When movie makers at Twentieth Century Fox studios in 1940 produced a major motion picture about Brigham Young, they gratefully accepted the offer of technical assistance and advice from President Heber J. Grant and other Church leaders. Now, 63 years later, a Latter-day Saint has a major part in Fox's release of the movie on special-edition DVD for home viewing.
James V. D'Arc, curator of Motion Picture Archives at BYU, could arguably be regarded as the foremost living authority on "Brigham Young," the creation of legendary Fox producer Darryl F. Zanuck. Brother D'Arc did his doctoral dissertation on the film and has spent much of his career gathering artifacts from it for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections division of the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU.
DVD releases frequently offer a number of "bonus features," including a version of the film with a voice-over commentary by a lead actor, director or some other expert. In this case, it is Brother D'Arc's voice that is heard on the commentary. He also provided other supplementary elements for the DVD, drawing from the rich collection of memorabilia in the archives, including most of the more than 100 production "stills" showing cast and crew at work on the film.
Many of the photos carry autographs from the stars and principal crew members made out to George D. Pyper, an 80-year-old Church leader of the time, hired as a technical adviser for the filming. Brother Pyper was 17 years old when President Young died in 1877 but was well acquainted with him. Regarding Dean Jagger, the actor who starred in the title role, Brother Pyper attested from personal knowledge: "Besides resembling him in appearance, there is also a striking similarity to voice. . . . Mr. Jagger even has some of Brigham's mannerisms and his walk." (This was a break-through role for Mr. Jagger. In his later years, the Academy Award-winning actor married a Latter-day Saint, and ultimately joined the Church.)
Brother D'Arc has had a keen interest in the movie since his youth in Glendale, Calif. Eager to have the film showcased on DVD with a proper historical and cultural context, he approached Twentieth Century Fox offering his services, which they accepted.
In something of a parallel, the First Presidency in 1938 heard that a major motion picture was being made on the life of President Young, and, as Brother D'Arc would do later, they contacted the studio to offer assistance. The offer was accepted.
"President Heber J. Grant had lived through a period of incredibly negative portrayals of the Latter-day Saints," Brother D'Arc explained. "It is a great credit to him and to his vision that he offered to work with Fox to help ensure a more balanced portrayal of Mormons in film."
Besides marking a turning point in the way Hollywood depicted Latter-day Saints, the movie is significant for a another reason: It resonated with critics and other viewers of the time, who could readily see striking similarity between the persecution inflicted on Mormons in the 1840s and the then-current oppression of Jews by the Nazis in Germany. In pre-production story conferences, producer Zanuck even referred to the mob attacks on the Mormons as "pogroms," a term customarily applied to the systematic persecution of Jewish populations.
The 1940 cooperation of Church leaders in the making of the movie was, of course, fortuitous, and the same might be said of Brother D'Arc's involvement in 2003. Besides being a well-spring of encyclopedic knowledge about the principal cast members and production staff and their work, his commentary provides perspective and understanding about the lives and faith that are portrayed in the movie.
He gives, for example, concise explanations of Latter-day Saint beliefs pertaining to the Book of Mormon, living prophets and the United Order.
A scene showing the Nauvoo Temple provides Brother D'Arc the opportunity to explain that in 2002 the Church "completed an exact functioning replica of the Nauvoo Temple on its original site," which was dedicated on the 158th anniversary of the murder of Joseph Smith.
He is in a unique position to sort out historical fact from dramatic embellishment. He quotes producer Zanuck's explanation of the decision to portray President Young as not being sure of his calling until later, when he finds out he was in touch with God all along and didn't know it: "While it was not true to the life of Brigham Young, President Grant felt that it was dramatically essential, and so the Mormon Church permitted us to keep it in the picture."
Near the beginning, a fictitious courtroom trial is played out in which Brigham Young eloquently defends Joseph Smith, played by a young Vincent Price in his pre-horror movie days. Though the scene never took place, it serves a dramatic purpose in depicting the vicious mob spirit that prevailed just before the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. The supplementary material includes a 1972 letter to Brother D'Arc from Mr. Price in which he wrote, "I have always had the utmost admiration for the Mormon Church, which I'm sure stems from my fascination with Joseph Smith."
The evacuation of Nauvoo is depicted as instantaneous; in reality it took place principally over three weeks, and some people did not leave until months later.
"In this case, dramatic license fosters the creation of lies that tell truths," Brother D'Arc remarked. "While individual incidents are, like this one, fictional, by being telescoped in time and as to intensity, the overall meaning and spirit of the scene is accurate."
The national premiere for the special-edition DVD will be Tuesday, July 15, with two showings of the movie at the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on the BYU campus, one at 3 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m. Admission is free on a first-come-first-seated basis.
E-mail: rscott@desnews.com
