10 Great Yul Brynner Movies

While charismatic actor, Yul Brynner, is most well-known and remembered for his portrayal of Siamese King Mongkut in the musical The King and I, the Russian-born actor played numerous unforgettable roles, almost always among his peers — Hollywood’s top actors — or future stars. Here is a list of 10 Brynner films that are all well worth watching:

The Ten Commandments: In 1956, the same year as The King and I was made, Yul played the pharaoh, Rameses II, opposite Charlton Heston’s Moses. The all star cast included Edward G. Robinson, Anne Baxter and too many other great stars to list, but let’s list John Derek (Bo’s future husband) anyway.

Anastasia: 1956 was a pretty busy year for Yul Brynner. Here he plays opportunistic General Sergei Pavlovich Bounineed, a Russian businessman who convinces Anna Koreff (his lovely co-star Ingrid Bergman) to pass herself off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov. Also in the cast:: veteran actress, Helen Hayes as Anastasia’s grandmother.

The Brothers Karamazov: You must see Yul play black sheep Dmitri Karamazov in this 1958 version of Dostoevsky’s classic. His brothers are played by Richard Basehart and William Shatner (yeah … Captain Kirk). Lee J. Cobb plays his father. Claire Bloom is the woman who loves him and Maria Schell (Maximilian’s sister) plays Grushenka, the woman who captivates him.

The Buccaneer: In 1958, under Anthony Quinn’s direction, Yul plays dashing pirate and profiteer, Jean Lafitte. Returning to co-star with Yul are the lovely Claire Bloom, suave Frenchman Charles Boyer and the inimitable Charlton Heston, who plays General Andrew Jackson. Two actors who would go on to have their own television series are also in the cast: Inger Stevens (Farmer’s Daughter) and Lorne Greene (Bonanza).

The Sound and The Fury: Yul turns in a tour de force performance in 1959 as Jason Compson, the adopted head of an aristocratic family and guardian of a rebellious ward (Joanne Woodward).

Solomon and Sheba: Yul plays wise Solomon who can’t resist the charms of incredibly sexy Sheba (Gina Lollobrigida) in this 1959 flick. Yul helped Gina with her interest in photography during this film, and the gorgeous Italian bombshell has since commented that this was the only time she indulged in a brief romance with a co-star. Alejandro Rey (of Flying Nun fame with Sally Field later on) has an uncredited part.

The Magnificent Seven: Always listed in the 50 Top Westerns, Yul stars as Chris Adams, teaming up with Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz with Eli Wallach as the nasty villain. This film was a Big Break for Steve McQueen, who allegedly kept trying to upstage The King … I mean, Yul Brynner. Brad Dexter also joined Yul in the cast of Taras Bulba and Invitation to a Gunslinger, but none of the Magnificent Seven co-stars showed up in the sequel, Return of the Seven – only Yul. In the next sequel, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, even Yul didn’t show up. George Kennedy played Chris Adams. In the 70s, Yul wore the Chris Adams costume for another role — the robot gunslinger in Westworld.

Taras Bulba: Yul chews the scenery in 1962 as Nikolai Gogol’s proud Cossack leader, Taras Bulba, while Tony Curtis plays the son who falls in love with a Polish girl played by German actress, Christine Kaufmann (and then Tony marries her in real life). While many felt that Tony Curtis was ridiculously miscast, Yul is every inch the ferocious patriarch. Filmed in large part on location in Salta, Argentina, the film’s armies consist of real gauchos and real soldiers from the Argentine army. Taras Bulba became available on DVD for the first time in 2008.

The Madwoman of Chaillot: Katharine Hepburn is the title character and top billed star in this 1969 drama. Yul plays a ruthless billionaire in a cast of crazy characters out to turn Paris into a drilling field. Veteran actor, Danny Kaye, got an Oscar nomination for his performance as The Ragpicker. The cast also included Donald Pleasence, Richard Chamberlain and John Gavin.

Catlow: This 1971 western pits Yul as the title character against Leonard Nimoy (yeah … Spock), playing an evil bounty hunter on Yul’s trail. Richard Crenna is Yul’s friend, more or less, since he is a sheriff and Yul is an outlaw, but there’s a reason for it in this adaptation of a Louis L’Amour story.

If that’s not enough, Yul Brynner also played Pancho Villa in Villa Rides and Chief Black Eagle in Kings of the Sun. Invite a few friends over some afternoon when there’s nothing on the tube, and pop in even one of these movies, and all of you will be Yul Brynner fans for life.