The King of Kings (1927 film)

Story

Mary Magdalene is introduced as a wild courtesan entertaining many men. Learning that Judas is with a carpenter, she rides out on a chariot drawn by zebras to retrieve him. Peter is presented as the Giant apostle, and the future gospel writer Mark appears as a child healed by Jesus. Mary, Jesus' mother, is depicted as a beautiful, saintly woman who mothers all her son's followers.

Jesus is first seen through the eyes of a little girl he heals, surrounded by a halo. Mary Magdalene then speaks with Judas, who admits he follows Jesus only in hopes of becoming a high official after Jesus becomes king of kings. In a multiple-exposure sequence, Jesus casts the Seven Deadly Sins out of Mary Magdalene. Jesus also heals a boy possessed by a demon, raises Lazarus from the dead, and blesses little children.

A moment of humor occurs when a girl asks if he can heal broken legs and, upon his affirmative reply, gives him a legless doll; Jesus smiles and repairs it. The crucifixion is foreshadowed when Jesus, helping a poor family, wanders through the father's carpentry shop and briefly carves a piece of wood; when a sheet covering an object is removed, it reveals a cross towering over him. Caiaphas the High Priest is angered at Judas for leading people to a man he considers a false prophet.

Jesus drives away Satan, who had offered him an earthly kingdom, and protects a woman caught in adultery, writing in the sand the sins of her accusers. Judas, desperate to save himself from Caiaphas, agrees to betray Jesus. At the Last Supper, when Jesus distributes bread and wine as his body and blood, Judas refuses to eat or drink. Mary confronts her son and urges him to flee, but Jesus replies that it must be done for the salvation of all peoples.

Production

After releasing The Volga Boatman (1926), Cecil B. DeMille announced a biblical epic titled The Deluge about Noah's Ark, following a public contest for suggestions for a companion picture to The Ten Commandments (1923). He planned to follow The Deluge with a film about Christ. By late May 1926, he had spent over $50,000 on research and story preparation but canceled The Deluge upon learning Warner Bros. were planning Noah's Ark and had registered it with the Will Hays office.

Jeremiah Milbank agreed to finance the film. DeMille's main visual inspiration came from Frederic Shields' biblical paintings, as well as works by Peter Paul Rubens and Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours. He had sketches drawn for every scene, shot, costume, and prominent prop, hiring artists Dan Sayre Groesbeck, Anton Grot, Edward Jewel, Julian Harrison, and Harold Miles. Costumes were designed by Adrian, Gwen Wakeling, and Earl Luick.

DeMille and screenwriter Jeanie MacPherson initially planned a two-part script with a biblical account and a modern story, but abandoned the idea. They were assisted by writers Denison Clift, Clifford Howard, and Jack Jungmeyer.

DeMille chose to open with Mary Magdalene as a courtesan to jolt skeptics and cynics out of their preconceptions. He also included a brief extrabiblical romance between Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene, based on a medieval German legend. In June 1926, DeMille cast H. B. Warner as Jesus.

Filming

Filming was conducted in utmost secrecy. Reporters and columnists received only generic advance word, and DeMille did not permit photographs of actors in costume. In 1936, DeMille revealed the constraints on H. B. Warner: during the approximately year-long production, Warner had to live as a recluse, avoiding cafes, theaters, and other public places. He could not smoke on the studio lot or be seen in makeup outside the set.

A small, closed room was provided for him on each set, and he wore a hooded cowl when traveling to and from his dressing room. He accepted no social invitations and did not entertain at home. DeMille stated that Warner's personal sacrifices were rewarded in the fine, tender spirit of the finished performance. Dorothy Cumming, who played Mary, signed a contract on August 21, 1926, regulating her private life for seven years.

It precluded her from divorcing her husband for any act, doing anything that would give her husband grounds for divorce, or playing a prostitute or similar role in any film. These contractual details emerged during a divorce trial when Cumming opposed her husband Frank Elliott; the contract did not prevent the divorce.

Release versions

The King of Kings first played in 1927 as a roadshow presentation, running about two hours and forty minutes across 16 reels with an intermission. It made history as the debut film at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 18, 1927, and returned to that screen on May 24, 1977, for the venue's 50th anniversary. In an early marketing move, schools let out students from elementary through high school early so they could attend afternoon showings.

Between its original release and the 1961 remake, roughly 500 million people saw the film. The 1928 general-release version, which most viewers watched, was cut to 12 reels (one hour and 55 minutes) and given new title cards to fit the sound-film aspect ratio. Its Technicolor sequences were reproduced in black-and-white because the color stock was too delicate for wide distribution. This 1928 print also added an RCA Photophone soundtrack: a synchronized orchestra score led by Hugo Riesenfeld and realistic sound effects.

According to Motion Picture News, the audio—including lightning, thunder, and crowds screaming during earthquakes—was so startlingly real that it erased any lingering doubts about sound in movies.

Did You Know?

• The end wall of a large stage was removed to build the Praetorium set, which included a 37 ft bronze replica of the Eagle of Rome behind Pilate's throne.
• The film's two Technicolor sequences (the opening and resurrection scene) used the two-color process invented by Herbert Kalmus.