Dostoyevsky's novel the Brothers Karamazov is given the Hollywood screen treatment in this sumptuous and colorful film. Lee J. Cobb, in an Academy Award-nominated role plays Fyodor Karamazov, the wealthy father of four grown sons: Dmitri (Yul Brynner), a callous Russian officer; Ivan (Richard Basehart), the intellectual; pious Alexey (William Shatner in his screen debut); and half-brother Smerdyakov. Tensions erupt to a murderous end when libertine father and romantic son find themselves vying for the affections of the same woman, the wild Grushenka. Finding themselves adrift without the dark anchor that held them together, the four brothers must now find peace, each in their own way.