Esther and the King

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Esther and the King
Estherandthekingposter.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Based on Book of Esther
Produced byRaoul Walsh
Starring
CinematographyMario Bava
Edited byJerry Webb
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • December 14, 1960 (1960-12-14)(U.S.)
Running time
109 minutes
Countries
Language English

Esther and the King (Italian : Ester e il re) is a 1960 American-Italian religious epic film produced and directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joan Collins as Esther, Richard Egan as Ahasuerus, and Denis O'Dea as Mordecai. Walsh and Michael Elkins wrote the screenplay, which was based on the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. It recounts the origin of the Jewish celebration of Purim.

Contents

An international co-production released by 20th Century Fox, Esther and the King was filmed in Italy in the CinemaScope format (although not signed as such) and the Technicolor color process. Mario Bava, the film's cinematographer, was credited as a co-director on Italian prints of the film. [1]

Plot

In Persia in the 5th century BC, a Jewish woman named Esther comes to the attention of the recently widowed King Ahasuerus. The king has been trying to defeat the campaign of hatred against the Jews by his evil minister Haman. Before the king pairs with Esther to defeat Haman, there are several intervening adventures and an attractive other woman who competes for attention. [2]

Cast

The film's on-screen credits list the cast in the following order and sections:

Starring
With
Also starring

Production

In December 1950, 20th Century Fox studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck announced his intention to produce The Story of Esther as a follow-up to David and Bathsheba , which he was producing at the time. [4] He entrusted Frank and Doris Hursley with the task of writing the screenplay. [5] George Jessel expressed interest in producing the film. [5]

In February 1951, Henry King was assigned to direct the film. In October, producers Joseph Bernhard and Anson Bond purchased the script from the Hursleys and were planning the film as a 20th Century Fox release. [5]

In February 1952, Hedy Lamarr bought the Hursley script for $25,000; Arthur B. Krim of United Artists negotiated the deal for her. [6] Lamarr wanted to portray Esther and produce the story as an independent feature and United Artists release, with the possibility of filming it in Italy. [6] She eventually decided to produce it in Rome as the first episode of a British television series titled The Great Love Stories, but the project changed and the story was not filmed. [7]

The 1960 Writers Guild of America strike, which began in January, forced 20th Century Fox to cease production temporarily. [8] Fox president Spyros Skouras and producer Buddy Adler asked director Raoul Walsh if he could "make a film very quickly for them, because they had nothing at all, the studios were practically shut. That's why we made Esther in Italy." [8]

Release

Esther and the King premiered in New York City at the RKO Palace Theatre on November 18, 1960. [9] [10]

The film grossed 126% and was considered a hit film of the 1960-61 season. [11]

Critical response

James D. Ivers, writing for Motion Picture Daily , was enthusiastically positive: "All the trappings of a Biblical spectacle, exotic sets and costumes, a moving and dramatic story, and the skilled and experienced hand of Raoul Walsh make this a worthy and potentially successful entry in the present cycle of historical epics." [12] Ivers also commended the performances of the leading actors: "Joan Collins plays Esther with beauty and some depth, Richard Egan is properly virile as a soldierly but unstatesmanlike King Ahasuerus, and Denis O'Dea is dignified and devout as Mordecai." [12] The supporting actors who earned notice were a "satisfactory" Rik Battaglia, a "sufficiently menacing" Sergio Fantoni and a "somewhat overly voluptuous" Daniela Rocca. [12] Ivers also admired the technical aspects of the film: "Color by DeLuxe and excellent camera work by Mario Bava give an eye-filling background to the straightforward story." [12]

Some critics disliked the film. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that the "beautiful Bible story of Esther" had "been thumped into a crude costume charade." [10] Harrison's Reports found that the film "has a hackneyed script and two incompetent lead players [Collins and Egan]," but it praised O'Dea's portrayal of Mordecai. [13]

In recent years, Rosalba Neri's performance has been evaluated as "memorable." [14]

Home media

In 2014, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Esther and the King on DVD as part of the manufactured-on-demand Cinema Archives line. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Esther</span> Book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament

