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IMDb > Salome (1923/I)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   169 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Charles Bryant
Writers:
Oscar Wilde (play)
Natacha Rambova (scenario)
Contact:
View company contact information for Salome on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 February 1923 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
Salome, the daughter of Herodias, seduces her step-father/uncle Herod, governor of Judea, with a salacious dance... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
More a series of Tableaux Vivants than a movie more

Cast

  (Credited cast)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Salomé (USA) (alternative spelling)
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Runtime:
72 min | Germany:75 min
Country:
USA
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Silent

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Said to have been filmed with an all-gay cast, in honor of the playwright, Oscar Wilde. more
Quotes:
Salome, stepdaughter of Herod: The mystery of Love is greater than the mystery of Death! more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Casting Couch (1995) (V) more

FAQ

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful:-
More a series of Tableaux Vivants than a movie, 28 September 2008
1/10
Author: ajoyce1va from United States

When reading viewer comments on this forum, I often wonder if they and I have seen the same film. What did the people (there are a few) who liked almost two hours of this nonsense see that I didn't?

In 1923, when Nazimova made this, Art Nouveau and Victorian Decadence were over, over, over, but she pushed ahead anyway. You can blame Middle American socially conservative values for the failure of the project, but I would say that there are plenty of other reasons that "Salome, The Movie" tanked: posturing instead of acting, declarations instead of dialog, buffoonery (Herod and Herodias) paired with painful sincerity (everybody else) and not quite meshing, a really bad dance number from Nazimova, and the overwhelming sense of self-importance that pervades the entire production.

Then there are the absurdities. The Captain of the Guard kills himself because he can't stand the idea that Salome might love someone else. Okay, a bit over the top, but acceptable in a piece of fiction. However, it's absurd to have the character portrayed as (or by) someone who clearly never had any erotic interest in women. Ditto for showing John the Baptist first tempted by Salome and then rejecting her on moral grounds, when either the actor or the portrayal is of someone with the same sexual orientation as the Captain of the Guard.

A one-line review might state: they all stay in character and take themselves very seriously. In this movie, that's not a good thing.

The credits give a nod to the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations as the basis of the costume design. I think there's more to it than that: Nazimova used the Wilde libretto as a framework for the action, but I think she was really trying to bring the Beardsley illustrations to the screen with herself as the center of attention. Give Middle America a little credit for at least a modicum of good taste. This is not artistry -- this is narcissism.

And by the way, one post here suggests that Fellini drew on this film for inspiration. Perhaps, but I see the lines of inspiration going from Herod, as portrayed here, to Harpo Marx, whom Herod very much resembles, and from Herodias to Ma Kettle.

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