Brigham Young Origi- Described As the Film Studio with a Nated Not with the Film Producer Passion for America's Past
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The Saints on Celluleid: The Makine af the Movie @@ElriahamYaung 33 JAMES V. D'ARC Twentieth Century-Fox has been The idea for Brigham Young origi- described as the film studio with a nated not with the film producer passion for America's past. And himself but with popular novelist the American epic that induced film Louis Bromfield. Selected to be on producer Darryl F. Zanuck to spend a panel of judges for the 1938-39 more than $2,500,000 was the story Harper Prize Contest, Bromfield of the Mormons. Under his hand thumbed through a thick unwieldy that story became the motion manuscript while on a trip west. picture Brigham Young, which in Owing to contest rules, the later years he fondly called manuscript was unsigned and Brom- "my favorite film."l field was unaware hours later that By 1940, Zanuck had brought the he had finished reading an epic infant Twentieth Century-Fox studio story of the Mormons, Children of from obscurity at its founding in God, bv fellow novelist Vardis 1935 to prominence as one of the Fisher. 5 Having worked previously top film studios boasting the com- with Zanuck, a close friend, on the mercially successful stars Alice Faye, screenplay for The Rains Came Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, and (1939) the excited Bromfield called Zanuck's own discovery, Tyrone the cigar-smoking mogul at his Power. But Zanuck did not build home and persuaded him to pur- his studio on stars-M-G-M had chase the screen rights to the still them-but on successful stories. unsigned manuscript. "Star power is valueless no matter In adding Brigham Young to his how big the personalities," he said, successful screen biographies, "unless the subject matter in the Stanley and Livingston, Alexander story stands the test."2 Graham Bell, and Jesse James, 11 FILM AND HISTORY Zanuck sent Bromfield on an eight- attributes of a subculture itself, the month fact-finding mission through- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day out the intermountain west gather- Saints had fought the same kind of ing information from Mormon battle against stereotyping by the pioneer descendants and the rest of society as had Blacks, Jews, Mormon Church archives in Salt Italians, and other groups less readily Lake City. A look through Brom- integrated into the mainstream of field's research files, still in the American culture. The religious zeal Story Research Department at Fox, and aggressiveness demonstrated by reveals hundreds of pages of ser- the Latter-day Saints together with mons, speeches, excerpts from their clanish but successful adminis- pioneer diaries, photographs, and tration of economic and political correspondence with Mormon affairs raised the suspicions of their leaders and historians dealing with already inquisitive neighbors. early Church history. Polygamy, mystic revelations to So taken was Bromfield by his modern prophets, golden bibles and research that he had enough material scheming missionaries adding con- for two motion pictures and was tinually to their harem of wives either unable or unwilling to cut it constituted the bulk of what the down. At this point, the able Fox world ever heard of the Mormons in scriptwriter Lamar Trotti was called the nineteenth and early twentieth in to fashion Bromfield's mountain centuries. So often had this imagery of material into a dramatic screen- appeared in the expose literature of play. But even Trotti had his prob- the day that it was no surprise when lems. Early drafts of the final script these stereotypes, particularly of are weighted down by sermons, polygamy, were utilized early in the dramatic emphasis on Church doc- development of motion pictures. trine, and intricacies of Mormon These impressions, advanced .in history which would have made it more than a score of films from interesting for Mormons but not 1905 to 1936, made an indelible for the general public. What did impression on society as only the finally emerge was not necessarily cinema can. One Danish film, A a biography of Brigham Young, but Victim of the Mormons (1911), a story of the Mormon founding, tells the story of a ydung Mormon the murder of Joseph Smith, the missionary in Copenhagen who difficult trek west to the Salt Lake lures the fiancee of a close friend Valley, and the challenges en- to elope with him to Utah. There, countered there. with the abandoned lover in pursuit, "We must never have the feeling the missionary keeps the heroine locked in his basement after her that these people are fanatics," "baptism" in the Salt Lake Temple. Zanuck later impressed on his associate producer Kenneth Mac- Shortly, however, (the film is only gowan. "We must treat their faith three reels in length) she is rescued with respect and omit anything