Douglas Sirk's direction of the excellent script catches the sweep of the period portrayed without letting the characters get lost in spectacle.

An immensely interesting though finally unsuccessful film.

Customers planning to sneak out during these frothing soliloquies must cope with a musical sound track deafening enough to nail anybody down.

While certainly not a classic, the film is leagues above Hollywood's typical 'babes-and-bacchanals' biblical epics of the period.