The Rebel's Son

Like all other film versions of Nikolai Gogol's great novel "Taras Bulba", this film also completely misses the point. Gogol's novel is actually a great tragedy of a father losing both his sons, dressed up in flamboyant style and splendid language, while both this English version, the Italian version of 1962 and the American version of that same year only take care of the flamboyancy of the story and ignore the abysmal tragedy. Here at least the film has taken care of Gogol's great element of humour. In this film the director has written the script himself, and this is a great theatre version which at least includes both his sons, which none of the other versions do, concentrating only on the romantic Andrei. Harry Baur as Taras Bulba is grotesquely exaggerated, like he is also in the Italian version, while Yul Brynner at least lives up to the true character and does him more than justice. Roger Livesey as the elder son Ostap, here renamed Peter, is unfortunately totally miscast, being more of a cheery good old lad than convincing as a Cossack. Anthony Bushell is better and more convincing as Andrei, although they both are too much of English gentlemen. The elder son is even given a Cossack sweetheart here, which neither the book nor the other versions do. The music is very good here, and one of the impressing scenes is a presentation of the Polish court with the nobles making a magnificent entry to a real Polonaise - both the other versions ignore the Polish element completely. There are also some magnificent cavalry scenes here, which obviously the American version made a note of and magnified to the extreme, making the film totally outshining the other versions in splendour and glory. The Italian version is the best one for the battle scenes, while here the director/script writer Adrian Brunel is taking gross liberties with the story, allowing the elder son to survive his father. The romantic scenes are more convincing here, while unfortunately even here the show is spoiled by some sentimentality, by making Taras Bulba's death a prolonged sobbing show - there is no sentimentality at all in Gogol's novel. In brief, this is a good theatre version, the Italian version is the best one for battle scenes, while the Yul Brynner version is the best for flamboyancy and the leading character.

Alex Korda didn't put his name on his English re-working of Granowski's French film of the Russian classic.

The French one is pretty creaky though it does have the great shot of the Mongol hoards filling the sky line and keeping coming till they engulf the camera - interesting to see the way they use it in this one. The English version has the great Harry Baur again, probably not using his own voice (he was dubbed by Alan Jeayes in his other English language film MOSCOW NIGHTS - poor guy)and Jean Pierre Aumont in his tin suit is clearly visible before we cut to the closer angles where the character is played by the awful Anthony Bushell.

This one has the prototype's lack of conviction increased by poor matching and a less lustrous cast. It does have curiosity value and the novelty of being one of the last of the European multiple versions starting nearly a decade before.

Cossack Bulba boys, Pete and Andrew finish their studies among the Poles then promptly trash the school before heading home to be greeted by dad, Taras who shows more pride for the ignorant one who rejected the Polish education. Cossacks it turns out are a rowdy bunch who like to party and go to war and as mentioned more than once in the film "need to be treated like children." Rising up against their oppressors the Cossacks attack the Poles but the educated Andrew ends up siding with the Poles because he has the hots for a Polish Princess.

Rebel Son goes off the rails almost immediately with its insipid school hijinks scene followed by a stream of mediocre acting led by a scenery chewing Harry Baur as Taras. More blowhard than chieftain, a bit of a humorless Akim Tamiroff, most of his performance consists of snarling and grunting. Anthony Bushell and Patricia Roc as the love interest are a mawkishly weak pairing while Roger Livesey as the dunce like brother, much too refined for the role.

Cinematically the battle scenes are poorly edited, chaotic and archaic Eisenstein (even in 38), the impressive montage build up prior to confrontation let down by clumsy editing once the "shooting" starts.

With its unconvincing performances and lackluster action Rebel Son has nothing to recommend other than comparison to a near equally as poor Yul Brynner version from 1962.