The Greatest Story Ever Told

Three wise men (magi) follow a brightly shining star from Asia to Jerusalem in search of a newborn king. They are summoned by King Herod the Great, whose advisers inform him of a Messiah mentioned in various prophecies. When Herod remembers that the prophecy names nearby Bethlehem as the child's birthplace, he sends the Magi there to confirm the child's existence—and secretly sends guards to follow them and "keep [him] informed." In Bethlehem, the Magi find a married couple—Mary and Joseph—laying their newborn son in a manger. Mary states that his name is Jesus. As the local shepherds watch, the Magi present gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant. After observing the distant spies' departure, the magi leave as an angel's voice warns Joseph to "take the child" and "flee".

The spies inform Herod, who decides to kill the child. He orders the death of every newborn boy in Bethlehem, and dies when informed that apparently "not one is alive". However, Joseph and Mary have escaped into Egypt with Jesus; when a messenger informs them and others of Herod's death, they return to their hometown of Nazareth.

A pro-Israel rebellion breaks out in Jerusalem against Herod's son, Herod Antipas, but the conflict is quickly quashed. Herod's kingdom is divided, Judea is placed under a governor, and Herod becomes of tetrarch of Galilee and the Jordan River. Both he and the Romans are convinced that the Messiah the troubled people cry for is "someone who will never come".

Many years later, a prophet named John the Baptist appears and preaches at the Jordan, baptizing many who come to repent. When a grown Jesus appears to him, John baptizes him. Jesus then ascends into the nearby desert mountains, where he finds a cave in which resides a mysterious hermit—a personification of Satan. The Dark Hermit tempts Jesus three times, but each temptation is overcome by Jesus, who leaves and continues climbing as John's message echoes in his mind.

He returns to the valley, where he tells the Baptist that he is returning to Galilee. Four men—Judas Iscariot and the Galilean fishermen Andrew, Peter, and John—ask to go with him; Jesus welcomes them, promising to make them "fishers of men". When they rest under a bridge, he gives parables and other teachings, which attract the attention of a passing young man named James; he asks to join them the next morning, and Jesus welcomes him. The group comes near Jerusalem, and Jesus says that "there will come a time to enter". They rest at a home in Bethany occupied by Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. Lazarus asks Jesus if he could join him, but cannot bring himself to leave all he has; before leaving, Jesus promises Lazarus that he will not forget him.

The group soon arrives at Capernaum, where they meet James's brother Matthew, a tax collector whom Jesus soon asks to join them. After some thought, Matthew does so. In the local synagogue, Jesus once again teaches, and miraculously helps a crippled man to walk again. Upon seeing this, many begin to follow Jesus on his journey and gather to listen to his teachings.

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem priests and Pharisees are troubled by the continuing influence and preaching of the Baptist, while the governor Pontius Pilate wishes only to maintain peace. Since the Jordan is ruled by Herod, he allows the priests to inform him. When he hears that the Baptist is speaking of a Messiah, Herod sends soldiers to arrest him. Simon the Zealot informs Jesus and his disciples of the Baptist's arrest; he is welcomed as one of them.

The fame of Jesus begins to spread across the land and two more men, named Thaddeus and Thomas, join him. In Jerusalem, the priests become suspicious of Jesus and the curing of the cripple, and send a group to Capernaum to investigate—among them the Pharisees Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Herod hears rumors about an army due to the multitudes that follow Jesus, and questions John the Baptist about him. Herod begins to consider killing the Baptist, with his wife's encouragement—she herself is the ex-wife of Herod's brother, and has been attacked by John for being adulterous.

Jesus is soon asked to return to Capernaum by another man named James. Crowds gather and celebrate his return, something that is noticed by the Pharisees who are present and the returned Dark Hermit. Jesus then defends a woman caught in the act of adultery, who identifies herself as "Mary of Magdalene". Among the crowd that gathers as he moves away is a sick woman who is cured when she touches his clothes. As word of these incidents spreads, the number of people who believe that Jesus is the Messiah increases even more impressively.

Herod begins to wonder about Jesus, and the Baptist confirms that Jesus has escaped from the massacre ordered by Herod's father. Herod then decides to finally kill the Baptist by beheading, which occurs while Salome, Herod's stepdaughter by his wife's first marriage, dances for him. When the Baptist is dead, Herod sends soldiers to arrest Jesus.

