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IMDbPro

The King of Kings

  • 19271927
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
Muriel McCormac and Michael D. Moore in The King of Kings (1927)
Jesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.
Play trailer1:17
1 Video
50 Photos
BiographyDramaFamily
Jesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.Jesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.Jesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
    • Cecil B. DeMille
    • Jeanie Macpherson(story)
  • Stars
    • H.B. Warner
    • Dorothy Cumming
    • Ernest Torrence
    • Cecil B. DeMille
    • Jeanie Macpherson(story)
  • Stars
    • H.B. Warner
    • Dorothy Cumming
    • Ernest Torrence
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 52User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:17
    Watch Trailer

    Photos50

    Robert Edeson, Julia Faye, Josephine Norman, Joseph Striker, Kenneth Thomson, and H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    Viola Louie and H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    Muriel McCormac and H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    Cecil B. DeMille, Hugo Riesenfeld, and H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    Michael D. Moore, Joseph Striker, Ernest Torrence, and H.B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927)
    Jacqueline Logan in The King of Kings (1927)
    Jacqueline Logan in The King of Kings (1927)
    Majel Coleman and Victor Varconi in The King of Kings (1927)

    Top cast

    Edit
    H.B. Warner
    H.B. Warner
    • Jesus - The Christ
    Dorothy Cumming
    Dorothy Cumming
    • Mary - The Mother
    Ernest Torrence
    Ernest Torrence
    • Peter
    Joseph Schildkraut
    Joseph Schildkraut
    • Judas Iscariot
    James Neill
    James Neill
    • James - Brother of John
    Joseph Striker
    Joseph Striker
    • John - The Beloved
    Robert Edeson
    Robert Edeson
    • Matthew - The Publican
    Sidney D'Albrook
    • Thomas - The Doubter
    David Imboden
    • Andrew - A Fisherman
    Charles Belcher
    Charles Belcher
    • Philip
    Clayton Packard
    • Bartholomew
    Robert Ellsworth
    • Simon - The Zealot
    Charles Requa
    Charles Requa
    • James the Lesser
    John T. Prince
    John T. Prince
    • Thaddeus
    Jacqueline Logan
    Jacqueline Logan
    • Mary Magdalene
    Rudolph Schildkraut
    Rudolph Schildkraut
    • Caiaphas - High Priest of Israel
    Sam De Grasse
    Sam De Grasse
    • Pharisee
    Casson Ferguson
    Casson Ferguson
    • Scribe
      • Cecil B. DeMille
      • Jeanie Macpherson(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Cecil B. DeMille did not want to take any chances with the film. His two stars, H.B. Warner and Dorothy Cumming, were required to sign agreements which prohibited them from appearing in film roles that might compromise their "holy" screen images for a five-year period. DeMille also ordered them not to be seen doing any "un-Biblical" activities during the film's shooting. These activities included attending ball games, playing cards, frequenting night clubs, swimming, and riding in convertibles.
    • Goofs
      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!

    • 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.
    • Alternate versions
      The 1927 premiere, the first film shown at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, ran 155 minutes. The film later was cut to 112 minutes for general release.
    • Connections
      Edited into Tingen, Edderkoppen 2: Bivirkninger (2013)

    User reviews52

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    The Gospel According To Cecil
    Cecil B. DeMille's film about Jesus was made during a period in his career when he left Paramount and organized his own studio. Unfortunately for DeMille his studio went belly up after the stock market crash of 1929. The King of Kings is unquestionably the greatest film he made during that period.

    But in DeMille's cinema gospel he eschewed the traditional Christmas story to be found in those four other gospels. DeMille begins his movie with a real lavish party at the home of a noted women of the town Mary Magdalene played by Jacqueline Logan. It's DeMille showing revelry at its best and most alluring.

    Logan asks why one of her favorites, Judas Iscariot hasn't been attending her clambakes recently. She hears he's been hanging around with this carpenter from Nazareth reputed to have performed some miracles and who doesn't approve of her lifestyle.

    That's it for Ms. Magadalene; she's not about to let this hick take one of her favorites away. Off in a chariot pulled by Zebras she goes after this carpenter. She finds H.B. Warner as Jesus doing one of the miracles and becomes a follower herself.

    After this the film becomes a reverential straightforward account as you would find in the Bible.

    Reverence and revelry, the hallmark of a DeMille film is found in equal measure in The King of Kings. H.B. Warner does a fine job in the lead role, he makes a saintly Jesus. I do wonder what led DeMille to cast Warner, to think of him in the first place. Warner was 52 at the time playing a 30 something Jesus.

    The King of Kings offers the movie fan to see father and son Rudolph and Joseph Schildkraut who play Caiaphas and Judas. Both contribute fine performances to the endeavor. Unlike later gospel based films, this one clearly has Caiaphas as the villain of the piece. He's described in the subtitles as a man concerned more with 'revenue than religion' which doesn't make him all that different from some folks I could mention today. The Schildkrauts however were Jewish and stars in the Yiddish Theater in Europe and America. They got good and slammed for their participation in The King of Kings by more than a few of their co-religionists.

    Sharp eyed viewers will also note that the guy playing Simon of Cyrene who helps Jesus with his cross is none other than Hopalong Cassidy, William Boyd. Boyd was a DeMille discovery and had previously starred in another DeMille production, The Volga Boatman. This of course was years before he became the idol of the nation's children.

    In his autobiography DeMille goes into some detail about how Jeremiah Milbank helped him with the financing of the DeMille Studio from which The King of Kings was produced. After the initial run, Milbank set up a foundation in which prints of The King of Kings were copied and made available to various Christian mission groups free for their work. It's one reason why this particular film is never in any danger of being lost.

    DeMille was told on at least one occasion that this was his greatest picture because there is no greater subject. It's arguably one of his best from a technical standpoint. Still for the hundreds of millions of affiliated Christians on the planet, The King of Kings certainly occupies a special place.
    helpful•18
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Dec 27, 2007

    Details

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    • Release date
      • 2004 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • DeMille Pictures Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 40 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Silent

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    Muriel McCormac and Michael D. Moore in The King of Kings (1927)
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