Salome *** (1953, Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Badel, Basil Sydney) – Classic Movie Review 7124

Director William Dieterle’s 1953 Salome is a spectacularly made if shakily scripted (by Harry Kleiner) movie epic of the famous Bible tale. The story of the biblical stripper (taken up by Oscar Wilde, who turned it into a famous stage shocker) is unrecognisably Hollywoodised in this version that changes the main plot point.

Instead of asking for the head of Gallilean prophet John the Baptist (Alan Badel) as a reward for dancing for her licentious stepfather, King Herod (Charles Laughton), Princess Salome (Rita Hayworth) agrees to peel off in an effort to save his life. When she fails, she elopes with Commander Claudius (Stewart Granger), the commander of the legions in Galilee, a secret Christian, rather than being crushed to death as a punishment for having kissed the severed head, as in Wilde’s play.

The principal players are perfectly cast, especially Laughton as a drooling King Herod, Sir Cedric Hardwicke as the emperor Tiberius Caesar, Judith Anderson as Herodias the Queen and of course the lovely Rita Hayworth vamping shamelessly in the title role, but the luridly realised film often borders on the ludicrous.

Also in the cast are Basil Sydney as Pontius Pilate, Arnold Moss as Micha the Queen’s Advisor, Rex Reason as Marcellus Fabius, Maurice Schwartz as Ezra the King’s Advisor, Carmen D’Antonio as Salome’s servant and Michael Granger as Captain Quintus, with Asoka and Sujata as Asian Dancers.

Salome is directed by William Dieterle, runs 102 minutes, is produced by the Beckworth Corporation, is released by Columbia Pictures, is written by Harry Kleiner (screenplay and story) and Jesse L Lasky Jr (story), is shot in Technicolor by Charles Lang, is produced by Buddy Adler and Rita Hayworth, is scored by George Duning and is designed by John Meehan, with Costume Design by Jean Louis.

Is the last production of Hayworth’s company, the Beckworth Corporation.

Columbia Pictures studio head Harry Cohn told screenwriter Jesse Lasky Jr: ‘You have one weekend to come up with a story for this movie, or you’re fired!’ So he wrote out a 50-page treatment over a weekend. But his original New Testament ending was re-written to make Salome more sympathetic.

Hayworth called her famous erotic Dance of the Seven Veils ‘the most demanding of my entire career’, adding it required ‘endless takes and retakes’.  The dance music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and Hayworth’s dances are choreographed by Valerie Bettis.

It was a considerable hit, taking $4.75 million at the US box office, and elsewhere it was especially popular in France.

The story is previously told in Salome (1922) with Alla Nazimova and accessed in Salome Where She Danced (1945) with Yvonne De Carlo. Ken Russell revisited the story in Salome’s Last Dance (1988). Al Pacino filmed the play in Salomé (2013) and the story of staging it is told in the documentary Wilde Salomé (2011).

It is Alan Badel’s film debut, aged 30, after distinguished war service, graduating from RADA a Gold Medal winner and stage success.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7124

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