The King of Kings (1927)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writer:

Jeanie Macpherson (story)

Release Date:

1928 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Most reverent and strikingly beautiful panorama of the tragedy of all ages--the world's greatest screen epic. A production acclaimed by world-famed scholars, press and public in this country and abroad, as the most ambitious presentation of the final years of the life of Jesus ever pictured on the screen. An epochal motion picture that will live forever in the hearts of mankind.

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Crucifixion | Resurrection | Religion | Christian Film | Suicide

Cast

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
Rudolph Schildkraut	...	Caiaphas - High Priest of Israel
Sam De Grasse	...	Pharisee
Casson Ferguson	...	Scribe
Victor Varconi	...	Pontius Pilate - Governor of Judea
Majel Coleman	...	Proculla - Wife of Pilate
Montagu Love	...	Roman Centurion
William Boyd	...	Simon Of Cyrene
Michael D. Moore	...	Mark (as Micky Moore)
Theodore Kosloff	...	Malchus - Captain of the High Priest's Guards
George Siegmann	...	Barabbas
Julia Faye	...	Martha
Josephine Norman	...	Mary Of Bethany
Kenneth Thomson	...	Lazarus
Alan Brooks	...	Satan
Viola Louie	...	Adulterous Woman
Muriel McCormac	...	Blind Girl
Clarence Burton	...	Dysmas - the Repentant Thief
Jim Mason	...	Gestas - the Unrepentant Thief (as James Mason)
May Robson	...	Mother of Gestas
Dot Farley	...	Maidservant of Caiaphas
Hector Sarno	...	Galilean Carpenter
Leon Holmes	...	Imbecile Boy
Otto Lederer	...	Eber - a Pharisee
Bryant Washburn	...	Young Roman
Lionel Belmore	...	Roman Noble
Monte Collins	...	Rich Judeaean
Luca Flamma	...	Gallant Of Galilee
Kamiyama Sôjin	...	Prince Of Persia (as Sojin)
André Cheron	...	Wealthy Merchant
Willy Castello	...	Babylonian Noble
Noble Johnson	...	Charioteer
Jim Farley	...	Executioner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Alexander	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Nona Arlynn	...	Waif with Broken Doll (uncredited)
Jere Austin	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Emily Barrye	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Miriam Battista	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Fred Becker	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Joseph Belmont	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Elaine Bennett	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Marjorie Bonner	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Joe Bonomo	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ed Brady	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Lucile Browne	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
William P. Burt	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
George Calliga	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
David Cavendish	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Fred Cavens	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Kathleen Chambers	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edythe Chapman	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Colin Chase	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Colbert Clark	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Charles Clary	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edna Mae Cooper	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Josephine Crowell	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Frances Dale	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Milla Davenport	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
William De Boar	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Anna De Linsky	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Victor De Linsky	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Malcolm Denny	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
James Dime	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
David Dunbar	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Lillian Elliott	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Anielka Elter	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Crowd Extra (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn	...	Boy (uncredited)
Jack Fife	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Budd Fine	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Redmond Finlay	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Evelyn Francisco	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Margaret Francisco	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Sidney Franklin	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Dale Fuller	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Curt Furburg	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
John George	...	Onlooker (uncredited)
Natalie Golitzen	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Inez Gomez	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edna Gordon	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Julia Swayne Gordon	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Winifred Greenwood	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Bert Hadley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Stanton Heck	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Fred Huntley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Rex Ingram	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Eulalie Jensen	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Cammilla Johnson	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Jane Keckley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Isabelle Keith	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Nora Kildare	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Lydia Knott	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Alice Knowland	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Otto Kottke	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edward Lackey	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Celia Lapan	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Tom London	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Bertram Marburgh	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
James A. Marcus	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
George F. Marion	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Robert McKee	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Lal Chand Mehra	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Earl Metcalfe	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ruth Miller	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Jack Montgomery	...	Egyptian Cavalryman (uncredited)
Max Montor	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Alla Moskova	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Billy Naylor	...	Boy Watching Jesus Fix Doll (uncredited)
Richard Neill	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Gertrude Norman	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Peter Norris	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Robert Ober	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Jack Padjan	...	Captain of the Roman Guard (uncredited)
Alexander Palasthy	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Patricia Palmer	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Louis Payne	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Herbert Prior	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Albert Prisco	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Gertrude Quality	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ayn Rand	...	Extra (uncredited)
Sally Rand	...	Slave to Mary Magdalene (uncredited)
Rae Randall	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Hedwiga Reicher	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Dick Richards	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Reeka Roberts	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Warren Rogers	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ed Schaefer	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Peggy Schaffer	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Evelyn Selbie	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Charles Sellon	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Semone Sergis	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Tom Shirley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Walter Shumway	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Bernard Siegel	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Philip Sleeman	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Robert St. Angelo	...	Roman Soldier (uncredited)
Charles Stevens	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
William H. Strauss	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Mark Strong	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Josef Swickard	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ann Teeman	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Barbara Tennant	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Mabel Van Buren	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Wilbert Wadleigh	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Kit Wain	...	Extra (uncredited)
Fred Walker	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Will Walling	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Paul Weigel	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Charles West	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Stanhope Wheatcroft	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille

Writing credits
Jeanie Macpherson		(story)

Produced by
Cecil B. DeMille	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Riesenfeld		(1928 sound version)

Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Anne Bauchens		(uncredited)
Harold McLernon		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Dan Sayre Groesback		(uncredited)
Anton Grot		(uncredited)
Julian Harrison		(uncredited)
Edward C. Jewell		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Mitchell Leisen		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Ted Dickson		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Adrian		(uncredited)
Earl Luick		(uncredited)
Gwen Wakeling		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Festus Phillips	....	makeup artist
Fred Carlton Ryle	....	makeup artist (as Fred C. Ryle)
Monte Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roy Burns	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
William J. Cowen	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Arthur Rosson	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Frank Urson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Julian Harrison	....	assistant art director
Julian Harrison	....	consulting artist
Edgar G. Ulmer	....	assistant art director
Julian Harrison	....	set designer (uncredited)
Harold Miles	....	set designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Howard A. Anderson	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jacob A. Badaracco	....	camera operator
Fred Westerberg	....	camera operator
W.M. Mortensen	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adrian	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Josiah Zuro	....	general musical director
William Axt	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Henry Hadley	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Erno Rapee	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hugo Riesenfeld	....	music compiler (uncredited)
Domenico Savino	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Reverend George Reid Andrews	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Bruce Barton	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Reverend William E. Barton	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Denison Clark	....	script assistant (uncredited)
Clifford Howard	....	script assistant (uncredited)
Jack Jungmeyer	....	script assistant (uncredited)
James V. King	....	title-card photographer: foreign languages (uncredited)
Daniel A. Lord	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Elizabeth McGaffey	....	researcher (uncredited)
Norman Osunn	....	technical engineer (uncredited)
Gladys Rosson	....	typist (uncredited)
Paul Sprunck	....	technical engineer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• DeMille Pictures Corporation (in copyright registry)

Distributors

• Pathé Exchange (1927) (USA) (theatrical)
• Producers Distributing Corporation (PDC) (1927) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Exchange Inc. (1931) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release with music and sound effects track)
• Cinema Corporation of America (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Modern Sound Pictures Inc. (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Modern Sound Pictures Inc. (2003) (USA) (TV) (as Keith T. Smith Modern Sound Pictures Incorporated)
• Simitar Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:112 min (alternate version) | USA:155 min (premiere version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

DeMille Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

During the shoot H.B. Warner was driven to the set in a closed car with the blinds down, wore a black veil when he left the car for the set, and ate alone. The pressures of playing Jesus ultimately had an effect on Warner and resurrected his former drinking problem.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Mary Magdalene:Harness my zebras - gift of the Nubian King! This Carpenter shall learn that he cannot hold a man from Mary Magdalene!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Hollywood: Autocrats (#1.7)" (1980)

THE CRITERION DVD IS A MARVELOUS!

I first experienced Cecil B. DeMille's beautiful telling of the Life of Christ, his 1927 THE KING OF KINGS, in a local theatre in the late 1950s. It impressed me then as a teenager and it impresses me even more now, having just experienced a special viewing of the double disc DVD that is being released on December 7, 2004 under The Criterion Collection label.

I purchased a 16mm print of this film many years ago as well as buying the Criterion Laser Dics release a few years back, so I am well versed in this classic. Until now, everything shown theatrically, on 16mm, VHS tape and Laser Discs has been of the re-edited version that DeMille prepared in 1928, a year after the film played its roadshow engagements. Millions of people the world over have seen the shorter 112 minute cut, which is included on the Criterion disc with both the original Hugo Riesenfeld score (and sound effects) as issued in 1928, and an outstanding newly recorded pipe organ score by Timothy J. Tikker, done especially for this release.

For years I have been aware that the roadshow version as shown at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in LA and at the Gaiety in NY, ran 155 minutes, some 37 minutes longer then I had ever seen it. From James D'Arc at the Brigham Young University Archives (which houses the DeMille collection) I learned that the full length version still existed and was in the possession of the DeMille family. That complete version is now the highlight of the Criterion DVD release and it is MARVELOUS!

I've always thought highly of DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS -- but now seeing it in this wonderfully preserved full-length print, complete with an outstanding original orchestra score by Donald Sosin, I can say without hesitation that it is a more spiritually uplifting experience in this version then it ever was in the fine shorter cut. This is a MASTERPIECE, not only of the silent cinema, but of all-time!

And that's not all -- the EXTRA's included on the two DVD's are also a marvel. There is almost 15 minutes of priceless behind-the-scenes footage on the set of the film. You'll see DeMille directing a huge cast and at times view three cameras being hand-cranked. There are shots of D.W. Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks visiting with DeMille on set. There are production and costume sketches by renowned artist Dan Sayre Groesbeck as well as a stills gallery of rare production and publicity photos. The original illustrated theatre program and press book are pictured also -- and there's more. In short this is the finest DVD ever released on a film from the silent era, even surpassing Fox's marvelous job on F.W. Murnau's SUNRISE (also a 1927 release).

In my opinion, DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS in this full version is the finest rendering of the Life of Christ ever put on film! Criterion, known as the leader of fine DVD's, has done it again. Don't hesitate on picking up a copy of this if you love great movies and want a spiritual experience!