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David and Bathsheba (film)

David and Bathsheba
David Bathsheba.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Henry King
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Written by Philip Dunne
Starring Gregory Peck
Susan Hayward
Raymond Massey
Kieron Moore
James Robertson Justice
Music by Alfred Newman
Edward Powell
Cinematography Leon Shamroy
Edited by Barbara McLean
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • August 10, 1951 (1951-08-10)
Running time
116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $2.17 million
Box office $7.1 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)

David and Bathsheba is a 1951 historical Technicolor epic film about King David made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry King, produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, from a screenplay by Philip Dunne. The cinematography was by Leon Shamroy. Gregory Peck stars as King David and the film follows King David's life as he adjusts to ruling as a King, and about his relationship with Uriah's wife Bathsheba (Susan Hayward). Goliath of Gath was portrayed by 6"8' Lithuanian wrestler Walter Talun.

King David was the second king of Israel and this film is based on the second Old Testament book of Samuel from the Bible. When the Ark of the Covenant is brought to Jerusalem, a soldier reaches out to steady it and is struck dead. While the prophet Nathan declares this the will of God, a skeptical David pronounces it the result of a combination of heat-stroke and too much wine. The scene is echoed later when a repentant David, seeking relief from a drought affecting his people also reached out to touch the Ark. Screenwriter Dunne said he "left it to the audience to decide if the blessed rain came as the result of divine intervention or simply of a low-pressure system moving in from the Mediterranean."

While Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. owned the rights to the 1943 book David written by Duff Cooper, the film is not based on that book. Zanuck also owned the rights to a 1947 Broadway play called "Bathsheba". Seeing the success of C. B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, Zanuck commissioned Philip Dunne to write a script based on King David. Dunne conceived it as a modern-type play exploring the corruption of absolute power. The film is noticeably devoid of the epic battles and panoramas frequently seen in biblical movies.


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