The Book of Esther, also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll", is a book in the third section of the Jewish Tanakh. It is one of the five Scrolls in the Hebrew Bible and later became part of the Christian Old Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther</span> Biblical Jewish queen of Persia and Medes

Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. Set in the Persian Achaemenid Empire, it tells how king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Esther is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty. Ahasuerus' grand vizier, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman. Consequently, Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed, and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman's eradication plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead, as royal edicts cannot be revoked under Persian law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahasuerus</span> Name of various rulers in the Hebrew Bible

Ahasuerus is a name applied in the Hebrew Bible to three rulers and to a Babylonian official in the Book of Tobit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mordecai</span> Biblical figure

Mordecai is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purim</span> Jewish holiday

Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book of Esther.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raoul Walsh</span> American film director and actor (1887–1980)

Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent film The Birth of a Nation (1915) and for directing such films as the widescreen epic The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne in his first leading role, The Roaring Twenties starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. He directed his last film in 1964. His work has been noted as influences on directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Jack Hill, and Martin Scorsese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vashti</span> Character in the Book of Esther; queen of Persia

Vashti was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was either executed or banished for her refusal to appear at the king's banquet to show her beauty as Ahasuerus wished, and was succeeded as queen by Esther, a Jew. That refusal might be better understood via the Jewish tradition that she was ordered to appear naked. In the Midrash, Vashti is described as wicked and vain; she is viewed as an independent-minded heroine in feminist theological interpretations of the Purim story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haman</span> Biblical figure

Haman is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I but traditionally equated with Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II. As his epithet Agagite indicates, Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Some commentators interpret this descent to be symbolic, due to his similar personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Egan (actor)</span> American actor (1921–1987)

Richard Egan was an American actor. After beginning his career in 1949, he subsequently won a Golden Globe Award for his performances in the films The Glory Brigade (1953) and The Kid from Left Field (1953). He went on to star in many films such as Underwater! (1955), Seven Cities of Gold (1955), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956), Love Me Tender (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), A Summer Place (1959), Esther and the King (1960) and The 300 Spartans (1962).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis O'Dea</span> Irish actor

Denis O'Dea was an Irish stage and film actor.

<i>The Revolt of Mamie Stover</i> (film) 1956 film by Raoul Walsh

The Revolt of Mamie Stover is a 1956 romantic drama DeLuxe Color film directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Buddy Adler from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by William Bradford Huie. The picture stars Jane Russell and Richard Egan, with Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, and Michael Pate, and was filmed in CinemaScope. The music was by Hugo Friedhofer and the cinematography by Leo Tover, with costume design by Travilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther in rabbinic literature</span>

This article is about Esther in rabbinic literature. Esther was the chief character in the Book of Esther. She is counted among the prophetesses of Israel. Allusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical story of Esther contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond the text presented in the book of the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Fantoni</span> Italian actor (1930–2020)

Sergio Fantoni was an Italian actor, voice actor and director.

Esther is an American opera in 3 acts composed by Hugo Weisgall, with a libretto by Charles Kondek. Esther was premiered by the New York City Opera in October 1993. The opera is about Esther's struggle as she becomes the queen of Persia, and her heroic triumph over the evil Prime Minister Haman and his plot of exterminating the Jews.

<i>Esther</i> (1999 film) American TV series or program

Esther, also known as The Bible: Esther, is a 1999 American-Italian-German television film based on the Book of Esther, directed by Raffaele Mertes and starring Louise Lombard as Queen Esther, F. Murray Abraham as Mordechai, Jürgen Prochnow as Haman, Thomas Kretschmann as King Achashverosh and Ornella Muti as Vashti.

<i>One Night with the King</i> 2006 American film

One Night with the King is a 2006 American religious epic film produced by Matt Crouch and Laurie Crouch of Gener8Xion Entertainment, directed by Michael O. Sajbel, and starring Peter O'Toole, Tiffany Dupont, John Rhys-Davies and Luke Goss.

