The King of Kings (1927)

Director: Cecil B DeMille
Starring: HB Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence

Synopsis:
An account of the last days of Jesus Christ, from the redemption of Mary Magdalene to the Resurrection.

Impressions:
The 50s and 60s are known as a big time for Biblical epics (and epic films in general), but there were some rather ambitious projects from the Silent Era and this is one of them, from Cecil B DeMille of The Ten Commandments fame. I don't expect strict by-the-book (or should I say, by-the-Book) tellings, but so long as extracanonical materials don't detract from the source and do something interesting, I'm willing to indulge the filmmaker. It's common in folklore for Mary Magdalene to be portrayed as a prostitute, but here she's specifically a vain and boastful high-powered courtesan with connections to Judas Iscariot (portrayed here as a courtier eager to prop up Christ as an earthly king for his own aggrandizement) with an opening scene filmed in striking two-strip Technicolor. Unfortunately, she falls to the wayside as the story progresses. It would have been interesting if the story was told more from her perspective, but I understand the necessary difficulty that would've presented. (The seven demons cast out of her are portrayed as embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, which is really cool and makes for a really good scene.) HB Warner lends considerable dignity to the title role. I also liked Ernest Torrence as the physically imposing Peter and Rudolph Schildkraut as a very slimy rendering of Caiaphas. At times it's easy to forget what they were capable of in the early days of film, but this really is rather impressive. I certainly recommend giving it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It