The film starred Rita Hayworth as Salome, as well as Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton and Judith Anderson, with Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Badel and Basil Sydney.
Plot
Although based on the New Testament story, the film does not follow the biblical text. In Galilee, during the rule of Rome's Tiberius Caesar, King Herod (Charles Laughton) and Queen Herodias (Judith Anderson) sit on the throne and are condemned by a prophet known as John the Baptist (Alan Badel). Herodias resents John's denunciation of her marriage to the king, her former husband's brother, and the Baptist's claim that she is an adulteress.Salome falls in love with a heroic Roman soldier (Granger) who converts to Christianity. In a direct reversal of the Biblical text, she dances for Herod to save John the Baptist from being beheaded, but is unsuccessful. Horrified, she renounces her mother Herodias, who planned and ordered the execution, and also becomes a Christian convert. The last scene shows Hayworth and Granger listening to Christ (whose face is not shown) delivering the Sermon on the Mount.
Dance of the seven veils
According to her biographers Hayworth's erotic dance routine was "the most demanding of her entire career", necessitating "endless takes and retakes".Cast
- Rita Hayworth as Princess Salome
- Stewart Granger as Commander Claudius
- Charles Laughton as King Herod
- Judith Anderson as Queen Herodias
- Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Tiberius Caesar
- Alan Badel as John the Baptist
- Basil Sydney as Pontius Pilate
- Maurice Schwartz as Ezra the King's Advisor
- Arnold Moss as Micha the Queen's Advisor
- Asoka as Asian Dancer
- Sujata as Asian Dancer
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