Salome

The costume and settings are fine, the acting is good but the changes to the biblical characters and their stories are on some parts profound and made of Salome a most spoiled and boring character, and last but not least, they added a lot of romance to the story. The Dance of the Veils too is rather a tame gym exercise and not a climax to the movie. To sum it up, Salome is not that bad but regarding the good production and actors (Stewart Granger, Rita Hayworth, Charles Laughton) sadly the script does not work that well, at least for me.

Forget the critics and concerns over over-acting, under-acting, script quality, and historical accuracy. Relax and settle back with your favorite snack and enjoy this opulent visual feast. Charles Laughton as a pleasure-obsessed Herod and Judith Anderson as a scheming power-hungry Herodias delightfully chew up the scenery, while Jean Louis' costumes alone make this movie worth watching. But the crowning achievement of this film is the electrifying Dance of the Seven Veils as performed by Rita Hayworth. Both earthy and ethereal at the same time, she commands our fascination as well as Herod's. As she effortlessly glides- minus 6 veils- up the steps to place herself at Herod's feet- offering him the promise of unimaginable pleasures- she is stunningly photographed and glowing with a golden aura. Had she made no other films, this dance performance alone would have ensured her place as Hollywood's reigning Love Goddess.

the first temptation is to criticize it. very hard. and it is the normal reaction. because the film has potential and the right cast. but for director seems be more seductive the easy way. the dance of Rita Hayworth, the sketch of the force of Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson in a role as game of stereotypes. the result - not the best. after decades, it is not a real sin and it is a wise option to see it as piece from a long chain of religious/historical films from the "50. but the case of "Salome" remains different. for the simple motif than it is not an ordinary film from the "50. and only way to discover it out of not inspired solution of script or director vision is ... to imagine it.

As we all know that Princess Salome,(Rita Hayworth) danced for King Herod,(Charles Laughton) in order to gain his favor and requested that John the Baptist's head would be removed and placed on a silver platter and given to the king. However, Hollywood changed the Bible version and made Salome look like a kind and loving Princess who loved the Christian way of thinking and living and wanted to save John The Baptist from being killed. Stewart Granger,(Commander Claudis) soon become the lover of Princess Salome after she had fought with him constantly and told him she wanted nothing to do with a Roman. King Herod and Queen Herodus (Judith Anderson)was living in adultery since she was married to another man and living with King Herod. Rita Hayworth was an experienced dancer and this was one of her best films in 1953.

This is one of those rare films were the actor 'introduced' in the credits actually went on to a long and distinguished career: Alan Badel as John the Baptist. But Stewart Granger - reunited here with his co-star from 'Caesar and Cleopatra' Basil Sydney (as Pontus Pilate) - significantly doesn't even mention this in his autobiography. Nazimova and Ludmilla Tcherina were both in their forties when they essayed the part, yet it's Rita Hayworth - ten years younger - who seems too old; and her appearances, alas, come as an annoying distraction from the scenes with Charles Laughton & Judith Anderson as Mr & Mrs Herod. Although bathed in rich Technicolor by veteran cameraman Charles Lang, it's hard to believe the same director who in the bad old days of the Hays Office managed to give us Marlene Dietrich cavorting painted gold in 'Kismet' (1944) could this time round make such dull work of the Dance of the Seven Veils.

Don't bother watching this film for historical accuracy. Watch it instead for entertainment value only and to see why Rita Hayworth was worshipped as a Goddess. You can almost feel the debauchery oozing out of Charles Laughton's Herod as he oils his way through the film. And Judith Anderson's Queen Herodias is completely over the top, but you can see where she's coming from and that she's a product of her circumstances. Stewart Granger is almost out of place here as he's the only one not seriously hamming it up, but he still does a relatively convincing job as Commander Claudius, improving as the film progresses. I love this film for the wonderful elocution-lesson delivery of the dialogue and the gloriously artificial colouring which give a lovely fantasy recreation of biblical times: even though bad things happen, they just don't seem that bad. And even after all these years Rita Hayworth's dancing is a vision to behold for men and women alike.

While this film does vary from the biblical storyline, it's worth watching for Rita alone. She's a vision in all her scenes and very good in her part, culminating in her 'Dance of the Seven Veils', which is a treasure. {I only wish it wasn't montaged with the death of the Baptist.} Rita never looked lovelier than she does here and her Jean Louis costumes are all drop-dead gorgeous. Stewart Granger is pretty good, better than usual, he and Rita having good chemistry here. It's well cast, with actors Charles Laughton and Dame Judith Anderson both excellent as King Herod and Queen Herodias. Arnold Moss is slithering as the evil adviser to Queen Herodias, though Alan Badel as John the Baptist seems more like a wild-eyed madman than a holy prophet. Though there are some filler segments that are not up to the rest of the film, still I think it's excellent entertainment.