Salome
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
J. Gordon Edwards
Theda Bara
G. Raymond Nye
Albert Roscoe
Herbert Heyes
Bertram Grassby
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Herod, the tyrannical king of Judea and usurper of the Hycranian dynasty, marries Miriam, the sister of the rightful heir to the throne, Prince David. Herod's beautiful but treacherous cousin Salome convinces him to bestow the powerful office of high priest on David in order to placate the Judeans, but later she secretly commissions Sejanus, who is in love with her, to drown the prince. After Salome persuades Herod that Miriam is trying to kill him, the queen, too, loses her life. John the Baptist enters Judea and publicly denounces Herod's court, whereupon Salome, her curiosity aroused, visits him in the desert and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce him. During his imprisonment, the holy man again rejects her advances, and she vows to destroy him. At Herod's birthday feast, Salome performs a sensuous dance and asks for John the Baptist's head as a reward. As she kisses his lifeless lips, a fierce storm arises, and Herod, terrified, orders Salome's immediate execution.
Director
J. Gordon Edwards
Cast
Theda Bara
G. Raymond Nye
Albert Roscoe
Herbert Heyes
Bertram Grassby
Genevieve Blinn
Vera Doria
Alfred Fremont
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
This film is presumed lost. Please check your attic.
Notes
News items reported that "two thousand players were engaged for this super-picture. Eight hundred artisans alone were employed in building a reproduction of the city of Jerusalem..." The film had its premiere in Seattle on August 10, 1918 and played in various other cities before its New York opening on October 6, 1918. The story of Salome was filmed twice in America in the twenties: in 1922, with Nazimova starring and Charles Bryant directing; and in 1923, with Diana Allen starring and Malcolm Strauss directing. (See AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.4781 and F2.4782.) Among the many other screen versions of the story are the 1953 Columbia production, starring Rita Hayworth and directed by William Dieterle, and the 1972 Italian film directed by Carmelo Bene. The 1920 Metro film A Modern Salome contains sequences based on the Salome story.
