''Esther and the King'' ( it, Ester e il re) is a 1960 American-Italian
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
as
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
Denis O'Dea
Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor.
He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boardin ...
as
Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) 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.
Biblical acco ...
. Walsh and
Michael Elkins
Michael Elkins (22 January 1917, in New York, United States – 10 March 2001, in Jerusalem)
was an American broadcaster and journalist who worked for the American network, CBS, for the magazine ''Newsweek'' and then for 17 years with the BBC ...
wrote the screenplay, which was based on the Book of Esther of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Old Testament. It recounts the origin of the Jewish celebration of
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) 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 ...
.
An
international co-production
A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...
released by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, ''Esther and the King'' was filmed in Italy in the CinemaScope format (although not signed as such) and the
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
color process.
Mario Bava
Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...
, the film's cinematographer, was credited as a co-director on Italian prints of the film.
Plot
In
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in the 5th century BC, a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish woman named Esther comes to the attention of the recently widowed King
. The king has been trying to defeat the campaign of hatred against the Jews by his evil minister
Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) 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 ...
. Before the king pairs with Esther to defeat Haman, there are several intervening adventures and an attractive other woman who competes for attention.
Cast
The film's on-screen credits list the cast in the following order and sections:
;Starring
*
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
as
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
Denis O'Dea
Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor.
He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boardin ...
as
Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) 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.
Biblical acco ...
*
Sergio Fantoni
Sergio Fantoni (7 August 1930 – 17 April 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and director.
Biography
Fantoni was born in Rome to the actor Cesare Fantoni. He began his career appearing in films, radio dramas, television and theatrical pro ...
as
Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) 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 ...
Renato Baldini
Renato Baldini (18 December 1921 – 5 July 1995) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983. He was born in Rome, Italy.
Selected filmography
* ''It's Forever Springtime'' (1950) - Un carabiniere al processo
...
Zeresh
Zeresh (Hebrew: זֶרֶשׁ) was the wife of Haman the Agagite who is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Esther.
Zeresh advised her husband to prepare a high gallows (50 cubits) and to hang Mordecai on it ( Esther 5:14). However, she ...
* Walter Williams (as Robert Buchanan) as Hegai
;Also starring
*
Daniela Rocca
Daniela Rocca (12 September 1937 – 28 May 1995) was an Italian actress, model and writer.
Biography
Rocca was born and raised in Acireale, a small town near Catania. She became Miss Catania in 1953, and was discovered by talent scouts after ...
Folco Lulli
Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli.
Selected filmography
* ''How I Lost the War'' (1947)
* ' ...
as Tobiah
Production
In December 1950, 20th Century Fox studio executive
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
announced his intention to produce ''The Story of Esther'' as a follow-up to '' David and Bathsheba'', which he was producing at the time. He entrusted Frank and Doris Hursley with the task of writing the screenplay.George Jessel expressed interest in producing the film.
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.
In February 1952,
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
bought the Hursley script for $25,000; Arthur B. Krim of
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
negotiated the deal for her. 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. 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.
The 1960 Writers Guild of America strike, which began in January, forced 20th Century Fox to cease production temporarily. Fox president
Spyros Skouras
Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; gr, Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 19 ...
and producer
Buddy Adler
E. Maurice "Buddy" Adler (June 22, 1906 – July 12, 1960) was an American film producer and production head for 20th Century Fox studios.
In 1954, his production of ''From Here to Eternity'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture and in 1956, hi ...
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."
Release
''Esther and the King'' premiered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
at the RKO Palace Theatre on November 18, 1960.
The film grossed 126% and was considered a hit film of the 1960-61 season.
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." 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." The supporting actors who earned notice were a "satisfactory" Rik Battaglia, a "sufficiently menacing" Sergio Fantoni and a "somewhat overly voluptuous" Daniela Rocca. 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."
Some critics disliked the film.
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote that the "beautiful Bible story of Esther" had "been thumped into a crude costume charade." '' Harrison's Reports'' found that the film "has a hackneyed script and two incompetent lead players ollins and Egan" but it praised O'Dea's portrayal of Mordecai.
In recent years, Rosalba Neri's performance has been evaluated as "memorable."
Home media
In 2014,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
released ''Esther and the King'' on DVD as part of the manufactured-on-demand Cinema Archives line.