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
Rita Hayworth
Princess Salome
Charles Laughton
King Herod
Stewart Granger
Commander Claudius
Judith Anderson
Queen Herodias
Alan Badel
John the Baptist
Cedric Hardwicke
Tiberius Caesar
Basil Sydney
Pontius Pilate
Maurice Schwartz
Ezra the King's Advisor
Arnold Moss
Micha
Karl 'Killer' Davis
Slave Master
Rex Reason
Marcellus Fabius
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.'
US
