The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

Drama based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's homonymous novel about the proud Karamazov family in 1870s Russia.

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoevsky (novel), Julius J. Epstein (adaptation)

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, Claire Bloom

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yul Brynner	...	Dmitri Karamazov
Maria Schell	...	Grushenka
Claire Bloom	...	Katya
Lee J. Cobb	...	Fyodor Karamazov
Albert Salmi	...	Smerdjakov
William Shatner	...	Alexi Karamazov
Richard Basehart	...	Ivan Karamazov
Judith Evelyn	...	Mme. Anna Hohlakov
Edgar Stehli	...	Grigory
Harry Townes	...	Ippoli Kirillov
Miko Oscard	...	Ilyusha Snegiryov
David Opatoshu	...	Capt. Snegiryov
Simon Oakland	...	Mavrayek
Frank DeKova	...	Capt. Vrublevski (as Frank de Kova)
Jay Adler	...	Pawnbroker

Storyline

Ryevsk, Russia, 1870. Tensions abound in the Karamazov family. Fyodor is a wealthy libertine who holds his purse strings tightly. His four grown sons include Dmitri, the eldest, an elegant officer, always broke and at odds with his father, betrothed to Katya, herself lovely and rich. The other brothers include a sterile aesthete, a factotum who is a bastard, and a monk. Family tensions erupt when Dmitri falls in love with one of his father's mistresses, the coquette Grushenka. Two brothers see Dmitri's jealousy of their father as an opportunity to inherit sooner. Acts of violence lead to the story's conclusion: trials of honor, conscience, forgiveness, and redemption.

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Plot Keywords:

russia | death | gambling debt | envy | betrayal | 

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Taglines:

A Man of Violent Passions...The woman he loved and the woman who betrayed him!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polish Russian

Release Date:

26 February 1958 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Murderer Dmitri Karamazov

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,727,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,390,000, 31 December 1958

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,440,000, 31 December 1958

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avon Productions (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) Mono (Perspecta Sound)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut of Simon Oakland.

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Goofs

(at around 38 mins) There's not a cloud in the sky but still it is snowing.

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Quotes

Smerdjakov: If you'll permit a comment, sir, you're not at all like your brother Dmitri.
Ivan Karamazov: Half-brother.
Smerdjakov: You're different from all of them. I could see that the first minute you arrived yesterday. Intelligence, audacity, cleverness...
Ivan Karamazov: You've just never met anyone who lives in Moscow.
Smerdjakov: No sir, it's those magazine articles you wrote, the ones about crime.
Ivan Karamazov: [pauses] You enjoyed them.
Smerdjakov: [takes out a magazine clipping, reads it] There is nothing in the world to make man love their neighbours. If there is no God, then ...

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Connections

Referenced in Mathnet: The Trial of George Frankly (1987)

User Reviews

Worthy Effort

Novels and movies are separate disciplines and each has its own requirements. People who want to read Dostoevsky and people who want to know what one of his books is about also have separate needs. I am a Dostoevsky lover, and have read THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV in several translations (no, I don't know Russian). This film hits all the necessary high notes to cover the book's plot, and so the screenplay serves the film well. The brothers themselves (Yul Brynner, Richard Basehart, Albert Salmi and William Shatner) turn in variable performances. Basehart comes in first place, with Brynner smoldering not far behind. A young William Shatner shows promise, while Salmi's inexplicable whine is almost unbearable, which is a shame because Salmi was a good, though underused, actor. Stealing the show from the brothers in every scene he's in is the wonderful Lee J. Cobb. Fans of the book will be disappointed at the excisions, but they were necessary to pare the story down to a workable movie. And, though I love the book and think it may be the world's great novel, I prefer the ending of the movie! Dostoevsky's book is open-ended as he intended it to be an introduction to characters he intended to use in further book -- but he died before it was written. So the movie wraps everything up nicely. Ivan's end scene is much preferable (no spoilers, though! See the movie and read the book!). Although Alexei is the main character in the book, he's basically an observer. Dmitri (perfectly captured by Brynner) is the powerhouse of the book and should be the focus in a dramatic adaptation, as he is here. A worthy effort in making an unfilmable novel filmable. If you want to know what the book is about but a thick novel is daunting, this film tells you everything you need to know.