King of Kings (1961)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writer:

Philip Yordan (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

30 October 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A Story of The Christ. The Glory of His Spoken Words.

Plot:

The life of Jesus Christ.

Plot Keywords:

King | Judea | Jesus Christ | Healing | Overture

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Jeffrey Hunter	...	Jesus
Siobhan McKenna	...	Mary
Hurd Hatfield	...	Pontius Pilate
Ron Randell	...	Lucius
Viveca Lindfors	...	Claudia
Rita Gam	...	Herodias
Carmen Sevilla	...	Mary Magdalene
Brigid Bazlen	...	Salome
Harry Guardino	...	Barabbas
Rip Torn	...	Judas
Frank Thring	...	Herod Antipas
Guy Rolfe	...	Caiaphas
Royal Dano	...	Peter
Robert Ryan	...	John The Baptist
Edric Connor	...	Balthazar
Maurice Marsac	...	Nicodemus
Grégoire Aslan	...	Herod (as Gregoire Aslan)
George Coulouris	...	Camel Driver
Conrado San Martín	...	General Pompey
Gérard Tichy	...	Joseph (as Gerard Tichy)
Antonio Mayans	...	Young John (as José Antonio)
Luis Prendes	...	Good Thief
David Davies	...	Burly Man
José Nieto	...	Caspar
Rubén Rojo	...	Matthew (as Ruben Rojo)
Fernando Sancho	...	Madman
Michael Wager	...	Thomas
Félix de Pomés	...	Joseph of Arimathea (as Felix de Pomes)
Adriano Rimoldi	...	Melchior
Barry Keegan	...	Bad Thief
Rafael Luis Calvo	...	Simon of Cyrene
Tino Barrero	...	Andrew
Paco Morán	...	Blind Man (as Francisco Moran)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Naschy	...	Extra (uncredited)
Randy Paar	...	Extra in Palm Sunday Scene (uncredited)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Jewish Rebel (uncredited)
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray

Writing credits
Philip Yordan		(screenplay)
Ray Bradbury		(narration) uncredited

Produced by
Samuel Bronston	....	producer
Alan Brown	....	associate producer
Jaime Prades	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Manuel Berenguer		(director of photography)
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)
Franz Planer		(as Franz F. Planer)

Film Editing by
Harold F. Kress
Renée Lichtig		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Enrique Alarcón		(as Enrique Alarcon)

Costume Design by
Georges Wakhévitch		(as Georges Wakhevitch)

Makeup Department
Anna Cristofani	....	hair stylist
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup creator (as Charles Parker)
Mario Van Riel	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Stanley Goldsmith	....	general production manager
Tadeo Villalba	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Noël Howard	....	second unit director (as Noel Howard)
Carlo Lastricati	....	assistant director
José López Rodero	....	assistant director (as José Lopez Rodero)
José María Ochoa	....	assistant director (as José Maria Ochoa)
Sumner Williams	....	second unit director
Simon Mizrahi	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Julio Sempere	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Stanley Detlie	....	master of properties
Georges Wakhévitch	....	set designer (as Georges Wakhevitch)
Benjamín Fernández	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Julián Martín	....	painter (uncredited)
Vicente Sempere Sempere	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound recordist (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor
John Brommage	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Alex Weldon	....	special effects (as Alex C. Weldon)

Visual Effects by
Lee LeBlanc	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Norton Kurland	....	supervising electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eric Seelig	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Gibson	....	supervising technician
Maciek Piotrowski	....	murals
Betty Utey	....	choreographer: Salome's dance
Agnes Moorehead	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Samuel Bronston Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (????) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent content. (2004 re-issue)

Runtime:

168 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #19712) | West Germany:6 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2004)

Filming Locations:

Chinchón, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

This film's narrator, Orson Welles, would later narrate a portion of another Biblical work, The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (1979). Before narrating this Biblical epic about the King of kings, Welles had earlier portrayed a king himself in another Biblical epic, David e Golia (1960). Welles would even portray a director directing a Biblical epic in Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963), when he ironically had earlier directed himself in his own scenes in an actual Biblical epic, David e Golia (1960).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Near the end of the temptation of Christ by Satan scene, 2 power line poles can clearly be seen in 2 shots, in the upper right rear of a long shot of the desert and canyons.

Quotes:

Salome: [to John the Baptist, sarcastically] You frighten me, you angry man!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Religulous (2008)

It Still Delivers!

A recent screening of "King of Kings" at New York's Museum of Modern Art (Gramercy Theater) proved the durability of this production. A sizable group of people were prepared to titter or howl at what they thought would be another mindless Biblical epic -- instead, they were quickly absorbed and attentive to the film's virtues: its reverence, economy, visual beauty, and especially Jeffrey Hunter's quietly commanding Christ. Yes, this is still the good film based on the New Testament (with some subtle and searching script additions). Thanks still go to Nicholas Ray for his tactful, expert handling of a timeless story.