MartinHafer You may want to know up front that I am not a Mormon, unlike a good number of those who have already reviewed this film. I mention this so you'll understand that the way I look at the film may differ greatly from those in the faith. For some, being critical of the film might be seen as being critical of the faith--and that is NOT my intention. So, my review is that of an outsider trying to look inside and learn more about who this man and his people were. Well, after seeing the film, I doubt if I have learned much at all. Since I have been a history teacher, I have a good basic understanding about Young as well as Joseph Smith as well as the teachings of the church. But anyone wanting to see this film to really learn anything will probably be disappointed because the film seems so gosh-darn nice--too nice and too unrealistic in its portrayal. Plus, you learn practically nothing about the church's beliefs other than they are nice people, work hard and some have many wives (and this latter part is only barely hinted at in the film). Instead, the people are almost cartoon-like in their simplistic portrayals. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and their followers are angelic, the non-Mormons were all devils and Brian Donlevy (playing EXACTLY the same sort of role Edward G. Robinson later played in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) is the trouble-maker who claims to be a Mormon but just comes along so the film can have a bad guy. It's all so very simple....too simple. Almost like an indoctrination film or infomercial.Brigham Young especially was a very complex man--with many good points (an excellent organizer and visionary) as well as bad (don't even get me started on his views about Blacks within the church or intermarriage). To portray him in such vague terms is just plain silly. It's also a lot like how Gandhi was portrayed in the film with Ben Kingsley--only the facts that led to his being almost super-human were emphasized. Heck, now that I think about that, this is the trouble with most religious films--they often come off as one-dimensional, trite and bland. Let's have a full and more complete film of these men--one that will stick to facts and not emotional appeals.Now if you can ignore the fact that you won't learn very much about the faith or its second leader, the film is enjoyable enough. It's obvious someone at 20th Century-Fox really cared about the film, as they had a wonderful cast of both premier actors (Tyrone Power), up and coming actors (Linda Darnell, Jane Darwell and Vincent Price) and wonderful character actors (Dean Jagger, John Carradine and Brian Donlevy). The film also had wonderful location shooting and lots of gloss. It just didn't have a lot to tell us other than they were all "swell". Plus, there were plenty of factual errors and a few just plain dumb scenes. A few of the mistakes include Young taking over the helm immediately after the death of Joseph Smith (it was three years later), no mention of the various Mormon denominations and splinter groups, talk of "gold in California"--even though it was 1847 and gold wouldn't be discovered until 1948, as well as no specific mention of polygamy or Smith's many wives. Just plain dumb scenes include Carradine pulling out a gun and waving it about in the courtroom scene--and no one seemed to care--even though it was a very hostile audience! Don't you think at least the judge would tell him to put it away and stop threatening people with it?!One final comment. Do not, I repeat, do not watch this film when it's shown on American Movie Classics (a one great station that has sunk a lot in recent years). While I am critical of the film because of its simplistic message, I was horrified with the complete disrespect the station had for the church and its traditions. What I mean is this. The film was punctuated with ads for penis enlargement formulas as well as tons of pop-ups (some advertising a show that features the "sexiest cast"). Talk about disrespectful and gross and I would be just as offended if they did this for any other religious film. By doing this, they not only insult the faith but marginalize their market--after all, who is into hearing about these things AND the life of Brigham Young?! Is this a movie, in this form, that you can show to your kids or recommend to others?!

bkoganbing The completed product of Brigham Young was not the film Darryl F. Zanuck envisioned. Originally the film was to have been an actual Hollywood biography of Brigham Young starring Walter Huston. Huston would have been grand casting in the role. But he backed out and Zanuck was stuck without a leading man. He decided to use Dean Jagger who he had under contract, but who was not a leading man. Zanuck then had the roles of the young farmer and his gentile sweetheart upgraded and cast Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell in them who had done so well in several films and built those parts up.Several LDS reviewers have pointed out the glaring inaccuracies of the story so I won't repeat them. Nevertheless Henry Hathaway does a fine job making this motion picture move. He certainly captures the grit and determination of the early Mormon settlers in Utah after they are run out of Illinois.Two of the minor characters in the film that I liked are Marc Lawrence as the prosecuting attorney of Joseph Smith and John Carradine as Mormon scout Porter Rockwell. Though Joseph Smith was not tried for anything before he was murdered, Lawrence's attorney is quite typical of the demagogic politician who made the Mormon residency of wherever they settled so much grist for their propaganda mill. As for Carradine, part frontier scout and part religious zealot, he fits the conception I have always had of Rockwell. A truly colorful character, he was as well known as Brigham Young himself in his day. He'd be a good subject for a biographical film himself.One of the great enigmas of the last two centuries coming down to this one is the fact that there still has never been one shred of archaeological evidence to prove the existence of that western hemisphere civilization that the Book of Mormon speaks of. Yet for a people that built their faith on a myth there is no denying the civilization they created in Utah. And in the climax when those seagulls came and ate the locusts destroying the crop the Saints planted that first year. No seagulls have ever been in the state of Utah before or since. That was indeed something of a miracle.And from the LDS reviewers here I see they are well pleased with this film.

georgereaganbush Good flick. I thought the acting was good. Linda Darnell, tyrone power, and all the others were good. The seagull scene was powerful. Compare this film to propaganda like michael moore's evil documentary or garbage like eyes wide shut or so many poor films out there today.I thought this film had adventure, philosophy and drama. Polygamy was addressed in when a person said polygamy would lead to many children and would greatly expand the size of the religion because obviously there would be many more mormons because of polygamy. I do not know if this was the real reason but I think for me it is interesting.Whatever you think about mormons, they are a very respectful and nice group of people. The mormon tabernacle choir is one of the best in the world. Mormons are clearly in the brotherhood of great Christian religions and some mormons will be standing in heaven like other Christians. in conclusion, this film stands as a fine film in many ways. And if America had moral messages and insightful philosophy like this in modern films, the world would be a much better place.

mark blanchard As another LDS viewer, I also like the film and find its hollywoodization of facts far less disturbing than say those of Stone's JFK. That said, I feel inclined to re-correct three facts that another LDS viewer pointed out. 1) While Joseph Smith was falsely imprisoned many times during his life, at the time of his murder he was under arrest, pending trial, for an offense he DID commit -- namely his ordering the destruction of the press of an opposition newspaper in Nauvoo. 2) While the slender 2/3rds majority of Nauvoo mormons did side with Brigham after Joseph's murder, roughly a third did not and scattered to the winds. And the issue of succession was by no means decided upon Joseph's death. It was nip and tuck, with several contenders vying for the crown, until Brigham's legendary 'immaculate impersonation' speech at conference. 3) I thought Vincent Price's portrayal of Joseph Smith was pretty good -- charismatic and visionary, somewhat other-worldly, but what do you expect.