The King of Kings (1927)
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69% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
71% of users liked it
(678 ratings)
Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and… More Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Cecil B. DeMille
- Written By
- Jeanie Macpherson
- Genres
- Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 19, 1927 Wide
- Studio
- Kino Video
Critic Reviews
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Charles Morgan, New York Times
As a work of art it is a complete failure, because it is anaemic and because it shows us a Christ who, though obviously a virtuous and mild man, is completely lacking in the fire and spiritual vigor that go to the making of the great leaders of mankind.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Tremendous is The King of Kings -- tremendous in its lesson, in the daring of its picturization for a commercial theatre and tremendous in its biggest scene, the Crucifixion of Christ.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's a dull, tasteful film by a director who was anything but.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The recounting of the Gospels according to De Mille seems awkward, tedious and hokey.
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Rob Humanick, Projection Booth
Sermons rarely make good films, this one being no different.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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H.B. Warner
as Jesus Christ
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Dorothy Cumming
as Mary the Mother
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Ernest Torrence
as Peter
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Joseph Schildkraut
as Judas Iscariot
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James Neill
as James
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Joseph Striker
as John
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Jacqueline Logan
as Mary Magdalene
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Robert Edeson
as Matthew
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Sidney D'Albrook
as Thomas
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David Imboden
as Andrew
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Charles Belcher
as Philip
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Clayton Packard
as Bartholomew
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Robert Ellsworth
as Simon
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Charles Requa
as James the Less
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John T. Prince
as Thaddeus
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Rudolph Schildkraut
as Caiaphas high priest
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Sam De Grasse
as The Pharisee
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Casson Ferguson
as The Scribe
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Victor Varconi
as Pontius Pilate. Governor of Judea
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Majel Coleman
as Proculia Wife of Pilate
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Montagu Love
as The Roman Centurion
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William "Hopalong" Boyd
as Simon Of Cyrene
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Theodore Kosloff
as Malchus Captain of the High Priest's Gua...
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George Siegmann
as Barabbas
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Josephine Norman
as Mary Of Bethany
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Ken Thomson
as Lazarus
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Alan Brooks
as Satan
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Clarence Burton
as Dysmas the Repentant Thief
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Dot Farley
as Maid Servant of Caiaphas
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Hector V. Sarno
as The Galilean Carpenter
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Leon Holmes
as The Imbecile Boy
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Jimmie Dime
as Soldier of Rome
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Richard Alexander
as Soldier of Rome
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Budd Fine
as Soldier of Rome
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Tom London
as Soldier of Rome
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James Farley
as An Executioner
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Otto Lederer
as Eber a Pharisee
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Bryant Washburn
as A Young Roman
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Lionel Belmore
as A Roman Noble
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Monte Collins
as A Rich Judean
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Sojin
as Prince Of Persia
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William Costello
as A Babylonian Noble
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Sally Rand
as Slave To Mary Magdalene
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Noble Johnson
as A Charioteer
- Emily Barrye
- Edna Mae Cooper
- Kathleen Chambers
- Frances Dale
- Milla Davenport
- Anna de Linsky
- Lillian Elliott
- Dale Fuller
- Evelyn Francisco
- Winifred Greenwood
- Julia Swayne Gordon
- Inez Gomez
- Eulalie Jensen
- Jane Keckley
- Lydia Knott
- Alice Knowland
- Isabelle Keith
- Gertrude Norman
- Patricia Palmer
- Gertrude Quality
- Evelyn Selbie
- Barbara Tennant
- Mabel Van Buren
- Fred Becker
- Wilson Benge
- Joe Bonomo
- Lucille Brown
- Edythe Chapman
- Colin Chase
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Andre Cheron
as A Wealthy Merchant
- Charles Clary
- Josephine Crowell
- David Dunbar
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Julia Faye
as Martha
- Curt Furberg
- Stanton Heck
- Fred Huntley
- Brandon Hurst
- Theodore Lorch
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Viola Louie
as The Woman Taken in Adultery
- Bertram Marburgh
- George F. Marion
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Muriel McCormac
as The Blind Girl
- Earl Metcalf
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Mickey Moore
as Mark
- Louis Natheaux
- Robert Ober
- Louis Payne
- Edward Peil Sr.
- Albert Prisco
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May Robson
as The Mother of Gestas
- Charles Sellon
- Tom Shirley
- Walter Shumway
- Bernard Siegel
- Robert St. Angelo
- Charles Stevens
- Carl Stockdale
- William Strauss
- Josef Swickard
- Paul Weigel
- Charles H. West
- Stanhope Wheatcroft
- Fred Cavens
- Sidney Franklin
- James Marcus
- Jere Austin
- Malcolm Denny
- Anielka Eller
- Bert Hadley
- Edward Lackey
- Richard Neill
- A. Palasthy
- Herbert Pryor
- Warren Rodgers
- Peggy Schaffer
- Will R. Walling
- Ed Brady
- George Calliga
- Baldy Belmont
- William P. Burt
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Jim Mason
as Gestas the Unrepentant Thief
- Hedwiga Reicher
- Frank O'Connor
- Mark Strong
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Dick Richards
as Soldier of Rome
