tynesider Review of Something of Value

Something of Value (1957)

Interesting story of the final years of colonialism in Africa.

[7/10 · 22 March 2008]

This film examines the post-war struggle for Kenyan independence resulting in the State of Emergency set up during the Mau Mau uprising against white settlers and African 'collaborators' in the 1950s, at a time when British Colonialism was in retreat. Rock Hudson and Sidney Poitier are childhood friends who become enemies when Poitier joins the violent Kenyan revolt, and Wendy Hiller and Walter Fitzgerald play white settlers trying to come to terms with change, unlike the Robert Beatty and Michael Pate characters who support the status quo and regard the Africans as inferiors. The Mau Mau build-up is handled well, as is Poiter's gradual disillusionment with white rule, while finding it difficult to accept the violence of the Mau Mau. The Juano Hernandez character who administers the Mau Mau oaths is strongly influenced by his tribal religion and this provides the rather unconvincing reason for his change of heart and ultimate betrayal of his fellows. The vulnerability of the British settlers in the bush is evident and the degree of of violence, whether implied or shown, is unusual for the time (the picture was given an X certificate in the UK by the British Board of Film Censors which meant you had to be at least 16 to see it), and the story moves at a steady pace as directed by Richard Brooks. Interesting too for Miklos Rozsa's most unusual music score, using African rhythms and chants. An unusual film and worth seeing.