All the Brothers Were Valiant

I have seen this movie several times and discover something new every time. One of the best things about this movie is the flashback sequence with Granger fighting pirates Whitmore and Kasznar for a bag of pearls. The rest of the movie explains how he tries to get his brother [Taylor] to them back from the lagoon where they were lost. You will need to see this movie at least two times before you understand all of the hidden plot twists.

Really did like the idea of the story and who doesn't like a good old adventure yarn once in a while? The cast is an agreeable one, although Robert Taylor was a bit hit and miss for me as an actor depending on the role on paper this sounded like a role that would suit him well. Stewart Granger and Ann Blyth were always watchable, as was Lewis Stone (here sadly in his last film). Richard Thorpe to me was a competent director but at times an undistinguished one.

'All the Brothers Were Valiant' was somewhat disappointing unfortunately, and am taking no pleasure in saying this being somebody that really wanted to like it very much. It is definitely worth a one-time watch and has a lot of fine things. 'All the Brothers Were Valiant' also, considering such a stirring title and that the idea was great, could have been a lot better, with the drawbacks being a fair few and sadly quite big.

Will start with the good things. 'All the Brothers Were Valiant' is a great looking film with the expense showing. Would actually go as far to say that the Technicolor photography in particular is stunning, very lavish and sweeping. Nearly forgot to mention Miklos Rosza as being another interest point, a great film composer with an immediately recognisable compositional style. Which one can definitely hear here in 'All the Brothers Were Valiant', it's arresting from the very first note and is typically lush with some nice grandeur and atmosphere.

It as a film starts off very well and the action oriented scenes are colourfully staged. The bag of pearls flashback is agreed the story highlight. Most of the cast do really well. Taylor's role suits him really well and plays to his strengths, he's on good form here. As is Granger, a nice rivalry contrast to Taylor. The supporting cast are very good, especially Peter Whitney.

However, Blyth fares a lot less well. She has next to nothing to work with, or anything that stands out, and she looks as if she knew that in a performance that doesn't show that much effort. The romantic chemistry came over as bland and watery. Stone does decently and is typically reserved in his cameo but he deserved a better final film and a bigger role. The script is pedestrian and overwrought.

Likewise with the romantic element of the story, which generally after a promising start gets very silly to suspending disbelief level and predictable. Do agree that the ending does undo the film quite badly, it's ridiculous and not remotely plausible. It was like the writers didn't know how to end the story so came up with what was forced upon them. Thorpe's direction gets the job done but too often, especially dramatically, it's undistinguished and like his heart wasn't completely in it.

Bottom line, watchable but doesn't have enough to it to rise above average. If only the rest of the film lived up to its promising start and good potential. 5/10

A good old fashioned swashbuckler. Taylor's acting comes across as a bit wooden at times, but the scenes with his brother and the Polynesian girl are enticing.....reminiscent of Gauguin in Tahiti. A good way to get lost for a few hours.

This swashbuckling yarn pits Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger against each other as brothers who have very different ideas about how to captain a ship. There's mutiny, island lasses, palm trees, and lots of that flat, too-bright lighting common to Technicolor films from the 1950s. George Folsey received his billionth Oscar nomination for the film's color cinematography, but I'm guessing it was more for capturing some pretty ocean scenery than it was any artistic decisions.

Ann Blyth gives a sub-par performance as Taylor's wife who comes along for the sea voyage. She's a boring character and her presence teeters the film too often into romantic melodrama, when what we really want is more macho battle of wills.

Grade: B-

Based upon the novel by Ben Ames Williams who died the year it was released this is produced by crowd pleaser Pandro S. Berman and directed by Richard 'one-take' Thorpe. MGM stalwart Robert Taylor is lumbered with the part of the good brother whilst Stewart Granger has by far the most interesting role as his villainous sibling. Ann Blyth, replacing Elizabeth Taylor, is the meat in the sandwich. This proved to the last film alas of veteran Lewis Stone. Ravishing Betta St. John plays her customary 'exotic' role. Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore were to enjoy long careers and teamed up that year to steal the show as Lippy and Slug with their priceless rendition of 'Brush up your Shakespeare'. George Folsey was again Oscar-nominated for his superlative cinematography but again missed out and the score by Miklos Rosza is suitably stirring. The whale hunt is well done although obviously filmed in a studio tank and the final fisticuff-fest well choreographed. Despite its cast and production values it is alas rather plodding and fails to excite. Granger's description of it as a 'crappy melodrama' seems unduly harsh but he was notoriously dismissive of most of his films. This prickly actor parted company with MGM four years later while the more 'accommodating' Robert Taylor continued his thirty-year long association.