King of Kings (1961)

October 11, 1961 (US) • Drama, History • 171m

Overview

Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.

Director

Nicholas Ray

Writer

Philip Yordan

Top Billed

Jeffrey Hunter

Keywords

christianity crucifixion bible biography 1st century jesus christ christian film antiquity

Where to watch

Rent

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Top Billed Cast

Jeffrey Hunter

Jesus

Siobhán McKenna

Mary

Hurd Hatfield

Pontius Pilate

Ron Randell

Lucius

Viveca Lindfors

Claudia

Rita Gam

Herodias

Carmen Sevilla

Mary Magdalene

Brigid Bazlen

Salome

Harry Guardino

Barabbas

Rip Torn

Judas

Frank Thring

Herod Antipas

Guy Rolfe

Caiaphas

Royal Dano

Peter

Robert Ryan

John the Baptist

Edric Connor

Balthazar

Maurice Marsac

Nicodemus

Grégoire Aslan

Herod

George Coulouris

Camel Driver

Conrado San Martín

General Pompey

Gérard Tichy

Joseph

Antonio Mayans

Young John

Luis Prendes

Good Thief / Roman Soldier

David Davies

Burly Man

José Nieto

Caspar

Rubén Rojo

Matthew

Fernando Sancho

Mad man

Michael Wager

Thomas

Félix de Pomés

Joseph of Arimathea

Adriano Rimoldi

Melchior

Barry Keegan

Bad Thief

Rafael Luis Calvo

Simon of Cyrene

Tino Barrero

Andrew

Paco Morán

Blind Man

Frank Braña

Roman Soldier/Barrabas Soldier (uncredited)

Cris Huerta

Jewish Rebel (uncredited)

John Kerr

Man at Sermon on the Mount (uncredited)

Ray Milland

Satan (voice) (uncredited)

Antonio Montoya

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Paul Naschy

Herod Antipas' Servant/Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Randy Paar

Extra in Palm Sunday Scene (uncredited)

Aldo Sambrell

Judea Soldier (uncredited)

Bud Strait

John the Apostle (uncredited)

Ron Veto

Bit part (uncredited)

Orson Welles

Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Crew

Milton Krasner

Director of Photography

Franz Planer

Director of Photography

Philip Yordan

Screenplay

Manuel Berenguer

Director of Photography

Samuel Bronston

Producer

Nicholas Ray

Director

Miklós Rózsa

Original Music Composer

Harold F. Kress

Editor

Enrique Alarcón

Set Decoration

Anna Cristofani

Hairstylist

Georges Wakhévitch

Costume Design

José López Rodero

Assistant Director

Stanley Detlie

Property Master

Lee LeBlanc

Special Effects

Carl Gibson

Technical Supervisor

José María Ochoa

Assistant Director

Carlo Lastricati

Assistant Director

Maciek Piotrowski

Draughtsman

Alex Weldon

Special Effects

Georges Wakhévitch

Set Designer

Sumner Williams

Second Unit Director

Norton Kurland

Electrician

Stanley Goldsmith

Production Manager

Noël Howard

Second Unit Director

Franklin Milton

Recording Supervision

Mario Van Riel

Makeup Designer

Betty Utey

Choreographer

Alan Brown

Associate Producer

Basil Fenton-Smith

Sound Recordist

Jaime Prades

Associate Producer

Charles E. Parker

Makeup Designer

Eric Seelig

Costume Supervisor

Renée Lichtig

Editor

Julio Sempere

Second Assistant Director

Simon Mizrahi

Assistant Director

Franklin Milton

Sound Recordist

Fernando Pérez

Special Effects

Lee LeBlanc

Visual Effects

Fergus Bourke

Stunts

Frank Howard

Stunts

Miguel Pedregosa

Stunts

Terry Yorke

Stunts

Reviews

John Chard

⭐ 8/10

January 2, 2019

The best of the Christ story epics.

King Of Kings is a good film, and certainly one that is better than its reputation suggests. It's for sure better than the poorly put together The Robe from 1953 and the gargantuan excess that would be The Greatest Story Ever Told four years post this MGM piece.

Produced by legendary Samuel Bronston and directed with assurance and imagination by Nicholas Ray, the film tells of the 33 years of Jesus Christ's life. From his birth in Bethlehem to his Crucifixion, to the Resurrection and finally the Ascension. A familiar story that is nicely spread to a movie under three hours long, takes in the Apostles selection, John The Baptist, 40 days in the desert, the miracles (though we are short changed here), Sermom on the Mount, Judas' betrayal and of course The Last Supper.

The film contains a narration by Orson Welles, which was written by Ray Bradbury. It's a wise move for it helps the narrative immensely, while lets face it here, Orson had a great voice, perfectly biblical and it lends a touch of class to the material. Of the cast, Jeffrey Hunter has the glory role of Christ. A relative unknown (this helps I feel), Hunter is effective with his steely blue eyes, while Robert Ryan is first rate as the doomed John The Baptist. Also turning in good performances are Harry Guardino (Barabbas), Viveca Lindfors (Claudia), Royal Dano (Peter) and Rip Torn (Judas). Though not hurting the movie, Hurd Hatfield as Pontius Pilate is a touch too animated, while Frank Thring as Herod Antipas takes the woe is me mantra a step too far.

Naturally with a budget of $8 million the film has considerable scope. Thousands of extras are a given of course, all captured among the Spanish locations in 70mm Technicolor (Cinematography by Manuel Berenguer, Milton R. Krasner & Franz Planer). While the sets (almost 400 used) are very pleasing on the eye and Miklós Rózsa provides a suitably effective score. The writing from Philip Yordan is lean, there's no heavy filler and for a film of this type it's a pleasant surprise to see such restraint. Ultimately it's just real good story telling given a good technical work out. The appearance of Judas for the first time still sends a shiver down the old spine and the Crucifixtion instills a sadness that is hard to shake off once the credits have rolled. Job done really. 8/10

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Recommended Movies

The Passion of the Christ

The Da Vinci Code

It's a Wonderful Life

Ben-Hur

Status

Released

Original Language

Budget

$7,775,000

Revenue

$13,400,000

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King of Kings (1961)

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

John Chard

Recommended Movies

The Passion of the Christ

The Da Vinci Code

It's a Wonderful Life

Ben-Hur

Status

Original Language

Budget

Revenue

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