Brigham Young (1940)

You won't be disappointed!

Beautiful, moving film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I always liked Tyrone Power, but am embarrassed that he chose to perform the title character in this extremely propagandist and revisionist fiction of Brigham Young's life. I have no idea if Tyrone Power was Mormon or not, but don't understand why he would star in this if he wasn't; he portrays Brigham Young as a Frontier version of Christ, and I am not kidding; if you removed the 1800s trappings, you would think he was playing Christ in certain scenes. However, he plays his scenes so flatly and so earnestly, that it flattens out what is already a cartoonlike character.The movie naturally leaves out important pieces of information: that a Mormon expedition en route to Utah committed one of the worst slaughters of pilgrims in American history, because they were paranoid that the government was after them; when they discovered that the survivors of their attack were in act simply other pilgrims they talked them into coming out of hiding, then shot them all dead; except for the small children, whom they forcefully adopted into their new cult. This massacre only became known 20 years later, and the government out of obligation chose one scapegoat to hang, as they couldn't be bothered to investigate the scope of this atrocity and prosecute the dozens of Mormon men who shot the Pilgrims in the head. The massacre is actually much worse than this, and easily searchable. Brigham Young was alive during this time, and denied it ever happened, although he had been advised it had occurred.The movie also leaves out the fact that Joseph Smith had served time in jail for conning people out of money multiple times; by promising to find water for them with special "stones" he possessed. He used this trick later when he claimed to have "Seer stones" to translate the golden plates he claimed to have found.During Mormonism's initial spread, women were actually kidnapped away from their husbands and families in neighboring states and forced to marry Mormons who already had multiple wives. The government never bothered to investigate these abductions, though they were recorded in the states where they occurred.Joseph Smith was not assassinated; he had come to a new town to spread his religion and gather more wives, and the townspeople tried to lynch him; he shot three of them dead before they managed to kill this cynical huckster.This movie is an artifact of its time; it is useful in demonstrating how dangerous whitewashing history and religions can be. Someday L. Ron Hubbard will be seen as the Christ figure who was shown Scientology by God; today in Russia, Stalin is actually being considered by the Russian Orthodox Church as a candidate for sainthood; a monster who murdered up to 30 million of his own people during his time as dictator. Whenever you see any movie like Brigham Young that portrays a historical figure in Christlike terms, be very suspicious. It's not as harmless as it seems....Also be very suspicious of glowing reviews of a movie made 70 years ago, by people watching it today and calling it the most brilliant, accurate historical drama you can see. It makes you wonder what their relationship is to the religion this movie is a tribute to.

The early years of the Mormon faith, from oppression in Illinois and the murder of Joseph Smith (Vincent Price), to the first fateful year at the great Salt Lake, is seen through the eyes of Brigham Young (Dean Jagger), young Mormon follower Tyrone Power, and non-Mormon Linda Darnell, who's father was murdered trying to protect Power's farm.Jagger is appropriately stoic and dignified, while Price gives an early atypical performance, without a drop of he hamminess that his fans love him for. Fellow future horror star John Carradine is quite memorable as a tough, long-haired mountain man, who was interesting enough to have warranted his own movie.The movie does a good job of portraying the stark terror of Smith and his followers' persecution. That part is so potent that their subsequent hardships seem almost tame in comparison. Still, it's good, uplifting entertainment, even for those largely unfamiliar with the LDS religion.While I don't know what characters were real or imagined, that of top-billed Power and Linda Darnell, as pleasant as they are, seem a bit contrived for marquee purposes, as does "villain" Brian Donlevy.

I'm LDS, with a significant interest in history, and although this film was OK, and I enjoyed the cast, the story was inaccurate and somewhat glossy in many places.In contrast to some of the other reviews, I'd note that Joseph Smith was arrested on a legitimate charge. He destroyed a newspaper press and the papers in Nauvoo. Freedom of the press is protected in the US under the constitution, so he broke the law. Further, having read that edition of the Nauvoo expositor I find that although there is hyperbole within it the basis of its claims are founded in fact, revealing that Joseph taught polygamy long before it was openly announced. Having read Richard Lyman Bushman's 'Rough Stone Rolling', and Todd Compton's 'In Sacred Loneliness' Smith is also acknowledged by Church Historians to have married 11 women that were actually married to other men alive at the time - some of which he had sent away on missions before proposing to their wives whilst they were away serving. So if anything, this movie underplays it.Brigham Young, was a strong leader, and he did indeed establish SLC, and build a thriving community there. Our history is far more troubled and nuanced than is portrayed in this movie. The story did little to portray a well rounded view of the harsh reality both within and without the church.

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.