S
ecular movie studios sprang up like wildfire around
the world, with Hollywood, CA emerging as the
standard bearer. The inviting climate of South-
ern California made possible long production schedules.
The "silent movie" era (up to 1929) produced a lineup
that included Samson and Delilah (1903), Joseph Sold
By His Brothers
(1904), and Quo Vadis? (1912), one of
the first films with over two hours of running time.
Director Cecil B. DeMille specialized in extravagant
epics throughout a career that spanned both the silent
and sound eras. His silent version of The Ten Command-
ments
(1923) included spectacular special effects for the
parting of the Red Sea. De Mille followed with King of
Kings
(1927), a lavish, reverential life of
Christ with a climactic resurrection scene
in color. King of Kings was re-released in
1931 with a synchronized musical score.
MGM's Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ
(1926) was the most expensive film of its
time. It included two spectacular scenes:
the sea galley battle with pirates and
the famous chariot-race. Another "swords and san-
dals" epic of the 1920s was Noah's Ark, which com-
bined title cards with spoken dialogue.
With the "talkies" came new vistas
for portraying the gospel on film, al-
though major studios produced fewer
epics during the 1940s due in part to
wartime scarcity of resources. After
the war, some of Hollywood's high-
est grossing films were religious epics.
Samson and Delilah
was the biggest
moneymaking movie of 1949 and is
considered the picture that sparked the
biblical-epic film craze of the 1950s.
It was followed by two of 1951's biggest box-office hits,
"talkies" reboots of Quo Vadis and David and Bathsheba.
Also in the early 1950s, Cecil B. DeMille added sound
to his remakes of The Ten Commandments and Ben
Hur
--also hurtling Charlton Heston into superstardom.
Esther and The King
premiered in 1960, as did The
Story of Ruth
. And
Barabbas
escaped
crucifixion in 1962.
According to author
Diane Apostolos-Cap-
padona, in the 1950s
and 1960s, during the
era of the production
code, "the most accept-
able cinematic path for
18
The War Cry | OCTOBER 2014
<
Barabbas (1962-
Anthony Quinn):
Pontius Pilate hatches a
lame attempt to set Jesus
free by offering instead
the heinous criminal,
Barabbas. Instead, the
populace clamors for the
release of this murderer,
so that Christ could be
crucified. This injustice haunts Barabbas for the rest of days.
A TV-movie remake, starring Billy Zane, was made in 2012.
>
David and Bathsheba
(1951-Gregory Peck and Susan
Hayward):
After King David sees
the beautiful Bathsheba bathing from the
palace roof, he enters into an adulterous
affair that has tragic consequences for
his family and the nation of Israel.
<
Esther and The King
(1960-Joan Collins
and Richard Egan):
A mother teaches her
modern-day daughter
about a Bible heroine.
> Jesus of Nazareth
(1977-Robert
Powell, Olivia Hussey,
Laurence Olivier):
Made-for-TV miniseries
that presents a reverent depiction
of the life of Christ using
the Gospel accounts.
>
The Passion Of The Christ (2004):
Highly controversial account of the final
hours of Jesus, directed by Mel Gibson. An
astounding 23 wins and 18 nominations
were garnered by this motion picture in
2005, including three Oscar nominations.
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the
BIBLE
in the
MOVIES
<
King Of Kings (1961-Jeffrey
Hunter)
Epic offering on the life
of Christ. Musical score nominated
for a Golden Globe award in 1962.
>
Jesus of Nazareth
(1977-Robert
Powell, Olivia Hussey,
Laurence Olivier):
Made-for-TV miniseries that
presents a reverent depiction
of the life of Christ using
the Gospel accounts.
ts
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