''The Story of Joseph and His Brethren'' (Italian: ''Giuseppe venduto dai fratelli'') is a 1961 Yugoslavian/Italian film directed by

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a Jewish family

and Luciano Ricci. The film is also known as ''Joseph Sold by His Brothers'', ''Joseph and His Brethren'' (American DVD box title) and ''Sold into Egypt'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It was the last film of Belinda Lee.

Plot summary

Joseph lives in the land of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

, where he is the favorite of his father

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

's 12 sons. Joseph's brothers envy his favored position in the family and his uncanny ability to interpret people's dreams. When Jacob assigns Joseph to take a flock of sheep to sell, the brothers see their opportunity to be rid of him forever. They beat him and sell him to a slave trader. They then return to Jacob and tell him Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph is bought by

Potiphar Potiphar ( ; Egyptian origin: ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra gave") is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Potiphar is possibly the same name as Potiphera () from Late Egyptian ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra has given." Potiph ...

, the pharaoh's superintendent of prisons. Potiphar's wife Henet is strongly attracted to Joseph and tries to seduce him. When he refuses, she falsely accuses him of attempting to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

her, and Joseph is thrown into prison. Later, when Potiphar learns what Henet has done, he kills her and then himself. Joseph is joined in prison by the Pharaoh's butler and baker, who have fallen out of favor. The two have been plagued by dreams, which Joseph interprets correctly. When the

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

himself has a dream he cannot decipher, his newly reinstated butler suggests he consult Joseph. Joseph interprets the dream to mean that Egypt will enjoy seven years of prosperity, followed by seven years of

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...

. Joseph suggests setting aside grain from the seven prosperous years in preparation for the famine. Pharaoh accepts the suggestion and appoints Joseph to take charge of the task. Over the next several years, Joseph's power continues to grow. He marries a woman named

Asenath Asenath (, ; Koine Greek: Ἀσενέθ, ''Asenéth'') is a minor figure in the Book of Genesis. Asenath was a high-born, aristocratic Egyptian woman. She was the wife of Joseph and the mother of his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. There are two ...

and fends off an attack from the King of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. When the famine begins, Egypt has stored enough grain for itself, as well as some to sell to neighboring nations. When Joseph's family back in Canaan travel to Egypt to buy grain, his brothers fail to recognize him and Joseph shrewdly uses this to his advantage. He holds his brother Simeon (son of Jacob) hostage and orders the others to bring Jacob and

Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thi ...

. Joseph reveals his identity and forgives his brothers.

Cast

Geoffrey Horne Geoffrey Horne (born August 22, 1933) is an American actor, director, and acting coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. His screen credits include ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', '' Bonjour Tristesse'', ''The Strange One'', '' ...

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

* Belinda Lee as Henet *

Vira Silenti Vira Silenti (16 April 1931 – 1 November 2014) was an Italian actress. Career Born in Naples as Elvira Giovene, Silenti debuted as child actress at ten years old in ''Una notte dopo l’opera'' (1942). She studied law at the university and ...

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

Carlo Giustini Carlo Giustini (born 4 May 1923), sometimes credited as Carlo Justini, is an Italian retired actor. Life and career Born in Viterbo, the son of a railway employee, Giustini debuted at twenty years old in ''The Materassi Sisters'', after having ...

Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugu ...

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...

Arturo Dominici Arturo Dominici (2 January 1916 – 7 September 1992) was an Italian film, television and voice actor. Biography Born in Palermo, Dominici became best known for his many villainous roles in horror and fantasy films. He is best remembered fo ...

as Rekmira * Robert Rietti as Pharaoh * Julian Brooks as Chief Baker *

Mimo Billi In radio, multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO (), is a method for multiplying the capacity of a radio link using multiple transmission and receiving antennas to exploit multipath propagation. MIMO has become an essential element of wi ...

as Chief Butler * Carlo Angeletti ("Marietto") as Benjamin as a Child *

Marco Guglielmi Marco Guglielmi (6 October 1926 – 28 December 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and author. Life and career Born Augusto Guglielmi in Sanremo, he graduated from ragioneria, then he enrolled at the university in the faculty of economi ...

as Judah *

Dante DiPaolo Dante Cesare DiPaolo (February 18, 1926 – September 4, 2013) was an American dancer and actor. Sometimes, he also appeared under the name of Dante De Paulo, Dante D' Paulo, and Dante Di Paola. Biography The son of an immigrant miner from Italy, ...

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, so ...

* Charles Borromel as

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

Helmuth Schneider Helmuth Schneider (18 December 1920 – 17 March 1972) was a German actor. Schneider portrayed the role of Uncle Dimitri in ''The White Horses''. He died in a traffic accident in Rio de Janeiro in 1972. Selected filmography *1944: '' Dr ...

as Zebulon * Loris Bazzocchi as

Issachar Issachar () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fifth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's ninth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor pro ...

* Marin Marija as

Asher Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''As ...

Nino Segurini Nino or Niño may refer to: *Nino (name) *Niño (name) *Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino" * El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean *NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in th ...

as Gad * Tonko Sarcevic as

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

Production

It was one of two films Rapper directed in Italy, the other being ''

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

''. Filming took place in Rome in October 1960. Robert Morley set fire to Belinda Lee's wig in one scene.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' called it "the clumsiest, the silliest, the worst of the quasi Bible stories to come along since wide screen was born... if you go see it, be prepared to howl." The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "sedate and extremely prosaic." The ''Daily Mail'' reviewing ''Joseph'' in 1964 said Robert Morely put a stern face on a monstrous piece of miscasting" and "we come away sadly reflecting that properly handled, which she so rarely was, Belinda Lee might have been groomed into some kind of English Loren."Feuding galore Author: Cecil Wilson Date: Saturday, Mar. 28, 1964 p 13 Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 21124

References

External links

*
The Story of Joseph and His Brethren''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

Film page
at BFI * {{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Joseph And His Brethren, The 1961 films Yugoslav drama films 1961 drama films 1960s English-language films CinemaScope films English-language Italian films English-language Yugoslav films 1960s Italian-language films Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Cultural depictions of Joseph (Genesis) 1962 drama films 1962 films 1960s multilingual films Italian multilingual films Yugoslav multilingual films