Salome

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

1953 1h 43m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 50

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending him to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are–contrary to Scripture–nearing conversion to the new religion.

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

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Rita Hayworth
Princess Salome
Charles Laughton
King Herod
Stewart Granger
Commander Claudius
Judith Anderson
Queen Herodias
Alan Badel
John the Baptist
Cedric Hardwicke
Tiberius Caesar
Basil Sydney
Pontius Pilate
Maurice Schwartz
Ezra the King's Advisor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Dieterle
Writers: Jesse Lasky Jr., Harry Kleiner, Harry Kleiner
Languages: Italian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William Dieterle, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rita Hayworth and Charles Laughton and Stewart Granger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Glory And Excitement Of Rome... In All Its Greatness and Badness!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Dieterle directs. Charles Lang behind the camera. George Duning scores. Viola Lawrence cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

173 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by William Dieterle, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Rita Hayworth and Charles Laughton and Stewart Granger carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The Glory And Excitement Of Rome... In All Its Greatness and Badness!".
9IMDB entry: tt0046269 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lang
Original score: George Duning
Editing: Viola Lawrence
Costume design: Jean Louis
Makeup / hair: Clay Campbell
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Salome (1953)

Also by

William Dieterle

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 6/10
This is one of those films that just doesn't ever quite spark - despite a cast that ought to have delivered an epic. Charles Laughton and Judith Anderson gel well as the rulers of Judea under Roman occupation. When her daughter (Rita Hayworth) returns home, she starts to use her feminine wiles on her stepfather to force him to face his fears and deal with the errant John the Baptist (Alan Bedel) as well as on garrison commander Stewart Granger ("Capt. Claudius"). It's not especially faithful to the original biblical text, but that doesn't really matter- it's still a colourful historical romp that culminates in the now infamous "Dance of the Seven Veils". Granger is not really on to form here, his part is somewhat stifled by a rather dry dialogue and lots of scenes with a really wooden Basil Sydney (Pontius Pilate) and Badel just hams it up with his theatrical performance as the prophet. Still worth watching, though - just not anywhere near as good as it ought to have been.

Production companies