The King of Kings is a 1927 American silent epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Starring H. B. Warner in the lead role, it depicts events in the life of Jesus, from the exorcism of Mary Magdalene to the crucifixion and resurrection. The screenplay was written by Jeanie MacPherson and includes verses from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Filming took place in 1926 in Santa Catalina Island and the DeMille Studios in Culver City, California. The opening and resurrection scenes were filmed in two-color Technicolor, other sequences were tinted sepia or yellow, and the torch flames in the blue-tinted scene of Jesus' arrest were hand colored.
The King of Kings first premiered in New York City on April 19, 1927, and later opened in Los Angeles on May 18. The film is the second in DeMille's biblical trilogy, preceded by The Ten Commandments (1923) and followed by The Sign of the Cross (1932).
Story
Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a wild courtesan, entertaining many men around her. Upon learning that Judas is with a carpenter she rides out on her chariot drawn by zebras to get him back. Peter is introduced as the Giant apostle, and we see the future gospel writer Mark as a child who is healed by Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is shown as a beautiful and saintly woman who is a mother to all her son's followers. The first sight of Jesus is through the eyesight of a little girl, whom he heals. He is surrounded by a halo. Mary Magdelene arrives afterwards and talks to Judas, who reveals that he is staying with Jesus only in hopes of being made a high official after Jesus becomes the king of kings. Jesus casts the Seven Deadly Sins out of Mary Magdalene in a multiple exposure sequence.
Jesus is also shown healing a boy possessed by a demon, resurrecting Lazarus from the dead and healing the little children. Some humor is derived when one girl asks if he can heal broken legs, and, when he says yes, she gives him a legless doll. Jesus smiles and repairs the doll. The crucifixion is foreshadowed when Jesus, having helped a poor family, wanders through the father's carpentry shop, and, himself a carpenter's son, he briefly helps carve a piece of wood. When a sheet covering the object is removed, it is revealed to be a cross towering over Jesus.
Jesus and his apostles enter Jerusalem, where Judas incites the people and rallies them to proclaim Jesus as the King of the Jews. Jesus, however, renounces all claims of being an Earthly king. Caiaphas the High Priest is also angry at Judas for having led people to a man whom he sees as a false prophet. Meanwhile, Jesus drives away Satan, who had offered him an Earthly kingdom, and he protects a woman caught in adultery. The words he draws in the sand are revealed to be the sins the accusers themselves committed.
Judas, desperate to save himself from Caiaphas, agrees to turn over Jesus. Noticeably at the Last Supper, when Jesus distributes the bread and wine saying that they are his body and blood, Judas refuses to eat or drink. Towards the end, Mary confronts her son and tells him to flee from the danger that is coming. Jesus replies that it must be done for the salvation of all peoples.
Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane where he is soon captured by the Roman soldiers and betrayed by Judas. Judas' life is saved, but, upon seeing that Jesus is going to be killed as a result, he is horrified. Judas takes a rope that the Romans had used to bind Jesus' wrists and runs off. Jesus is beaten and then presented by Pontius Pilate to the crowd. Mary pleads for the life of her son and Mary Magdalene speaks for him but Caiaphas bribes the crowd to shout against Jesus.
Jesus is taken away to be crucified, though he pauses on the Via Dolorosa to heal a group of cripples in an alley, despite his weakened condition. Jesus is crucified and his enemies throw insults at him. When Jesus does die, however, there is a great earthquake. The tree where Judas had hanged himself, with the rope used to bind Jesus's wrists, is swallowed up amidst bursts of hellfire. The sky turns black, lightning strikes, the wind blows, the people who had mocked Jesus run in terror, and the veil covering the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple is torn in two.
The tumult ends when Mary looks up at heaven and asks God to forgive the world for the death of their son. The chaos ends and the sun shines. Jesus is taken down from the cross and is buried. On the third day, he rises from the dead as promised. To emphasize the importance of the resurrection, this scene from an otherwise tinted monochrome film is shot in Technicolor. Jesus goes to the Apostles and tells them to spread his message to the world. He tells them "I am with you always" as the scene shifts to a modern city to show that Jesus still watches over his followers.
Many of the film's intertitles are quotes (or paraphrases) from Scripture, often with chapter and verse accompanying.