that by her one-and-only. This film would make them look ridiculous."4 received such a broad viewing and Yet, "fanatic" had often been the was so detrimental to the Mormon precise word used in describing the image that Utah Governor William relatively new American sect. Spry fought a long- eventually victorious- struggle against Gradually having acquired the further showings.5 12 BRIGHAM YOUNG Five years later in 1917 the film associate producer Kenneth Mac- A Mormon Maid was released gowan, and other Fox production nationally. The innocent-daughter- officials maintained close contact catching-the-eye-of-powerful-Mor- with Church authorities. Wanting mon-leader formula was again full cooperation and offical sanction treated but at greater length than from the Mormon heirarchy, Zanuck ever before. In its five reels (approxi- found both in Church President mately sixty-five minutes), one en- Heber J. Grant. The Church in the counters Celestial Marriage, Blood late 1930s was desperately in need Atonement and the sinister dealings of something to improve its overall of the Avenging Angels or Danites. public image. The distorted view A Mormon Maid, produced in the the world held of the Mormons was United States, enjoyed wide cover- a matter of pressing concern to the age and popularity, much to the dis- Mormon prophet, and the aging but tress of Mormon Church officials. businesslike Grant emphasized better public relations with the tradition- During the 1930s, however, por- ally skeptical world outside of Utah. trayals of Mormons in feature films President Grant took particular wete sparse as the new Hays and interest in seeing that Brigham later Breen regulatory codes in- Young was produced without any cluded severe restrictions against major difficulty from the Church. the treatment of polygamy on the "This film will be a friendmaker," screen, to the disappointment of he remarked.7 During the shooting producers at virtually every major stages, eighty-year-old George D. studio. The enthusiastic public Pyper, Church Sunday School reception to Vardis Fisher's Chil- president and historical advisor for dren of God suggested to both the the film, paid such attention to worlds of literature and film that detail and accuracy that the Fox there was much interest in the drama crew became very frustrated. Wisely of the Mormon story. Winning the juxtaposing the Church's goals with coveted Harper Prize, Fisher's saga those of the studio, President Grant of the Mormon Church began in told Fox executives, "Don't pay too New York with the founding prophet much attention to that brother. Joseph Smith, through the Brigham We've got to have box office in Young period and concluded with this picture."8 the death of John Taylor, the last Mormon leader prior to the 1890 Although very pragmatic in his Manifesto ending the practice of support for the project, the Mormon polygamy. While substantial empha- leader was still concerned with sis was still given to ~luralmarriage, historical and theological accuracy. Fisher, once a Mormon himself, "I hope we shall not appear to you stressed that the Latter-day Saints to be over anxious," said Grant in a were endowed with the virtues of letter to Macgowan," and we have stability, industry, and common no disposition to be oversensitive, sense. but we are tremendously concerned that this picture shall be a true ' Hollywood and Vie Meets picture, and, while we are not, any Temple Square of us, playwrights, or dramatists, 1 From the early idea and research or Movie technicians, we can ap- stages all the way up through preciate the war which must con- production and final editing, Zanuck, stantly go on in one preparing a FILM AND HISTORY picture, between the highly dra- book violated a Mormon taboo that matic and the sober fact."9 a believer (which Fisher once was) The balance between the "highly write from the perspective of an dramatic" aimed at by Zanuck and outsider. the "sober fact1' desired by Grant Apostle John A. Widtsoe-who was recalled by Vincent Price- served as chief critical liaison with chosen by Zanuck out of 25 actors the studio-wrote in a letter to to portray Joseph Smith- in a Kenneth Macgowan that Fisher's letter written thirty-two years later sense of history could scarcely be to this writer. "He [Grant] wrote "held to be genuine either directly me several interesting letters," or indirectly in the face of accepted remembers Price. "He felt that the historical proof to the contrary. picture might have been about The mixture of facts and fancy, of Joseph Smith instead of Brigham sober knowledge and imagination, but of course realized that the great of attempts at fairness and accept- appeal to the public (and of course ance of exploded myth, leaves with to the producers) was the difficult the reader a complete misunder- trek and the miracle of the gulls, standing of motives, events and etc.''lO accomplishments.