History Film / Salome1953

''Salome'' is a 1953 SwordAndSandal film directed by William Dieterle. It stars Creator/RitaHayworth as the eponymous Judean princess, Stewart Granger as the upstanding Roman soldier Claudius, Creator/CharlesLaughton as King Herod, and Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias. Additionally, Creator/CedricHardwicke puts in a cameo as Emperor Tiberius.

* AsYouKnow: Near the beginning, Ezra helpfully reminds Herod of the prophecy that for years has compelled him to avoid taking any action against John the Baptist. Herod actually {{lampshade|Handing}}s that he doesn't need to be reminded of it.

* AsYouKnow: Near the beginning, Ezra helpfully reminds Herod of the prophecy that for years has compelled him to avoid taking any action against John the Baptist.

* CanonForeigner: Claudius, the male love interest played by Stewart Granger, is the only major character with no historical or Biblical basis.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Claudius encourages Pilate to support the new Christian movement, telling him that his name would live forever in history. Pilate replies, "In a few years from now, we shall all be dust and forgotten, no matter what we do here. The name of Caesar will live on, but Pontius Pilate? Never!"

Salome is a minor figure in Literature/TheBible. Daughter of the tyrannical King Herod, she does a (presumably sexual) dance for him in exchange for being served the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter. And that's all the Bible says about her. Actually, it doesn't even say that much. The Bible [[NoNameGiven never bothered to mention her name]], the name "Salome" coming to us from the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. Even so, Christians spent centuries regarding Salome as a symbol of decadence and, for lack of a better term, sluttiness.

''Salome'' is a 1953 SwordAndSandal film. It stars Creator/RitaHayworth as the titular Judean princess, Stewart Granger as the upstanding Roman soldier Claudius, Creator/CharlesLaughton as King Herod, and Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias. Additionally, Creator/CedricHardwicke puts in a cameo as Emperor Tiberius.

* TheFaceless: Jesus has a couple cameos, during which his face is not shown.

* FamilyFriendlyStripper: The Dance of the Seven Veils is actually halted before Salome can remove her last veil. And even if she did remove it, it doesn't look like it would leave her ''that'' naked.

* BibleTimes: The setting, of course.

* CanonForeigner: Claudius, the male love interest played by Stewart Granger, is the only major character with no basis in history or the Bible.

'''Ezra:''' In your heard, you do.

* ForcefulKiss: Claudius gives one to Salome.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Considering her infamy as a wicked temptress, the movie's Salome is remarkably virtuous. Here, she's a bit haughty and sultry, befitting Hayworth's screen image, but nothing worse than that. And she never wanted John the Baptist beheaded in this version.

* PetTheDog: Claudius has several of these moments early on, establishing that he's more of a good guy than the other Romans, particularly Pilate. Later on, we see that he's aligned with John the Baptist.

* PetTheDog: Claudius has several early on, establishing that he's more of a good guy than the other Romans, particularly Pilate. Later on, we see that he's aligned with John the Baptist.

Well, someone decided this material would make for a great Rita Hayworth vehicle. That "someone" was Creator/CecilBDeMille, but he didn't actually get to make the movie. In 1951, he approached Creator/ColumbiaPictures about borrowing her for the role of Salome. Columbia liked the idea so much that they stole it and made the film themselves. But clearly, a big star like Hayworth couldn't play Salome as the depraved harlot she was in the original story, not in TheFifties anyway. Hence, some AdaptationalHeroism was necessary, plus AdaptationExpansion given the brevity of her Biblical appearance. As you can imagine, the film's Salome is pretty much an InNameOnly version. Or at least she would be, if she had a name in the Bible.

Well, someone decided this material would make for a great Rita Hayworth vehicle. That "someone" was Creator/CecilBDeMille, but he didn't actually get to make the movie. In 1951, he approached Creator/ColumbiaPictures about borrowing Hayworth for the role of Salome. Columbia liked the idea so much that they stole it and made the film themselves. But clearly, a big star like Hayworth couldn't play Salome as the depraved harlot she was in the original story, not in TheFifties anyway. Hence, some AdaptationalHeroism was necessary, plus AdaptationExpansion given the brevity of her Biblical appearance. As you can imagine, the film's Salome is pretty much an InNameOnly version. Or at least she would be, if she had a name in the Bible.

Other than sharing the same Biblical source material, this film is unrelated to [[{{Theatre/Salome}} the play]] by Creator/OscarWilde or [[Film/Salome1923 the 1923 silent film based on it]].

No direct relation to [[{{Theatre/Salome}} the play]] by Creator/OscarWilde or [[Film/Salome1923 the 1923 silent film based on it]].

* EvilColonialist: Pontius Pilate is portrayed as a ruthless Roman imperialist with no regard for the conquered people he rules.

''Salome'' is a 1953 SwordAndSandal film. It starred Creator/RitaHayworth as the titular Judean princess, Stewart Granger as the upstanding Roman soldier Claudius, Creator/CharlesLaughton as King Herod, and Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias. Additionally, Creator/CedricHardwicke puts in a cameo as Emperor Tiberius.

In case you don't know, Salome is a minor figure in Literature/TheBible. Daughter of the tyrannical King Herod, she does a (presumably sexual) dance for him in exchange for being served the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter. And that's all the Bible says about her. Actually, it doesn't even say that much. The Bible [[NoNameGiven never bothered to mention her name]], the name "Salome" coming to us from the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. Even so, Christians spent centuries regarding Salome as a symbol of decadence and, for lack of a better term, sluttiness.

''Salome'' is a SwordAndSandal film from 1953. It starred Creator/RitaHayworth as the titular Judean princess, Stewart Granger as the upstanding Roman soldier Claudius, Creator/CharlesLaughton as King Herod, and Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias. Additionally, Creator/CedricHardwicke puts in a cameo as Emperor Tiberius.

''Salome'' is a SwordAndSandal film released in 1953. It starred Creator/RitaHayworth as the titular Judean princess, Stewart Granger as the upstanding Roman soldier Claudius, Creator/CharlesLaughton as King Herod, and Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias. Additionally, Creator/CedricHardwicke puts in a cameo as Emperor Tiberius.

* LostInImitation: The Bible only mentions that Salome danced for her father. It doesn't even explicitly mention that it was a striptease. The whole concept of the Dance of the Seven Veils comes from the Oscar Wilde play, which this movie is otherwise not adapting. Granted, the movie never actually calls it the Dance of the Seven Veils, but it certainly involves taking off seven veils, and the trailer calls it that.

* LostInImitation: The Bible only mentions that Salome danced for her father. The whole concept of the Dance of the Seven Veils comes from the Oscar Wilde play, which this movie is otherwise not adapting. Granted, the movie never actually calls it the Dance of the Seven Veils, but it certainly involves taking off seven veils, and the trailer calls it that.