Cast
H. B. Warner as Jesus Dorothy Cumming as Mary, the mother of Jesus Ernest Torrence as Peter Joseph Schildkraut as Judas Iscariot James Neill as James the Great Joseph Striker as John the Apostle Robert Edeson as Matthew the Apostle Sidney D'Albrook as Thomas, the Doubter David Imboden as Andrew – a Fisherman Charles Belcher as Philip the Apostle Clayton Packard as Bartholomew the Apostle Robert Ellsworth as Simon – the Zealot Charles Requa as James the Less John T. Prince as Thaddeus Jacqueline Logan as Mary Magdalene Rudolph Schildkraut as Caiaphas – High Priest of Israel Sam De Grasse as Pharisee Casson Ferguson as Scribe Victor Varconi as Pontius Pilate Majel Coleman as Proculla – Wife of Pilate Montagu Love as Roman Centurion William Boyd as Simon of Cyrene Micky Moore as Mark Theodore Kosloff as Malchus – Captain of the High Priest's Guard George Siegmann as Barabbas Julia Faye as Martha Josephine Norman as Mary of Bethany Kenneth Thomson as Lazarus Alan Brooks as Satan Viola Louie as Adulterous Woman Muriel McCormac as Blind Girl Clarence Burton as Dysmas – the Repentant Thief Jim Mason as Gestas – the Unrepentant Thief May Robson as Mother of Gestas Dot Farley as Maidservant of Caiaphas Hector V. Sarno as Galilean Carpenter Leon Holmes as Imbecile Boy Otto Lederer as Eber – a Pharisee Bryant Washburn as Young Roman Lionel Belmore as Roman Noble Monte Collins as Rich Judeaean Lucio Flamma as Gallant of Galilee Sôjin Kamiyama as Prince Of Persia André Cheron as Wealthy Merchant Willy Castello as Babylonian Noble Noble Johnson as Charioteer Jim Farley as Executioner James Dime as a Roman soldier
Cast notes Sally Rand was an extra in the film, years before becoming notorious for her "fan dance" at the 1933 World's Fair. Writer Ayn Rand (no relation to Sally Rand) also was an extra in the film, and met her future husband Frank O'Connor on set. Micky Moore was the last surviving cast member at his death in 2013.
Production Development
After the release of his film The Volga Boatman (1926), producer-director Cecil B. DeMille announced he was going to make a biblical epic titled The Deluge, depicting the story of Noah and the Ark. The idea came from a worldwide contest in which the public submitted suggestions for DeMille's new "companion-picture" to his first biblical film, The Ten Commandments (1923). He wanted to follow The Deluge with a film about Christ. By late May 1926, he had reportedly spent over $50,000 in research and story preparation but decided to cancel The Deluge when he found out that Warner Bros. were planning Noah's Ark and had already registered it with the Will Hays office. Denison Clift, a writer under contract to DeMille's studio, then suggested that DeMille should film the story of Jesus, "the one great single subject of all time and all ages". Clift proposed the title The King of Kings and thought DeMille was the ideal director for the project. Jeremiah Milbank agreed to finance the film.
DeMille's main inspiration for the look of the film were Frederic Shields' paintings of biblical characters and scenes. He also looked at the work of painter Peter Paul Rubens and Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours. DeMille had sketches drawn for every scene, shot, costume, and prominent prop. He hired artists Dan Sayre Groesbeck, Anton Grot, Edward Jewel, Julian Harrison, and Harold Miles to draw the sketches, and had Adrian, Gwen Wakeling, and Earl Luick design the costumes. Groesbeck was one of DeMille's favorite artists because he had a "great gift for form and color" and "could capture character and drama in a few strokes of his brush".
DeMille and screenwriter Jeanie MacPherson initially planned to write the script in a two-part structure consisting of the biblical account and a modern story about a man who tries to follow Jesus' teachings, but this idea was abandoned early on. They were assisted by writers Denison Clift, Clifford Howard, and Jack Jungmeyer. DeMille chose to begin the screenplay with a scene depicting Mary Magdalene as a courtesan because he knew that skeptics and cynics would go and see the film and he wanted to "jolt them all out of their preconceptions" with something "none of them would be expecting". He also included a brief extrabiblical romance between Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene, which was based on a medieval German legend.
Casting In June 1926, DeMille cast H.B. Warner as Jesus. In his autobiography, DeMille said:
DeMille wanted Gloria Swanson for the role of Mary Magdalene, but Swanson was planning her first film with United Artists and would not be available to work with DeMille. Screen tests were made of more than 30 actresses, including May Allison, Barbara Bedford, Evelyn Brent, Ruth Clifford, Marguerite De La Motte, Paulette Duval, Julia Faye, Jetta Goudal, Phyllis Haver, Kathleen Key, Lila Lee, Ann McKay, Seena Owen, Selena Royle, Gretchen Thomas, and Virginia Valli. DeMille's top choices included Vilma Bánky, Mildred Harris, Jobyna Ralston, and Estelle Taylor. He narrowed it down to five actresses and created a committee to choose the best candidate. In August, Jacqueline Logan was chosen because "she could blend dramatic emotion with spirituality."
DeMille selected Rudolph Schildkraut for the part of Caiaphas. He later said Schildkraut was "perhaps the finest character actor ever to appear in motion pictures. He was as fine a man as he was an actor." Schildkraut's son, Joseph Schildkraut, was cast as Judas Iscariot.
Filming