''All the Brothers Were Valiant'' is a 1953

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

produced by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and directed by

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his en ...

. The film's

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was written by Harry Brown and based on the 1919 novel '' All the Brothers Were Valiant'' by

Ben Ames Williams Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...

. The music score was led by

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

and the cinematography by

George J. Folsey George Joseph Folsey, A.S.C., was an American cinematographer who worked on 162 films between 1919 and his retirement in 1976. Biography Born in Brooklyn, Folsey was hired by Jesse Louis Lasky to work as an office boy in his newly formed Jess ...

. The film is a remake of the 1923 silent film starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and produced by

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leas ...

(a forerunner of MGM). The 1923 film and a 1928 MGM version titled ''

Across to Singapore ''Across to Singapore'' is a 1928 American silent romantic drama film directed by William Nigh, and starring Ramon Novarro, Joan Crawford and Ernest Torrence. The plot involves a love triangle between a woman and two brothers, set on board sh ...

'' are now both considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

In the South Pacific, two brothers love the same woman. They fight over her and a bag of pearls on the floor of a lagoon. One of the brothers redeems himself by helping to prevent a mutiny.

Cast

Production

MGM bought the rights to the novel in 1936. Following the success of ''

Captains Courageous ''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' is an 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese f ...

'', the studio announced that it would produce the film, to star Robert Taylor and

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

. However, plans were postponed. In November 1951, the film was reactivated as a vehicle for Taylor and

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

was originally announced for the female lead. Filming began on location in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in early 1953 with Granger and Betta St. John. While the unit was on location, Elizabeth Taylor, who had just given birth, was replaced by

Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of ...

. Granger later called the film a "crappy melodrama" but admitted: "I had an OK villain's part."Brian MacFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Methuen 1997, p. 230 He said that the studio forced him to take the role instead of that which he truly wanted, the lead in ''

Mogambo ''Mogambo'' is a 1953 Technicolor adventure/ romantic drama film directed by John Ford and starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and featuring Donald Sinden. Shot on location in Equatorial Africa, with a musical soundtrack consisti ...

''. He claimed that he had been promised the ''Mogambo'' role but that

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...

had reneged and given the role to

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

. Granger enjoyed working with Robert Taylor, saying that Taylor "was the easiest person to work with but he had been entirely emasculated by the MGM brass who insisted that he was only a pretty face. He was convinced he wasn't really a good actor and his calm acceptance of this stigma infuriated me. He was such a nice guy, Bob, but he had even more hang-ups than I had."

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...

died six months after completing filming.

Reception

The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Color Cinematography (

). In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

panned the film: "What it all boils down to, in essence, is a lot of pseudo-salty South Seas whoop-de-do, put together with little distinction and without going off the studio lot."

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,004,000 at the North American box office and $2,624,000 elsewhere. It recorded a profit of $958,000. In France, the film recorded admissions of 1,909,704.Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France
at Box Office Story

Proposed follow-up

In July 1953, MGM announced that it had optioned ''Black Pawl'', another sailing adventure novel written by Ben Ames Williams. Although MGM intended the film as a follow-up to ''All the Brothers Were Valiant'' and planned to again cast Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, the project did not come to fruition.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:All The Brothers Were Valiant 1950s adventure drama films 1953 romantic drama films 1953 films 1950s historical adventure films American historical adventure films American adventure drama films American romantic drama films Films directed by Richard Thorpe Remakes of American films Sound film remakes of silent films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about whaling Films set in Oceania Films set in the 1850s Films set on islands Seafaring films Treasure hunt films Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Films with screenplays by Harry Brown (writer) Films about brothers American historical romance films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films