A power ranking of the best – and worst – depictions of Brigham Young in film and television.
By Isaac Bing Wright, crossposted from Substack.
According to Joseph Smith, an angel of the Lord once promised him that his name would one day “be had for good and evil among all nations.” But the Latter-day Saint prophet who has perhaps made the largest pop cultural footprint in that regard is not Smith but his successor, Brigham Young. When it comes to onscreen portrayals of Young, sensationalism rules the day — he’s been depicted as harshly authoritarian, wheedling and manipulative, or even morose and soft-spoken. But other portrayals offer some interesting nuance and an important glimpse of the ever-changing target of Mormonism in media.
So in a break from our traditional interview format, here’s a ranked guide to Brigham Young’s filmography throughout the years, in all its work and glory. Enjoy!
A Mormon Maid (1917)
To be clear, Brigham Young isn’t explicitly named in this one, but the wicked prophet of this silent film has the trademark chinstrap beard and is referred to as “The Lion of the Lord.” It’s classic turn-of-the-century anti-Mormon propaganda, following a virtuous young woman named Dora whose family falls prey to the vicious Mormons. Specifically, Dora is torn away from her handsome beau (a recent LDS convert) and forced to be a polygamous wife to a sneering apostle while Brigham looks on superciliously. He rules over his Salt Lake Colony with an iron fist, but he’s also an oddly lethargic character, and, as you might expect, a bit of a straw man. Also, the Mormons are all Klu Klux Klan members in this one.
Rating: 1 out of 5 Brighams
Brigham Young (1940)
A resoundingly heroic take on the Mormon pioneer story, as done by mainstream Hollywood? Yep – and Joseph Smith is played by a young Vincent Price. He’s pretty good! Brigham is cast as the reluctant heir to Joseph’s mantle following his martyrdom at Carthage (a well-staged and affecting scene) as he leads the desperate Saints across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. Porter Rockwell, in a bizarre directorial choice, functions as the movie’s comic relief.
Dean Jagger gives a solid performance as Brigham here, and despite the general hamminess of the film I felt like he has genuine character. He’s full of self-doubt as to whether he’s received revelation, filled with concern over the future of the Church, and firmly certain that only righteousness will allow the Saints to prosper. In perhaps one of the earlier examples of method acting, Jagger would years later be baptized and join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Brighams
Brigham (1977) aka The New Brigham aka Savage Journey (1983)
This one was released three times under different titles, and the best I can say about it is… it’s so bad it’s good? Though not produced by the Church, it’s a fairly propagandistic take on early Mormon history that’s mostly just playing the hits. Brigham Young comes across as a larger-than-life character, a bearded frontiersman facing down thugs and Indian chiefs and US soldiers with stern, unflappable righteousness. That said, his bromance with Joseph Smith is unmatched – just look how they bond over mutual hard work and industrious labor!
Rating: 3 out of 5 Brighams
The Avenging Angel (1995)
Charlton Heston as Brigham Young? A Mormon Danite commando who goes rogue to foil an assassination attempt on the Prophet? Consider my curiosity piqued. And I actually really enjoyed this! It’s part western, part palace coup intrigue, but it stands out to me because of the way religion feels integrated through the story – the perils of fanaticism, the power of redemption, the peculiarities of LDS lore. (There’s even a great aside where some thugs fail to drown our hero in the Great Salt Lake because it’s too buoyant.) Heston plays an excellent Brigham, mixing paternal sternness with rays of warmth. My one complaint is he doesn’t get much screen time. I’d love to see more films like this that embrace the unique milieu of Mormonism with a genre bent.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Brighams
September Dawn (2007)
In the heady days of the early 2000s, it apparently wasn’t much of a stretch to make an anti-Mormon film that draws a direct link between the terrorism of September 11th and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The movie makes matters worse by twisting a horrific true event into a vicious screed against the LDS Church writ large and depicting Brigham Young as directly ordering the massacre. (Which, as most historical sources agree, he did not.) Terrence Stamp plays the tyrannical Prophet, booming his bloody rhetoric from the pulpit. Jon Voight also stars as an evil Mormon bishop with a silly beard. Robert Ebert gave the film a rare “zero stars.”
Rating: 1 out of 5 Brighams
To finish reading, see the full post on Substack, where Isaac ranks several more Brigham portrayals.
All I’ll say, having seen all of these, no one has a better, nor stronger handshake than 1977 Brigham (or a more charming smile). My wife or I reference that movie at least once a week a definite must watch.