I love this movie so much

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

"Something of Value" is a film about the so-called 'Mau Mau Rebellion' which took place through much of the 1950s in Kenya. The fact that it was made there and the uprising was still going on do make this an unusual movie.The story begins by showing the contempt that many of the white British colonists have towards the native Kenyans. Because of this, it's very easy to see how these black men and women would become disaffected by British rule...and Peter (Rock Hudson) can see the wicked way these folks are treated. He is especially appalled to see his friend Kimani (Sidney Poitier) slapped around and treated like dirt. At the same time, the film tries to look at both sides and shows the brutal way in which the Mau Maus tore apart the white colonists. How will all this resolve itself and what will happen to these two friends who are now on opposite sides in the conflict?This is generally a very good film, though I wonder why Rock Hudson was chosen for the movie. After all, he sounds about as British as a talking taco! But he is very good despite this. As for Poitier and Juano Hernandez and many of the other black actors, they were more convincing in their roles and at least approximated the right accents. Some seeing it today might feel a bit torn, after all, I was. Who would you root for in the film when BOTH sides seemed in the wrong. And, you certainly could applaud the locals' rights to self-determination. Well worth seeing.

Throughout most of Sidney Poitier's career as an actor that primarily appeared in race relations dramas, he played African- Americans whereas, in this one, he actually plays an African, a Kenyan in fact, named Kimani Wa Karanja.As children, Peter (Rock Hudson) and Kimani grow up doing everything together. But as adults, the Black East African 'boy' is fit only to carry his White East African 'bwana' friend's rifle for him, something neither of them really understands though (naturally) Peter is slightly more accepting of it. When Kimani's father (Ken Renard) is imprisoned indefinitely for following a custom deemed barbaric by the ruling class of British colonists, he runs away to join a criminal gang (led by Juano Hernandez's character) that later becomes an insurgency group dubbed Mau Mau; read your history if you're unfamiliar with the real back-story.Predictably, Peter and Kimani will inevitably meet again on opposite sides of the law. The movie also features the comely Dana Wynter as Peter's love interest come wife; their relationship parallels that of his aunt Elizabeth (Wendy Hiller) and Uncle Jeff (Robert Beatty).Jeff and two of their children are murdered during the Mau Mau Uprising. Walter Fitzgerald plays Peter's father, who had been a friend of Kimani's dad and whose knowledge and skills help to end the revolt.Michael Pate plays a White settler that reflects the colonists' racism; William Marshall plays the Black leader that organizes the revolution starting with a meeting in Nairobi.Richard Brooks directed and adapted the screenplay from Robert C. Ruark's novel of the same name.

This Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter film deals with the Mau-Mau uprising in Kenya in 1952. At least, it attempts to.As the wife, Wynter is completely wasted her. She has few lines to convey.Yes, a racist bigot slapped Sidney Poitier several years before the uprising. During the rebellion, the man's wife is killed. Poitier's father was imprisoned prior to the uprising because he killed a baby that came out feet first. He would have to be defended by a sociologist to get off from this. Poitier turns smoker and militant.Even more ridiculous than the sub-plot is the fact that Wendy Hiller, who really looked her age in 1957, becomes pregnant in this film and gives birth! Along the way, her family is wiped out by the Mau Mau's in a massacre. Mau Maus march along like Margaret Hamilton's army in "The Wizard of Oz." Their supposedly strong leader, who never took the oath, for a ridiculous reason, melts when captured. Some leadership, but some picture!The Mau Maus were a militant band who protested the English colonial policy of exploitation. The movie-goer is certainly exploited when viewing this utterly cliché-worn film.

Sidney Poitier is excellent in this study of Kenya's fight for independence and backlash against their former oppressors. William Marshall, Michael Pate and Wendy Hiller are superb in poignant supporting performances. But, Rock Hudson is terribly miscast, and his character too good, even beyond sainthood. And the focus on his character ultimately throws the movie off-balance. Still worth watching though, but it's a bit of a shame since the elements of greatness are all here, but the result is thought-provoking but unsatisfying. 7/10.