of a naive naval captain (Peck) who finds himself in the middle of a family feud between his future father-in-law and a neighbouring clan over valuable cattle land and water rights.
His reluctance to take sides is erroneously seen as cowardice.
The story is set in Blanco Canyon, Texas, which was the site of a major battle against the Comanche Native Americans. Early settlers staked their claims there due to easy accessibility to water and wood.
However, as is so often the case in cinema, it was, in fact, filmed in the Red Rock Canyon State Park in California.
Being close to Hollywood, this was a popular location for Westerns and other films such as Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, Capricorn One and Westworld.
James Finnegan, Tralee, Co. Kerry. THE Big Country was one of many Hollywood westerns filmed at Red Rock Canyon State Park.
It is famous for its stunning rock formations and hoodoos — tall, thin rock spires that line the canyon.
The area was a lake ten million years ago. Sediment that flowed down from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains was deposited in layers. Time and pressure turned this into rock, and plate tectonics pushed the area upward.
Wind and water have eroded the surface of the sedimentary layers to reveal the stunning structures we see today.
Janet Carr, Durham.
QUESTION Do supermarkets Lidl and Aldi have shareholders?
LIDL, like its rival discounter Aldi, is a privately owned German business so it doesn’t have to answer to shareholders or the City.
The Lidl story began in 1930 when Josef Schwarz became a partner in Sudfruchte Groshandel Lidl & Co.
Josef’s son, Dieter, founded Schwartz Group, a retailer specialising in discounted supermarkets and wholesale markets in 1977. Dieter chose not to call the firm Schwartz-Markt, which translates as black market. Instead, he bought the name from the original store’s coowner Ludwig Lidl for 1,000 marks.
Aldi dates to 1913 when the mother of Karl and Theo Albrecht opened a shop in a suburb of Essen. The supermarket gets its name from Albrecht and the word Diskont.
In 1946, the brothers began to rapidly expand the business. In the 1960s, following an argument over whether to sell tobacco, the company split into Aldi Nord, run by Theo with its headquarters in Essen, and Aldi Sud, run by Karl and based in Mulheim.
The two groups operate in tandem around the world. When you shop at an Aldi in Australia, Britain or China, you’re shopping at Aldi Sud. In France, Denmark or Poland, you’re a customer of Aldi Nord.
Ollie Dunn, Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos.