David and Bathsheba (1951)

After King David sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing from the palace roof, he enters into an adulterous affair which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel.

Director:

Henry King

Writer:

Philip Dunne (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gregory Peck	...	King David
Susan Hayward	...	Bathsheba
Raymond Massey	...	Nathan
Kieron Moore	...	Uriah
James Robertson Justice	...	Abishai
Jayne Meadows	...	Michal
John Sutton	...	Ira
Dennis Hoey	...	Joab

Storyline

Though David has all the wealth, power, wives & children inherent for the King of Israel he does not have what he craves most: the true love of a woman who loves him as a man instead of as King. He is attracted to Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers who is more devoted to army duty than to his wife. David & Bathsheba succumb to their feelings. Their affair, her resulting pregnancy, & David's resolve to have her husband killed so Bathsheba will be free to marry, bring the wrath of God upon the kingdom. David must rediscover his faith in God in order to save Bathsheba from death by stoning, his kingdom from drought & famine, & himself from his many sins.

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Plot Keywords:

david | king | love | israel | famine | 

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Taglines:

For this woman... he broke God's own commandment!

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

David et Bethsabée

Filming Locations:

Nogales, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The infamous "Daisy" campaign ad aired for the first and only time during the September 7, 1964 telecast of this film on NBC.

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Goofs

Peck wears the "Star of David" throughout the movie, which doesn't appear until the 3rd century CE and was not commonly used until the middle ages.

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Quotes

Bathsheba: [as David tries to kiss her in an open field] No, David! The boy! He'll see us!
King David: [David looks at the shepherd boy] No matter. Shepherd boys learn early about life.
Bathsheba: Did you, David?
King David: Did I what?
Bathsheba: Learn about life early?
King David: Before I was 12, I knew everything there was to know about life. At 12 I'd killed wolves... at 13 a man.

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Connections

Version of David (1924)

User Reviews

Quite an interesting film actually

I am quite surprised at the quite low rating for David and Bathsheba. True, it does get rather ponderous in its pace and some scenes go on for too long, but for me actually it is quite an interesting film. The film does look great, the photography is colourful and just lovely, while the sets and costumes are surprisingly evocative. As is Alfred Newman's score, which is also very beautiful and stirring.

I also thought Henry King did a credible job directing the film, and the script is quite literate and thoughtful. The story is interesting on the whole, some scenes as I've said do drag and don't serve as much purpose to the story as much as it would have liked, but the famous fight with Goliath flashback is cleverly staged and the last fifteen minutes moved me. The acting is fine, Gregory Peck oozes with nobility here and I am still trying to get over how handsome he looks. Susan Hayward is both ravishing and sensitive, while Raymond Massey is excellent as the prophet Nathan.

All in all, not a perfect film, but interesting. 8/10 Bethany Cox