<i>Esther</i> (1986 film) 1986 film

Esther is a 97-minute 1986 Austrian-British-Dutch-Israeli Hebrew-language independent underground dramatic historical experimental art film directed by Amos Gitai, his directorial debut. The film tells the story of Esther from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Esther and stars Simone Benyamini, Zare Vartanian, Mohammad Bakri and Juliano Mer-Khamis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther 3</span> A chapter in the Book of Esther

Esther 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the Hebrew text would have been formed by the second century BCE. Chapters 3 to 8 contain the nine scenes that form the complication in the book. This chapter introduces Haman the Agagite, who is linked by his genealogy to King Agag, the enemy of Israel's King Saul, from whose father, Kish, Mordecai was descended. The king Ahasuerus elevated Haman to a high position in the court, and ordered everyone to bow down to him, but Mordecai refuses to do so to Haman, which is connected to Mordecai's Jewish identity (as Jews would only bow down to worship their own God ; this indirectly introduced the religious dimension of the story. Haman reacted by a vast plan to destroy not simply Mordecai, but his entire people, getting the approval from the king to arrange for a particular date of genocide, selected by casting a lot, or pur to fall on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. The chapter ends with the confused reaction of the whole city of Susa due to the decree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther 6</span> A chapter in the Book of Esther

Esther 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the Hebrew text would have been formed by the second century BCE. Chapters 3 to 8 contain the nine scenes that form the complication in the book. This chapter relates how a sleepless Ahasuerus had his court annals read aloud and discovered that he had failed to reward Mordecai for passing on the information about the assassination plot. The episode leads to 'a marvellously ironic scene', as the narrative 'moves inexorably to its ultimate reversal', starting with Haman leading a king's horse carrying Mordecai, clothed in royal garb through the streets of Susa, and proclaiming the king's favor for Mordecai. Haman went home exhibiting mourning behavior and his wife predicted that Haman's intent to destroy Mordecai would end up with the opposite result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther 7</span> A chapter in Book of Esther

Esther 7 is the seventh chapter of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the Hebrew text would have been formed by the second century BCE. Chapters 3 to 8 contain the nine scenes that form the complication in the book. This chapter records the second banquet of Esther. The king Ahasuerus was then determined to grant her any request, so Esther spoke out about the death threat on her people and identifies Haman as the perpetrator of the projected genocide. The king went out to his garden in a rage, but shortly came back to see Haman seemingly threatening Esther on her recliner couch. This caused the king to command the hanging of Haman on the very gallows Haman intended for Mordecai.

References

  1. Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark by Tim Lucas, Published by Video Watchdog
  2. Plot Synopsis by Eleanor Mannikka from allmovie.com website
  3. Lucas 2013, p. 341.
  4. "Studio Size-Ups: 20th Century Fox - Zanuck Announces Busy Work Plan For New Year". Film Bulletin: 26. December 18, 1950.
  5. 1 2 3 "Esther and the King - Notes". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Hedy Another Indie Set at UA as Krim Negotiates Story Buy". Variety . 185 (11): 5. February 20, 1952.
  7. Shearer, Stephen Michael (2010). Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. Macmillan. ISBN   9781429908207.
  8. 1 2 Moss 2011, p. 374.
  9. "RKO Palace To Open 'Esther' on Nov. 18". Motion Picture Daily . 88 (71): 2. October 11, 1960.
  10. 1 2 Crowther, Bosley (November 19, 1960). "Screen: Costume Charade:' Esther and the King' Is New Film at Palace". The New York Times . Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  11. "Grosses: The Hits of '60-'61". Boxoffice Barometer: 31. March 26, 1962.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ivers, James D. (November 21, 1960). "Review: Esther and the King". Motion Picture Daily . 88 (97): 6.
  13. ""Esther and the King" with Joan Collins, Richard Egan and Denis O'Dea". Harrison's Reports . XLII (48): 190. November 26, 1960. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  14. Hughes 2011, p. 69.
  15. "Esther and the King DVD". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 10, 2018.

Bibliography