BRIGHAM YOUNG-FRONTIERSMAN (DVD/SENSORMATIC) DVD

Brigham Young
Inspired by the true story of the leader of the Mormon Church, this film features Dean Jagger in the title role. The members of the Church of Latter Day Saints are subjected to religious persecution by the people of Nauvoo, Illinois, where they've settled; so under the leadership of Brigham Young, the Mormons head west, facing tremendous adversity along the way. However, a gravely ill Young has a prophetic dream in which he sees what he believes is his people's promised land, where they will be allowed to live and worship as they see fit. Soon they discover the land Young saw in his dream -- Salt Lake City, Utah. Young and his followers settle there, but their hardship does not end soon. The first winter in Utah is cruel, and while the spring brings the promises of a bountiful planting season, soon a plague of locusts appears, threatening to devour the crops the settlers have just planted. A huge flock of seagulls arrives to save the day by consuming the insects. Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell play a pair of settlers who fall in love in the course of the journey. Brigham Young downplays the more controversial aspects of the Mormon church (particularly polygamy) in favor of portraying Young as a trail-blazing man of the land; in some markets, the film was shown as Brigham Young, Frontiersman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Tyrone Power as Jonathan Kent Linda Darnell as Zina Webb Dean Jagger as Brigham Young Brian Donlevy as Angus Duncan Jane Darwell as Eliza Kent John Carradine as Port Rockwell Mary Astor as Mary Ann Young Vincent Price as Joseph Smith Jean Rogers as Clara Young Ann E. Todd as Mary Kent Willard Robertson as Heber Kimball Moroni Olsen as Doc Richards Marc Lawrence as Prosecutor Stanley Andrews as Hyrum Smith Fuzzy Knight as Pete Dick Jones as Henry Kent Selmar Jackson as Caleb Kent Frederick Burton as Mr. Webb Russell Simpson as Major Arthur Ayleswofth as Jim Bridger Davison Clark as Johnson Claire Du Brey as Emma Smith Tully Marshall as Judge Dick Rich as Mob Leader Ralph Dunn as Jury Foreman Edwin Maxwell as Leader Edmund MacDonald as Elder George Melford as John Taylor

Crew Maurice Ransford - Art Director William S. Darling - Art Director Kenneth MacGowan - Associate Producer Gwen Wakeling - Costume Designer Henry Hathaway - Director Robert Bischoff - Editor Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score) Arthur C. Miller - Cinematographer Darryl F. Zanuck - Producer Thomas K. Little - Set Designer Fred Sersen - Special Effects Roger Heman - Sound/Sound Designer E. Clayton Ward - Sound/Sound Designer Lamar Trotti - Screenwriter Louis Bromfield - Screenwriter

Brigham Young
An epic film that has sweep but not quite sufficient scope, Brigham Young is a moderately entertaining historical piece fairly effectively crossed with elements of the traditional western film. Perhaps most surprisingly, Young is fairly accurate in its historical details (though certainly not in all of them), which is quite rare for a Hollywood biography. It also manages to downplay a number of the more controversial issues associated with Mormonism and its founding, which works both to its advantage (by avoiding raising issues that might prejudice viewers against its characters) and its disadvantage (by robbing the characters of an extra dimension and avoiding potential new dramatic conflicts). The film also employs a "double thread" narrative, emphasizing two different plotlines. The more interesting of these is that involving the title character, as the secondary plot, involving Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell, is a bit pedestrian and predictable. As a result, the film lacks cohesion and loses impact through much of the middle and later sections. Fortunately, it has a strong cast with Dean Jagger especially good in the title role, providing the strength and force that the film needs. Also noteworthy is Vincent Price, turning in some of his finest work in the lesser role of founder Joseph Smith. Young's flaws keep it from being a great film, but it has many fine moments. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: cc Commentary by James D'Arc, Brigham Young University Script excerpts Movietone newsreel: Salt Lake City Premiere Letter from Vincent Price Production/publicity galleries DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 112 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Main Titles 2. The "Wolf Hunt" 3. A Different Kind of Courage 4. Treason 5. Brigham Young 6. The Prophet 7. The Verdict 8. Smith's Last Hour 9. A New Family 10. No Compromising 11. A Warning 12. The New Prophet 13. Exodus 14. The River 15. Anywhere But Here 16. To Mexico 17. On Our Way 18. The Indians' Welcome 19. Gold in California 20. The Frog Race 21. Young's Illness 22. This Is the Place 23. Food for Winter 24. Gone for Five Months 25. A Bad Winter 26. Jonathan's Return 27. Where's God? 28. The Swarm 29. False Prophet 30. The Sea Gulls 31. Something to Live For 32. Cast of Characters