Salomé (1922 film)

Salomé
Poster
Directed by	Alla Nazimova Charles Bryant
Written by	Natacha Rambova
Based on	Salome (play) by Oscar Wilde
Produced by	Alla Nazimova
Starring	Alla Nazimova Mitchell Lewis Rose Dione Earl Schenck Arthur Jasmine Nigel De Brulier Frederick Peters Louis Dumar
Cinematography	Charles Van Enger
Distributed by	Nazimova Productions
Release date	December 31, 1922 (1922-12-31)
Running time	74 min.
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)
Budget	$350,000

Salomé is a 1922-23 American silent drama film directed by Charles Bryant and Alla Nazimova, who also stars. It is an adaptation of the 1891 Oscar Wilde play of the same name. The play itself is a loose retelling of the biblical story of King Herod and his execution of John the Baptist (here, as in Wilde's play, called Jokanaan) at the request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salomé, whom he lusts after.

Salomé is often called one of the first art films to be made in the United States. The highly stylized costumes, exaggerated acting, minimal sets, and absence of all but the most necessary props make for a screen image much more focused on atmosphere and on conveying a sense of the characters' individual heightened desires than on conventional plot development.

Plot

The full film

The film starts by giving context for the banquet we are about to see unfold. We are informed that the Tetrarch murdered his brother to obtain the throne and for access to his brother's (now his) wife and daughter. At some point after this coup, Jokanaan arrived from the desert speaking of the upcoming birth of Christ, as well as the infidelity of The Tetrarch's wife, Herodias. With his wife furious, The Tetrarch locks Jokanaan away to protect him from great mobs. We then discuss Salomé, daughter of Herodias, who is described as "... An uncontaminated blossom in a wilderness of evil", but despite this, is known as a girl who is unafraid to kill and does it as a form of affection. After this context, we are brought to Herod's palace, where the Tetrarch displays his intense obsession with his stepdaughter and niece Salomé, angering Herodias. Salomé escapes this scenario by entering the courtyard from the banquet hall and charms a young guard to allow her to see Jokanaan. He is, after much struggle, then brought up from his prison below. Salomé bridles a deep obsession for the Prophet. After he ignores her affections, she expresses her intent to kiss him. This causes the young guard Salomé had previously charmed to take a blade to his chest. Unnerved by this, Salomé continues to pester Jokanaan, causing him to retreat back to his prison. This infuriates Salomé, and she waits just outside his cell door. Seeking out his stepdaughter, The Tetrarch stumbles out into the courtyard and finds the body of the young guard. This horrifies him, as he did not order for anyone to be killed. After the initial horror subsides, The Tetrarch orders for the banquet to be served outside, so Salomé is visible while he eats. He begs her to join and dance for him and his guests, promising anything she desires. Salomé realizes she can use this to kill the man she love, Jokanaan, as she knows her stepfather would keep him safe in his cage otherwise, and her mother despises him as well. Salomé then performs The Dance of the Seven Veils, which greatly pleases The Tetrarch. In return for this, Salomé asks for Jokanaan's head to be delivered to her on a silver platter. The Tetrarch is horrified by this request and offers multiple alternatives to the request, but being cheered on by her mother, Salomé insists on the head of Jokanaan. When delivered the head, Salomé hides it under her long train and kisses it, finally doing what she had desired from the beginning. Seeing this, The Tetrarch orders the execution of Salomé. Guards rush her with spears and the final card shown is the words "THE MYSTERY OF LOVE IS GREATER THAN THE MYSTERY OF DEATH!"

Cast

• Alla Nazimova as Salomé, Stepdaughter of Herod
• Mitchell Lewis as Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judea
• Rose Dione as Herodias, wife of Herod
• Earl Schenck as Narraboth, Captain of the Guard
• Arthur Jasmine as Page of Herodias
• Nigel De Brulier as Jokanaan, the Prophet
• Frederick Peters as Naaman, the Executioner
• Louis Dumar as Tigellinus

Production

Despite the film being only a little over an hour in length and having no real action to speak of, it cost over $350,000 to make. All the sets were constructed indoors to be able to have complete control over the lighting. The film was shot completely in black and white, matching the illustrations done by Aubrey Beardsley in the printed edition of Wilde's play. The costumes, designed by Natacha Rambova, used material only from Maison Lewis of Paris, such as the real silver lamé loincloths worn by the guards.

No major studio would be associated with the film, and it was years after its completion before it was released, by a minor independent distributor. It was a complete failure at the time and marked the end of Nazimova's producing career.

Salomé lobby card

Gay cast rumor

There is a longstanding rumor, which seems to have started while the film was still in production and has been asserted by chronicler of Hollywood decadence Kenneth Anger, that the film's cast is composed entirely of gay or bisexual actors in an homage to Oscar Wilde, as per star and producer Nazimova's demand. It is, of course, impossible to say, but one of the extras in Salomé reported that a number of the cast members—both featured and extras—were indeed gay, but not an unusual percentage of them, and certainly not all of them. What can be said is that Nazimova herself was usually thought of as a lesbian (despite occasional flings with men including Paul Ivano), the two guard characters (who, next to Salomé, have the most screen time) are at least played very stereotypically gay, and several of the female courtiers are men in drag.

According to Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet, some scenes in which homosexuality was exposed more explicitly were cut out, including one showing the relationship between two Syrian soldiers.

Critical reception and legacy

A reviewer for Screenland described Salomé as "a painting deftly stroked upon the silversheet" and that "poets and dreamers will find imaginative delights in the weird settings and the still more weird acting, depressing at times to ordinary folks. And it is worth something to watch Nazimova balance her Christmas-tree headdress!"

Salomé was screened in 1989 at the New York International Festival of Lesbian and Gay films and in 1990 at the New York Gay Experimental Film Festival.

In 2000, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

In 2006, Salomé became available on DVD as a double feature with the avant garde film Lot in Sodom (1933) by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber.

In 2013 Salomé was screened at the Ojai Music Festival, where the Bad Plus performed a live improvised soundtrack.

The film was nominated in 2001 by the American Film Institute for AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions.

See also

• List of films in the public domain in the United States

References

• Lori K. Martin review and DVD liner notes
• Salomé at the AFI/TCM database Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Salomé essay by Martin Turnbull at National Film Registry
• Salomé at IMDb
• Salome is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
• Salomé essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 85–86.