Brigham Young (also known as Brigham Young â Frontiersman) is a 1940 American biographical historical drama Western film starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Dean Jagger that describes Young's succession to the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after founder Joseph Smith was assassinated in 1844. The supporting cast features Brian Donlevy, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Mary Astor, Vincent Price, Jean Rogers and Ann Todd.
In frontier-town Nauvoo, Illinois in 1844, the main body of the church are forced to leave Illinois, choosing to settle temporarily in Nebraska. They then travel by wagon train to the Great Basin.
Ninth-billed Jean Rogers played Dale Arden in the 1936 serial Flash Gordon and its 1938 follow-up Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. Her co-stars in the two serials, Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless and Frank Shannon, who played Dr. Zarkov, have uncredited bit parts in this film.
Parts of the film were shot in Lone Pine, California, in the plains west of Parowan Gap, and in Utah Lake for the seagull scenes. The Salt Lake City sequences were filmed in California, while the trek across Nebraska and Wyoming was shot in southern Utah.
Michael and Harry Medved included Brigham Young in their 1984 book describing film financial failures, The Hollywood Hall of Shame, stating "Twentieth Century-Fox tried to emphasize its star power and to downplay the religious elements (eventually re-titling it Brigham Young, Frontiersman), but the picture still failed, even in Utah."