Jesus gives a sermon on a mountain to a great crowd, while Pilate and the Pharisees hear of many of Jesus's miracles: turning water into wine, feeding five thousand people, and walking on water. While resting, Jesus asks his disciples who they and others say that he is: they give many answers, and Peter believes that Jesus is the Messiah, prompting Jesus to anoint him as "the rock on which [he] will build [his] church".

At Nazareth, the people refuse to believe in Jesus and his miracles and demand to see for themselves by bringing a blind man named Aram and demanding that Jesus make him see. When he does not, the people are disgusted when he calls himself the Son of God, and briefly stone him. Jesus reunites with his mother, along with a sick Lazarus and his sisters. Andrew and Nathaniel escort Lazarus home to Bethany, while Jesus and the others flee from Herod's approaching soldiers, but not before Jesus heals Aram's sight. When informed that Lazarus is dying, Jesus does not go immediately to Bethany, but to the Jordan where the group gives a prayer. Andrew and Nathaniel return, informing them that Lazarus has died, and Jesus then goes to Bethany where he brings Lazarus back to life, a miracle that amazes the witnessing Jerusalem citizens, but concerns the Pharisees. An intermission/entr'acte follows Part I.

Judas questions why Mary Magdalene is anointing Jesus with expensive oil, and Jesus states she is preparing him for his death. Jesus then dons a new garment, and rides on a donkey into Jerusalem. In the courtyard of the Temple, Jesus drives the merchants and money changers away, and the large crowd prevents the Pharisees from arresting Jesus, an action ordered even though it is Passover. He teaches in the Temple courtyard, and leaves when Pilate dispatches soldiers to restore peace and close the gates. Many of the Temple's crowd are killed as a result.

While the disciples gather to prepare and partake in an evening meal, Judas leaves and promises to hand Jesus over to the Pharisees on the condition that no harm comes to him. The Dark Hermit's presence indicates approaching danger. When Judas returns to the meal, Jesus announces to all that one of them will betray him, that by morning Peter will deny three times that he even knows Jesus, and gives a farewell discourse. Jesus then gives bread and wine to the disciples, and tells Judas to "do quickly what you have to do", as Judas leaves again.

Jesus then prays at Gethsemane while Judas is paid thirty pieces of silver to lead soldiers to arrest Jesus. When they arrive, Judas kisses Jesus, and Jesus orders Peter to "put back [his] sword", and goes quietly with the soldiers. He is put on trial before the Sanhedrin, and Aram appears as one of the questioned witnesses. Most of the members are present, as Nicodemus—who refuses to take part—notices that many (including Joseph of Arimathea) are absent. Meanwhile, the Hermit is outside and asks the nearby Peter if he knows Jesus. Peter denies it twice and leaves. When Caiaphas asks Jesus if he is the Christ, Jesus's reply causes the members to condemn him.

The Pharisees and Caiaphas bring Jesus to the tired Pilate, who after questioning Jesus—and briefly speaking with his wife—finds no guilt in Jesus. Since Galilee is under Herod's authority, Jesus is sent to Herod, though he and his soldiers merely ridicule him and send him back to Pilate. As Jesus is escorted back to Pilate, the Hermit continues to observe, and Peter once again denies Jesus, as a remorseful Judas looks on.

In the morning, Pilate presents Jesus before the assembled crowd, and the Hermit begins various cries for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate offers compromises: that Jesus merely be scourged, and then the release of a prisoner of the crowd's choice. They choose the alleged murderer Barabbas instead. Pilate then asks Jesus if he has anything to say; Jesus merely states that his kingdom is "not of this world", something that the Hermit and others claim is a challenge to the authority of Rome and the Roman emperor. With no other choice, Pilate reluctantly orders Jesus to be crucified.

Jesus then carries his cross through Jerusalem while the crowd looks on. When he collapses, a woman wipes his face, and he reassures the pious women of Jerusalem who are part of the crowd. Soon, the soldiers force a man named Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry the cross when no one else will. At Golgotha, Jesus is stripped and nailed to the cross, which is then raised between those of two other men while Judas throws his silver into the Temple and throws himself into the fire of the nearby altar.

