Something of Value (1957)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Robert C. Ruark (novel)
Richard Brooks (writer)

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Even though Peter and Kimani grow up together, Kimani soon finds that different races are treated differently...

Plot Keywords:

Mau Mau | Racism | Beautiful Woman | Childhood Friend | Curse

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Peter
Dana Wynter	...	Holly
Sidney Poitier	...	Kimani Wa Karanja
Wendy Hiller	...	Elizabeth McKenzie Newton
Juano Hernandez	...	Njogu, Oath Giver
William Marshall	...	Leader, Intellectual in Suit
Robert Beatty	...	Jeff Newton
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Henry McKenzie
Michael Pate	...	Joe Matson, Vengeful White Settler
Ivan Dixon	...	Lathela, Loyal Gun-Bearer
Ken Renard	...	Karanja, Father of Kimani
Samadu Jackson	...	Witch Doctor
Frederick O'Neal	...	Adam Marenga, Mau-Mau Leader

Also Known As:

Africa Ablaze (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Africa

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Although shooting animals and getting out of the vehicle were forbidden in the Nairobi National Park, Rock Hudson was allowed out of the Land Rover to aim his gun at a zebra. The actual shooting of a zebra was filmed by the second unit in the Nanyuki area about 100 miles away.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

Interesting period piece

This film is an interesting memento of a period seemingly long ago, but actually in the recent past. It raises some of the same questions brought to mind in "The Battle of Algiers," specifically, what methods is it justifiable to use to further a just cause, especially the cause of an oppressed people. Another question, should all members of the oppressor class, in this case whites of British ancestry and citizenship, be regarded and treated as oppressors, even if they are sympathetic to the cause of the oppressed? To its credit, the film doesn't oversimplify. One character, Matson, is a cardboard villain, but the whites are generally portrayed sympathetically. And, although at the time this film was made Kenyan independence was only six years away, it is clear that, to almost all the whites, independence and black majority rule are still unthinkable. It is clear that many of the whites regard the land as just as much theirs as it is the blacks'; most of them were born there. The film doesn't make a case for independence, just for equality of treatment.

The film moves along and is never boring. It tells a good story and is generally well acted. It's too bad that Rock Hudson didn't, or couldn't, attempt a British accent. Although it's clear that all the whites in the film are British, Hudson just moves right along with his American accent, quite un-self conscious about it all. (Maybe it's just as well; he might have ended up sounding as ridiculous as Marlon Brando in "Mutiny on the Bounty.") This is in stark contrast to Sidney Poitier, who manages an African accent quite well. Poitier is actually superb in his role; this was well before he assumed the persona of the saintly characters so superior to everyone else that he played to excess in the 60s. This film appears not to be available on video, so you'll probably have to wait until it appears on Turner Classic Movies again. 8/10