Esther and the King (1960)

Two decades before she would gain fame and some fortune as Alexis Carrington on Dynasty (1981), Dame Joan Collins starred as Esther in this melodramatic, routine Biblical story. The setting... See full summary »

Directors:

Raoul Walsh, Mario Bava

Writers:

Raoul Walsh (screenplay), Michael Elkins (screenplay)

Stars:

Joan Collins, Richard Egan, Denis O'Dea

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Collins	...	Esther
Richard Egan	...	King Ahasuerus
Denis O'Dea	...	Mordecai
Sergio Fantoni	...	Haman
Rik Battaglia	...	Simon (as Rick Battaglia)
Renato Baldini	...	Klydrathes
Gabriele Tinti	...	Samual
Rosalba Neri	...	Keresh
Robert Buchanan	...	Hegai
Daniela Rocca	...	Queen Vashti
Folco Lulli	...	Tobiah

Storyline

Two decades before she would gain fame and some fortune as Alexis Carrington on Dynasty (1981), Dame Joan Collins starred as Esther in this melodramatic, routine Biblical story. The setting is Persia in the fourth century B.C., as Esther comes to the attention of the recently widowed King Ahasuerus. The King has been trying to stifle and defeat the campaign of hatred fomented against the Jews by his evil minister Haman (Sergio Fantoni). Before the King can pair off with Esther and defeat the villainous Haman, there are several intervening adventures and an additional, attractive woman who competes for attention.

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Plot Keywords:

betrayal by a friend | betrayal | heroine | bible | biblical epic | 

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Taglines:

All the Splendor of History's Most Fabled Age - And the Love That Was Its Glory!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of two biblical epics released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1960. The other is The Story of Ruth (1960), filmed in the United States. Esther and the King was in its pre-production stage when The Story of Ruth premiered in New York City.

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Goofs

Corn fields appear in several exterior scenes. Corn was cultivated only in the Americas in the days of Esther and Ahasuerus.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The time is 2,500 years ago. The place is Persia. The man is Ahasuerus, king of the Medes and the Persians, ruler of 127 provinces, the most powerful man on Earth. The army is the conqueror of all the lands from India to Ethiopia. They are returning home now from fresh victories in Egypt.

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Connections

Version of One Night with the King (2006)

User Reviews

Overlong , impressive , but mediocre Biblical epic by the classic filmmaker Raoul Walsh

¨The power , the pageantry , the sweep of one of the greatest love adventures of all¨ . Biblical costumer with the hunk Richard Egan as the great Persian king , statesmanlike as well as conqueror ruler , and the gorgeous Joan Collins as Judean maid , the young Jewish girl , Hadassah , goes on to become the Biblical Esther , the Queen of Persia , who saves the Jewish nation from annihilation at the hands of its archenemy , Haman . As the stiff king wants to her in place of the murdered queen , Daniella Roca . The movie is partially true to the Biblical account of a Jewish woman who , at the risk of her own life, stands up to the King and a man named Haman , Sergio Fantoni , who was almost successful in convincing the king to wipe out all of the Jews in the land . In the Bible, one of the best lines is spoken by Mordecai , played by Denis O'Dea , Esther's uncle , who tries to assuage Esther's fear by saying, "Who knows, perhaps you have been chosen for such a time as this" . It was written : ¨Gather together all the fair young virgins unto the palace and let the maiden which pleased the king be queen¨ . In the end , Haman constructed a gallows from which to hang Mordecai whom he insisted was subversive , but things go awry .

This is the classical and biblical story of Esther , a book in the Old Testament and King Artexerxis , a powerful Babylonian king . This is breathtaking movie in every sense : filmmaker used spectacular palaces , luxurious gowns , stirring dances full of beauties , and lots of extras . Writing and direction , however are average . ¨Esther and the king¨ is in the greatest Cecil B DeMille tradition , the best in mass audience , displaying great production design and lavishly made . There is romance , battles and intrigue as is common with many Old Testament accounts . Epic , rambling events and spectacle are regularly blended in this flick realized in Peplum style , if raggedly and tortuously scripted story of Esther and the King . Wooden acting by Richard Egan and marvelous Joan Collins , though this vehicle first was announced for Hedy Lamarr in 1953 . Here Esther is portrayed as one who is not only fun-loving but brave and wise and Artexerxes is portrayed as a man who carefully measures his decisions and falls deeply in love with Esther . It boasts superior secondary cast plenty of known American/Italian actors . As support cast is pretty well , such as Dennis O'Dea , Rick Battaglia , Gabrielle Tinti , Rosalba Neri , Folco Lulli , Renato Baldini and Sergio Fantoni as Haman who was hanged on his own gallows . There is another version about these deeds titled ¨One night with the king¨ (2006) by Michael O. Sajbel with Tiffany Dupont as Hadassah / Esther , Luke Goss as King Xerxes , John Noble as Prince Admantha , Omar Sharif as Prince Memucan , John Rhys-Davies as Mordecai and James Callis a Haman, the Agagite

This long epic Italian/USA co-production shot in Cinemascope and color by De Luxe well photographed by Mario Bava . Evocative and moving musical score by Angel Francesco Lavagnino . The motion picture financed by Galatea Production and realised by Twenty Century Fox Corporation was professional but middlingly directed by Raoul Walsh . Raoul was an expert on action , thriller , Film Noir , Western genres . He made several adventure/epic movies as ¨Blackbeard pirate¨, ¨Sea Devils¨, ¨Captain Horacio Hornblower¨, ¨The world in his arms¨ and this ¨Esther and the king¨ and at the same time collaborated , but uncredited , in ¨Helen of Troy¨ by Robert Wise .

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Story of Esther

Filming Locations:

Titanus Appia Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Titanus, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1