William Shatner Landed His First Major Movie Role in This Largely Forgotten '50s Adaptation of a Literary Masterpiece

Before Star Trek turned William Shatner into a galaxy-hopping icon, he quietly entered Hollywood through the front doors of 19th-century Russia. In The Brothers Karamazov (1958), an MGM adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel, a young Shatner plays Alyosha, the saintly youngest son who watches his family go down over money, lust, and daddy issues of biblical proportions. The narrative itself follows four estranged sons who reunite under the shadow of their corrupt, manipulative father. Unfortunately, it’s not a pleasant reunion as they end up spiraling into violence and scandal thanks to the two usual culprits — money and love.