REVIEW: The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

Title: The Brothers Karamazov
Release Year: 1958
Genre: Drama & Romance
Cast: Yul Brynner, and Maria Schell
Plot: In 19th century Russia, a wealthy father of three men with diverse personalities, Dmitri, Ivan, and Alexei, is murdered and Dmitri is framed for his murder.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Review: This film is based on a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky with the same name. I've never read the novel but have been searching for one ever since I watched this film.

Oh the happiness we felt when Rasha and I found this gem. I immediately fell in love with it and with Yul again. This is one of my favourite films and not just because Yul - although it's a huge part of it - but because not many films based on novels make you want to read it. They did a great job!

The story touches upon many subjects like; love, jealousy, selfishness, conscience, faith, forgiveness, greed and betrayal.

Yul Brynner played Dmitri Karamazov, the broke quick-tempered officer who was convicted for murdering his father. A usual he did a perfectionary job. He portrayed his character beautifully and I felt as though it was his real personality. Yul always had this way about him, he could make you fall in love with a character and hate him at the same time. The hate never lasts though.

Marlon Brando was considered for Dmitri's role. I usually see Brando in any role because he's such a great actor, but for this one, not at all. Not because you can never replace Yul, but because it really wasn't anything I could see him doing. I was extremely happy Yul was cast because he's my favourite actor, but also, I don't think I would've come across this film, which is among my favourites, had he not been cast, at least for a very long time.

Maria Schell played Grushenka, Dmitri's love interest. I wasn't happy at all with Schell, her acting was not all that. Besides, Grushenka was supposed to be someone very attractive that it would be hard for anyonoe not to notice her. Schell had neither the face nor the presence to be Grushenka. As harsh as that might sound, it's the truth.

Schell also did a very un Russian accent, not that that was important back then, but it was a little annoying. I never understood why producers would cast an actress with an accent when the character she's playing is supposed to have another accent. They did the same thing in "Anastasia", 1956, with Ingrid Bergman. It took away from her character and personality, no matter how good her acting was. I could almost believe she was an impersonator and not the real Anastasia.

Marilyn Monroe was actually the director's first choice. Eventhough she wanted the part of Grushenka so badly, Fox refused. She was hoping to do more serious roles, so it's a shame she couldn't convince them. I would've loved seeing her do it, because she fits the character to a t and this could've been one of her greatest roles.

Claire Bloom played Katya, another one of Dmitri's love interests. She did a great job and it was one of her best roles in my opinion. I could possibly see others in her place but all in all, she was good.

Lee J. Cobb played Fydor Karamazov, the lewd and crude natured father. He did an exceptional performance, despite the accent hehe. He was hilarious and disgusting at the same time. I couldn't stand him but wanted to see more of him hahaha he had me in stitches the whole time.

Richard Basehart played Ivan Karamazov, the atheist writer and Fyodr's middle son. He reminded me a lot of James Stewart's character in "Rope", 1948.
Stewart's character believed that "Murder is a crime for most men, but a privilege for the few" and Ivan felt that "There is nothing in the world to make man love their neighbours. If there is no God, then nothing can be immoral. Everything becomes lawful, even crime. Crime becomes not only lawful, but inevitable"
I was very happy that in both cases, their beliefs changed by the end.
Basehart was great as the middle brother and eventhough his character was supposed to seem more mature than Dmitri's, I don't think he was supposed to look it too hehe but it didn't ruin it for me.

William Shatner played Alexei Karamazov, the youngest son and a monk. What a peculiar family hehehe
I loved young Shatner, he was a superb actor and could play any part perfectly. I love his character. He was calm, collected and reliable. The most mature of the brothers. I loved that he was not judgemental even though, it would be hard not to be with that family.
After watching this film, whenever I say "innocence" I can only imagine Shatner's voice hehehe I loved the way he said it!

Albert Salmi played Smerdyakov, the bastard. I think Salmi didn't know any other accent but American and Finnish so for the role, he became a Russian with Finnish accent hahhaha.
He was one of the worst characters in any film. I hated him wholeheartedly and was very happy about his aftermath. When Ivan slapped him for being a coward - although slapping a dead person is not ethical - I still understood why he did it. 

Favourite Scenes:
One of the funniest moments in the film I think, was when Grushenka went to Dmitri's Fiancé and made a fool of her.

Dmitri's stalking scenes were the best. On the one hand, I felt so sorry and angry for him but on the other, I could'nt stop laughing at him.

Another unintentionally funny part was Grushenka's past lover. Was he supposed to be that old? hahhaha I guess I'd have to read the novel to know.

I loved the scenes at the gyspy pub because I love Romani music and there was lots of it there. I especially love it when Yul sings, but unfortunately he doesn't in this film. He just holds the guitar looking all handsome and junk. He did sing for the crew though...

I loved that every character's first scene brought out their personalities. It is a very difficult task to accomplish, especially that in adaptations, so much of the book is compressed, but the director and the screenwriters did a commendable job, showing us all that couldn't be performed.

I'm surprised the film didn't get as much praise as it should have. I guess maybe if some of the casting was different, it might've been more popular. I'll probably understand the reasons after I read the book, so I'll talk more about this film once I've done that. In the meantime, watch it and tell me what you think!