From the cross, Jesus intercedes for his executioners, asking God to "forgive them, for they know not what they do", and leaves his mother in the care of John. While one of the thieves asks Jesus to save them, the other accepts his punishment and asks for Jesus to remember him, a promise that Jesus gives to him. As the sky darkens, Jesus asks why God has forsaken him, is offered wine in a sponge, and dies before a storm emerges. As an earthquake begins, a centurion states that "truly this man was the Son of God".

Peter mourns Jesus while he is being laid to rest in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The Pharisees ask for Pilate to place guards around the tomb and seal it, to prevent a possible theft of the corpse that could potentially fulfill a prophecy of resurrection; Pilate agrees, but on the morning of the third day the guards discover the tomb is open and empty. Meanwhile, though Thomas has weakened faith, Mary Magdalene—along with Peter and others—recall the prophecy and run to see the empty tomb. Word quickly spreads throughout Jerusalem, the miraculous event bewildering the Pharisees. Caiaphas claims that "the whole thing will be forgotten in a week", while an elder scribe doubts this.

Jesus ascends to heaven before his disciples, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others, leaving them with his final commands as clouds engulf him. He then states that he will always be with them, "even unto the end of the world", and his image fades into that of a painting of him on the wall of a church as Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" plays.

The Greatest Story Ever Told originated as a U.S. radio series in 1947, half-hour episodes inspired by the four canonical Gospels, written by Henry Denker. The series was adapted into a 1949 novel by Fulton Oursler, a senior editor at Reader's Digest. In May 1954, Darryl F. Zanuck, the chairman of 20th Century Fox, acquired the film rights to Oursler's novel for a down payment of $110,000 plus a percentage of the gross.[3] Denker wrote a draft of the script, but Fox never brought it to pre-production.[4] When Zanuck left the studio in 1956, the project was forgotten.[4]

In November 1958, while George Stevens was filming The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) at 20th Century Fox, he became aware that the studio had owned the rights to the Oursler property. Stevens then founded a company, "The Greatest Story Productions", to film the novel.[5] The studio set the initial production budget of $10 million, twice their previous biggest. That same month, another religious biopic titled King of Kings (1961) was in development helmed by producer Samuel Bronston.[6] Spyros Skouras, the chairman of 20th Century Fox, had attempted to purchase the project from Bronston and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which had agreed to distribute the film, but was unsuccessful. In June 1960, 20th Century Fox resigned from the Motion Picture Association of America, partly due to the similarly-themed films.[7]

In June 1960, Denker sued Fox to reclaim the film rights and for $2.5 million of damages, claiming the studio had failed to release the film before the end of 1959. When Denker and Oursler's estate had sold the rights to Fox, Denker had placed a clause in the contract dictating the agreement.[4][8] In September 1961, 20th Century Fox announced it had "indefinitely postponed" from the project. Skouras declined to explain the reasons for canceling the project, but the decision was made after the studio had posted a $13 million loss the year before.[9] Variety also reported that in the wake of yet-to-be released King of Kings (1961), starring Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, several studio board members had expressed concern at the production costs, with more than $1 million spent on script preparation and no established filming date. The studio agreed to reimburse the film rights to Stevens, whereby the studio will recoup the costs after the film earned $5 million in profits.[10] By November 1961, Stevens had moved the project to United Artists.[11]

Pre-production poster from 1960, with John Wayne as the Centurion

The screenplay took two years to write. Before writing the screenplay, Stevens reviewed 36 different translations of the New Testament and compiled an extensive reference book with various clippings of scripture.[12] Stevens and David Brown, a Fox executive, considered numerous screenwriters, including Ray Bradbury, Reginald Rose, William Saroyan, Joel Sayre, and Ivan Moffat.[13] Stevens then met with Moffat at the Brown Derby, where Stevens told him his vision for the film would be reverent and universal.[14] Stevens collaborated with him and then with James Lee Barrett. It was the only time Stevens received screenplay credit for a film he directed.

