

In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending the king to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are (contrary to Scripture) nearing conversion to the new religion. And the famous climactic dance turns out to have unexpected implications...
Acting
Laughton's Herod: sweaty, paranoid, magnificent.
Costume
Hayworth's seven-veil spectacle—actually eighteen veils.
Production
Fake Rome built on Paramount's backlot.

Director
William Dieterle
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the film, which only boosted ticket sales.
Hayworth's dance was choreographed by Valerie Bettis and took five days to film; she later called it 'the most physically demanding thing I ever did.'