Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Something of Value

Play trailer Poster for Something of Value 1957 1h 53m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In Kenya, Peter (Rock Hudson), the son of a white settler, forms a tight friendship with Kimani (Sidney Poitier), a Kenyan worker. After Kimani's father is imprisoned for enforcing a controversial tribal tradition, Kimani realizes his place is among the Mau Mau, a group that is organizing a revolt. The Mau Mau attacks Peter's brother-in-law Jeff (Robert Beatty) with tragic results, inspiring Peter to take action. When the two finally come face to face again, peace is hard to establish.

Where to Watch

Something of Value

Critics Reviews

View More
Time Out 04/08/2008
Brooks' chief insight -- good and bad on both sides, tolerance the answer -- hardly seizes the imagination, and the contentious climax, with Hudson carrying a wounded Poitier on his back, has every indication of being intended symbolically. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 04/08/2008
3/5
A pretty, good estimation of the social problems involved. Go to Full Review Moira Walsh America Magazine 07/14/2021
The picture lacks a feeling for the larger issues at stake, but on its own melodramatic terms it is absorbing and even enlightening. Go to Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine 11/11/2019
Adapted from the Robert Ruark novel, this overlong drama about Africa's Mau Mau troubles tries to deal fairly with both sides but never reaches any illuminating conclusions. Go to Full Review TV Guide 04/08/2008
3.5/4
Though the story is fiction, the film rings true, with a fair portrait of both sides of the conflict. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 05/05/2005
C
As drama not much in value. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Steve D 07/09/2023 Something of Value but not much despite a worthy topic. See more Ashley H @ashleyhobgood87 12/06/2014 Something of Value is an excellent film. It is about Kimani who soon finds that different races are treated differently even though he grew up with Peter. Rock Hudson and Sidney Poitier give amazing performances. The screenplay is well written. Richard Brooks did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. See more 01/19/2013 filmed on location this historical pic is good See more 06/15/2010 I hadn't heard of this movie before it came on Turner Classic Movies the other day. Rock Hudson playing a straight guy. Sidney Poitier playing a Mau Mau fighter. I have to admit that the story was engaging on a number of levels. I enjoyed seeing great actors doing what they do! I'm not sure that I would recommend the movie unless you are a fan of Hudson or Poitier ... or if you want to see a story about the origin of the Mau Mau. See more 11/03/2009 the movie was fair. neither Hudson nor Poitier were stellar in their roles. interesting that it was made in the era of the anti-colonial insurgency. the story is compelling and worth watching for 'educational' purposes. See more 09/03/2009 Extraordinary, truthful film about the effects of colonialism and racism. It's interesting that this film, based on the book by Richard Ruark, came out in 1957: a time of tumultuous change beginning to re-shape the world as we know it today. It was the same year Ghana became the first African country to win its independence and the Little Rock Nine faced violent, racist resistance in their efforts at integration and equality. See more Read all reviews
Something of Value

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Richard Brooks

Director

Rock Hudson

Peter

Dana Wynter

Holly

Sidney Poitier

Kimani Wa Karanja

Wendy Hiller

Elizabeth

Juano Hernandez

Njogu

More Like This

View All
Raintree County 10% 52% Raintree County Watchlist The Brothers Karamazov 25% 58% The Brothers Karamazov Watchlist The Last Voyage 60% 56% The Last Voyage Watchlist Home From the Hill 90% 90% Home From the Hill Watchlist Crisis 71% 48% Crisis Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Something of Value

Something of Value (1957) Something of Value (1957) Something of Value (1957) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In Kenya, Peter (Rock Hudson), the son of a white settler, forms a tight friendship with Kimani (Sidney Poitier), a Kenyan worker. After Kimani's father is imprisoned for enforcing a controversial tribal tradition, Kimani realizes his place is among the Mau Mau, a group that is organizing a revolt. The Mau Mau attacks Peter's brother-in-law Jeff (Robert Beatty) with tragic results, inspiring Peter to take action. When the two finally come face to face again, peace is hard to establish.
Director
Richard Brooks
Producer
Pandro S. Berman
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 12, 2017
Runtime
1h 53m
Most Popular at Home Now