I picked up the br KING OF KINGS (1961) at Frys the other day when I was buying
the new
MovieArt phones.
The transfer is magnificent. The score is one of Rozsa's best. And I always
loved Nicholas
Ray's direction and the cast. The old seducer of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE brings
his considerable talent to tame Phillip Yordan's script. Much less ponderous
if less well-designed than
George Steven's telling of the gospel story. Derisively lampooned as I WAS A
TEENAGE JESUS,
Jeffrey Hunter is, well, beautiful as the Son of God. Supported by some really
interesting choice
actors: Viveca Lindfors, Rip Torn, Rita Gam, Robert Ryan et al. Not as classy
as BEN-HUR, of course,
but it tries. The narrator is the mellifluous Orson Welles. And the dance of
the seven veils is
performed by the late Brigid Bazlen*, whose other great moment was when she
almost dispatched
James Stewart in HOW THE WEST WAS WON, another MGM biggie.
I bought it for $15.00.
You might want to look for it on your Easter Egg Hunt.
Kirby
*Here's some stuff about Brigid Bazlen, ripped from the IMDB:
In 1958 the Blue Fairy was one of the earliest Chicago children's show produced
in color (WGN-TV, Channel 9.) Appearing in a blue gown, diamond tiara, and
clasping a silver wand, Bazlen, suspended by wires, would fly across the small
television stage, lip syncing "I'm the Blue Fairy, I'll grant you a wish, to
make all your dreams come true... " She then introduced stories enacted by the
Rufus Rose Marionettes. It was a short-lived fantasy series, but it inspired at
least one Ernie Kovacs sight gag. It was a direct take-off of the Blue Fairy
opening with a Kovacs twist. Mustachioed cigar chopping Kovacs in blue gown,
blond wig, holding a silver wand flew across the stage slamming headfirst into
a wall on the opposite side, then still suspended by the fly wire dangled
lifeless.
Bazlen died of cancer in 1989 at the age of 44.
Signed to an exclusive contract by M-G-M Studios in 1961 where she appeared in
only three films: "King of Kings," "The Honeymoon Machine," and "How the West
Was Won.".
Kirby McDaniel
MovieArt Original Film Posters
P.O. Box 4419
Austin TX 78765-4419
512 479 6680 www.movieart.net
mobile 512 589 5112
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