Salome (1953)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Jesse Lasky Jr. (story) &
Harry Kleiner (story) ...

Release Date:

24 March 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

The Glory And Excitement Of Rome...In All Its Greatness and Badness!

Plot:

In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias...

Plot Keywords:

Salome | Religion | Severed Head | Beautiful Woman | Ancient Rome

Cast

Rita Hayworth	...	Princess Salome
Stewart Granger	...	Commander Claudius
Charles Laughton	...	King Herod
Judith Anderson	...	Queen Herodias
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Tiberius Caesar (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Alan Badel	...	John the Baptist
Basil Sydney	...	Pontius Pilate
Maurice Schwartz	...	Ezra the King's Advisor
Arnold Moss	...	Micha the Queen's Advisor
Asoka	...	Asian Dancer
Sujata	...	Asian Dancer

Also Known As:

Salome: The Dance of the Seven Veils (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16050)

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The first full length feature that Alan Badel featured in.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In one scene, outside the walls of Jerusalem, with the "skyline" of the old city beyond the walls, you can see the golden Dome of the Rock, which wasn't built until more than 600 years after this story takes place.

Quotes:

Commander Claudius: Why waste a slave?
Pontius Pilate: Why not? The world's full of them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Head (1968)

Technicolor Bible-Flavored Fantasy

Fairly typical '50s Bible-inspired Hollywood fluff starring a much-too-old Rita Hayworth as the female protagonist. Ms. Hayworth's age doesn't detract from the proceedings, however. Her legendary "Dance of the Seven Veils" is actually the highpoint of this entertaining romance concerning a spoiled princess torn between her besieged and decadent royal family and the love of a Roman soldier who has secretly converted to a new-fangled religion that's spreading across the land -- Christianity. Actually, he's more of a follower of the spaced-out John the Baptist -- overplayed to perfection by a wild-eyed Alan Badel. He gets plenty of help chewing up the scenery from Charles Laughton, Arnold Moss and Judith Anderson. Stewart Granger seems out of place as the earnest love interest, but his hair is perfect. I started watching this thinking that I'd just check out the first few minutes but ended up watching the whole thing. It may not be a great movie but it's not boring.