The King of Kings - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The King of Kings or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The King of Kings

[jessica]

Its initial telecast on New York City's pioneer television station, W2XBS, on Easter Sunday, 24 March 1940, marked the first time a silent feature motion picture ever received a television broadcast.

[tom]

Cecil B. DeMille did not want to take any chances with the film. His two stars, H.B. Warner and Dorothy Cumming, were required to sign agreements which prohibited them from appearing in film roles that might compromise their "holy" screen images for a five-year period. DeMille also ordered them not to be seen doing any "un-Biblical" activities during the film's shooting. These activities included attending ball games, playing cards, frequenting night clubs, swimming, and riding in convertibles.

[victoria]

Even though Dorothy Cumming was playing Jesus' mother Mary, She was actually 18 years younger than H.B. Warner who played Jesus.

[scarlett]

H.B. Warner, who played Jesus, was involved in a real life scandal with an anonymous woman who set out to intoxicate and generally debauch him. Having done so she summoned DeMille to her dressing room where on the floor and in a state of alcoholic and post coital contentment lay the man who was playing the King of Kings. The price of her silence was high but unfortunately for her DeMille had power and she didn't. Before she could collect her blackmail money men from the District Attorney's office arrived and she was urged to leave the country or face jail.

[wallace]

Mary Magdalene's chariot from this film was at one point housed in The Crocker Museum in Hollywood, the first museum dedicated to props and other artifacts from American films. The museum was started by actor Harry Crocker, circa 1928, and was located on Sunset Blvd.

[liam]

Joseph Schildkraut (Judas Iscariot) later played Nicodemus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), which also depicted the life of Jesus Christ.

[steve]

This film features author Ayn Rand as one of the hundreds of people in a crowd. At a time when Rand was a struggling immigrant, Cecil B. DeMille gave her the job to help get her on her feet.

[nina]

This was the first film shown at Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

[manuel]

After considering Seena Owen, Gloria Swanson, Gertrude Lawrence, Vilma Bánky and Raquel Meller for the role of Mary Magdelene, Cecil B. DeMille chose Jacqueline Logan after she told him, "I don't want to play her as a bad woman, but as a woman who doesn't know the difference between right and wrong."

[bernard]

The crucifixion scene was shot on Christmas Eve.

[charlie]

According to author Bill Givens, H.B. Warner had a brief fling with fan dancer Sally Rand, who played a slave girl to Mary Magdalene in a bit part. When she and Warner arrived late to the set, DeMille bellowed through his megaphone, "Miss Rand, leave my Jesus alone. If you must screw someone, screw Pontius Pilate!"

[fred]

To ensure the cast and crew observed a suitable level of reverence towards H.B. Warner as Jesus Christ, no one except director Cecil B. DeMille was allowed to talk to him when he was in costume.

[lena]

Each day of filming was followed by prayers.

[mathew]

During the shoot H.B. Warner was driven to the set in a closed car with the blinds down, wore a black veil when he left the car for the set, and ate alone. The pressures of playing Jesus ultimately had an effect on Warner and resurrected his former drinking problem.