King of Kings

King of Kings is a very good telling of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It has a huge cast of characters who all do a fine job acting. The dialogue is mostly taken directly from the Gospels.

King of Kings (1961) starring Jeffrey Hunter

Lucius: Pilate offered that mob a choice.
Barabbas: [incredulous] And they chose me?
Lucius: Your followers yelled the loudest! Go; look at Him who is dying for you!

Product Description 

The producer of El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire and the director of Rebel Without a Cause amd 55 Days at Peking team for this powerful, moving tale of the life of Christ that’s rich in scale, set against the tumult of Roman occupation and filled with notable performances by Jeffrey Hunter (Jesus), Rip Torn (Judas), Harry Guardino (Barabbas) and others. From the Nazarene’s humble birth to his nomadic ministry, from the teachings to murderous conspiracies, from death on a cross to resurrection — key events of 33 years that changed the world are here. An epic that both entertains and ennobles, King of Kings wears its crown with reverence and strength.

[last lines]
Narrator: And when the tomb was found empty, some days passed, and Christ was seen at Emmaus, and in Jerusalem, and those who saw Him knew He was the Lord God. And then a final time He came among His disciples by the shore of Galilee…
Jesus: [offscreen] Do you know and love Me? Feed My sheep, for My sheep are in all the nations. Go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature who hungers. I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
[We see the shadow of Jesus coming nearer toward the ocean, and then he spreads His arms and his cloak also begins to spread out, as if He were ascending to Heaven. The disciples leave; Peter is the last to go]

Cast of Characters

• Jeffrey Hunter (The Longest Day; Star Trek: The Original Series) … Jesus
• Siobhan McKenna (Doctor Zhivago) … Mary
• Hurd Hatfield (The Picture of Dorian Gray) … Pontius Pilate
• Ron Randell (The She-Creature; The Longest Day) … Lucius
• Viveca Lindfors (The Story of Ruth) … Claudia
• Rita Gam (The Thief) … Herodias
• Carmen Sevilla … Mary Magdalene
• Brigid Bazlen … Salome
• Harry Guardino … Barabbas
• Rip Torn (Critic’s Choice; The Cincinnati Kid) … Judas
• Frank Thring … Herod Antipas
• Guy Rolfe (The Alphabet Murders; Mr. Sardonicus) … Caiaphas
• Royal Dano (Bend of the River) … Peter
• Robert Ryan (The Dirty Dozen; Clash By Night) … John The Baptist
• Edric Connor … Balthazar
• Maurice Marsac … Nicodemus
• Grégoire Aslan (The 3 Worlds of Gulliver) … Herod
• George Coulouris (All This and Heaven Too; This Land Is Mine) … Camel Driver
• Conrado San Martín … General Pompey
• Gérard Tichy … Joseph
• Antonio Mayans … Young John
• Luis Prendes … Good Thief / Roman Soldier
• José Nieto … Caspar
• Rubén Rojo … Matthew
• Fernando Sancho … Madman
• Michael Wager … Thomas
• Félix de Pomés … Joseph of Arimathea
• Adriano Rimoldi … Melchior
• Barry Keegan … Bad Thief
• Rafael Luis Calvo … Simon of Cyrene
• Tino Barrero … Andrew
• Paco Morán … Blind Man
• Ray Milland (Terror in the Wax Museum; The Lost Weekend) … Satan (voice) (uncredited)
• Orson Welles (The Stranger) … Narrator (voice) (uncredited)