Slaves of Babylon (1953)

In ancient times, a Jew is instrumental in the crowning of a new Median-Persian king who, in return, conquers Babylon and frees all the Jewish slaves.

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

DeVallon Scott (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Conte, Linda Christian, Maurice Schwartz

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Conte	...	Nahum
Linda Christian	...	Princess Panthea
Maurice Schwartz	...	The Prophet Daniel
Terry Kilburn	...	King Cyrus (as Terrance Kilburn)
Michael Ansara	...	Prince Belshazzar
Leslie Bradley	...	King Nebuchadnezzar
Ruth Storey	...	Rachel
John Crawford	...	Avil - Belshazzar's Chief Soldier
Ric Roman	...	Daniel's Aide
Robert Griffin	...	King Astyages
Beatrice Maude	...	Cyrus' Foster Mother
Wheaton Chambers	...	Cyrus' Foster Father
Paul Purcell	...	Overseer
Julie Newmar	...	Dancer-Assassin (as Julie Newmeyer)

Storyline

The Jews are taken from Jerusalem and made slaves by King Nebuchadnezzar. In the meantime Cyrus, king of the Persians, who has been living as a shepherd, is proclaimed king and defeats Nebuchadnezzar.

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Plot Keywords:

6th century b.c. | ancient era | biblical prophecy | babylonian empire | persian empire | 

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Taglines:

She worshiped idols...until she met him! (original insert card)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

At least three of the actors appeared in other bible movies as well. Maurice Swartz played an advisor to king Herod Antipas in Salome, the same year in 1953. Richard Conte went on to play Barabbas in The Greatest Story Ever Told in 1965. Michael Ansara had a bit part as Judas Iscariot in The Robe also in 1953, and as a taskmaster in The Ten Commandments in 1956.

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Goofs

The Star of Remphan, which Daniel wears as a symbol of the Israelites is in fact a Pagan symbol that represents the god Saturn.

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Connections

Referenced in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

User Reviews

Single Vanishing Point

Like many of the Katzman-Castle films of this era, Slaves of Babylon renders the color process a gimmick by purveying it through a hollow vehicle. This film is the hole in the biblical doughnut. The acting is poor (comical, in fact) and the dialogue is wasteful in service of irritating 'bible-speak' quips. I won't split hairs on the use of Stars of David embroidery for all Jewish characters, but will mention that the history is off by over a thousand years. As for Castle's direction, there are some moments of mobile framing and oblique staging, but they seem to remain in service of promoting the color process itself (Nahum at the river). Dramatic scenes are continuously cut short or dealt with indifferently from the point of direction. The most absurd example of this indifferent direction is when future King Cyrus is told by his father that his mother was raped to conceive him... we don't even get a front view of Cyrus at any point during this reveal! Continuous high and low angle framing never clarifies its purpose as being that of a transcendental historical subject or a diegetic critic of the relationship of servant and master. Needless to say, this film is the epitome of anti-dramatic and is conflated with inconsistency in tone, pace and sense of itself as a text. The mise-en-scene is too tableau to be considered painterly. The painted backdrops are positioned to announce themselves confidently as fake. There is a theme of tapestry in this film and that is perhaps the only true thing about the story. With no depth perceivable, I would have to remark the only single vanishing point as being the interest of the audience member.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les Esclaves de Babylone

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sam Katzman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1