Sex and religion, with more emphasis on the latter, are awkwardly but handsomely blended in a surprising version of the scriptural tale.

It's pure Hollywood bunk, that's great on pomp, splendor, costumes and lush Technicolor, but short on being convincing.

This is one of those films that just doesn't ever quite spark - despite a cast that ought to have delivered an epic. Charles Laughton and Judith Anderson gel well as the rulers of Judea under Roman occupation. When her daughter (Rita Hayworth) returns home, she starts to use her feminine wiles on her stepfather to force him to face his fears and deal with the errant John the Baptist (Alan Bedel) as well as on garrison commander Stewart Granger ("Capt. Claudius"). It's not especially faithful to the original biblical text, but that doesn't really matter- it's still a colourful historical romp that culminates in the now infamous "Dance of the Seven Veils". Granger is not really on to form here, his part is somewhat stifled by a rather dry dialogue and lots of scenes with a really wooden Basil Sydney (Pontius Pilate) and Badel just hams it up with his theatrical performance as the prophet. Still worth watching, though - just not anywhere near as good as it ought to have been.

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