The King of Kings (1927)

Jesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writer:

Jeanie Macpherson (story)

Stars:

H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
H.B. Warner	...	Jesus - the Christ
Dorothy Cumming	...	Mary - the Mother
Ernest Torrence	...	Peter
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Judas Iscariot
James Neill	...	James - Brother of John
Joseph Striker	...	John - the Beloved
Robert Edeson	...	Matthew - the Publican
Sidney D'Albrook	...	Thomas, the Doubter
David Imboden	...	Andrew - a Fisherman
Charles Belcher	...	Philip
Clayton Packard	...	Bartholomew
Robert Ellsworth	...	Simon - the Zealot
Charles Requa	...	James the Lesser
John T. Prince	...	Thaddeus
Jacqueline Logan	...	Mary Magdalene

Storyline

Mary Magdalene becomes angry when Judas, now a follower of Jesus, won't come to her feast. She goes to see Jesus and becomes repentant. From there the Bible story unfolds through the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

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Plot Keywords:

resurrection | crucifixion | bare chested male bondage | bare chested male | ancient rome | 

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Taglines:

Supreme in Theme! Gigantic in Execution!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1928 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Le roi des rois

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DeMille Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min (general release) 155 min (premiere)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System) (1931 reissue) Silent Silent (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White Color (2-strip Technicolor) (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To ensure the cast and crew observed a suitable level of reverence towards H.B. Warner as Jesus Christ, no one except director Cecil B. DeMille was allowed to talk to him when he was in costume.

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Goofs

In the first scene in Mary Magdalene's house, studio lights are reflected in a large hand-held mirror.

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Quotes

Mary Magdalene: Go fetch my richest perfumes!

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Crazy Credits

In the original premiere version, there is no 'THE END' title. The film fades to black after the final scene of Jesus looming over a modern city with the title 'LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS' superimposed.

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Connections

Version of Le messie (1975)

User Reviews

Must see movie

King of Kings is an extraordinary movie. I was so caught up in it if they had said in the credits "Jesus as played by himself" I would have believed it. The scenes of the little blind boy finding his way to Jesus, and the interaction between Jesus and the little children stand out as the high points of the movie. There is a "healing" while with the little children that stands out as one of the finest movie moments ever.

It is a silent movie, but if you get caught up like me, you will swear there was talking as you look back on it.

I saw it in May of 1977 at the 50th anniversary of the Graumanns Chinese theater in Hollywood. It had opened 50 years ago that night with its first movie being King of Kings. Interesting, the next night was the premier of the first Star Wars movie.

Mr. DeMille's daughter or niece shared anecdotes about the filming after the movie. For example, there is a seen during the last supper, where, after everyone gets up and walks away a dove comes and lands on the table by the holy grail and gets lost in the lighting special effect. She informed us it was not planned.

She told us the movie played somewhere in the world every night for 46 years. And in South America, people would get on their knees in the theaters after the performance.

Powerful movie and very moving.