By July 1960, Carl Sandburg had been hired for completion work on the screenplay.[15] Sandburg remained with the project for the next thirteen months, before returning to his residence in Flat Rock, North Carolina. In September 1961, Sandburg told Variety that he would further consult on the project "until George Stevens tells me to stop".[16] Among the contributions Sandburg made was a brief conversation between Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene discussing the anointing of Jesus. He received screen credit for "creative association".[17] Sandburg also had a uncredited appearance as a Roman citizen glaring at Pilate when he relents to the crowd to have Jesus crucified..

Financial excesses began to grow during pre-production. Stevens commissioned French artist André Girard to prepare 352 oil paintings of Biblical scenes to use as storyboards. Stevens traveled to the Vatican to see Pope John XXIII for advice.[12]

For The Greatest Story Ever Told, Stevens cast Swedish actor Max von Sydow as Jesus. Von Sydow had never appeared in an English-language film and was best known for his performances in Ingmar Bergman's dramatic films.[18] Stevens wanted an actor unknown to international audiences, free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public.[19]

The Greatest Story Ever Told features an ensemble of well-known actors, many in brief, even cameo, appearances. Some critics would later complain that the large cast distracted from the solemnity, notably in the appearance of John Wayne as the Roman centurion who commands the execution detail, and who comments on the Crucifixion, in his well-known voice, by stating: "Truly this man was the Son of God."[20] "It is impossible for those watching the film to avoid the merry game of 'Spot the Star', and the road to Calvary in particular comes to resemble the Hollywood Boulevard 'Walk of Fame'."[21]

Stevens shot The Greatest Story Ever Told in the U.S. southwest, in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. Pyramid Lake in Nevada represented the Sea of Galilee, Lake Moab in Utah[22] was used to film the Sermon on the Mount, and California's Death Valley is the setting of Jesus's 40-day journey into the wilderness.[23] Parts of the film were also shot at Lake Powell, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point in Utah.[24]

Stevens explained his decision to film in the United States rather than in the Middle East or Europe in 1962. "I wanted to get an effect of grandeur as a background to Christ, and none of the Holy Land areas shape up with the excitement of the American southwest. ... I know that Colorado is not the Jordan, nor is Southern Utah Palestine. But our intention is to romanticize the area, and it can be done better here."[25]

Forty-seven sets were constructed, on location and in Hollywood studios, to accommodate Stevens's vision.[26] The Jerusalem city set was built near the northwest corner of RKO Forty Acres by early 1963, and was demolished soon after filming was completed mid-year.[27]

To fill location scenes with extras, Stevens turned to local sources. R.O.T.C. cadets from an Arizona high school played Roman soldiers after 550 Navajo Indians from a nearby reservation allegedly did not give a convincing performance. Other sources claim they weren't on set long enough and left early to take part in a tribal election,[28] and the Arizona Department of Welfare provided disabled state aid recipients to play the afflicted who sought healing by Jesus.[28]

Principal photography was scheduled to run three months but ran nine months or more[29] due to numerous delays and setbacks, most of which were due to Stevens's insistence on shooting dozens of retakes in every scene.[30] Joseph Schildkraut died before completing his performance as Nicodemus, requiring scenes to be rewritten around his absence. Cinematographer William C. Mellor had a fatal heart attack during production; Loyal Griggs, who won an Academy Award for his cinematography on Stevens's 1953 Western classic Shane, was brought in to replace him. Joanna Dunham became pregnant, which required costume redesigns and carefully chosen camera angles.[31]

Much of the production was shot during the winter of 1962–1963, when Arizona had heavy snow. Actor David Sheiner, who played James the Elder, quipped in an interview about the snowdrifts: "I thought we were shooting Nanook of the North."[32] Stevens was also under pressure to hurry the John the Baptist sequence, which was shot at the Glen Canyon area which was scheduled to become Lake Powell with the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, and the production held up the project.[28]

By the summer of 1963, filming had fallen behind schedule. Stevens met with Arthur B. Krim and agreed to allow other directors to direct several sequences so the film would be finished.[1] Fred Zinnemann contacted David Lean, asking if he would consider directing second unit for two sequences. Lean accepted the offer, to which Stevens suggested he direct the Nativity scenes. Lean declined but he decided to direct the scenes with Herod the Great. Lean cast Claude Rains as Herod the Great.[33][34] Jean Negulesco instead filmed sequences in the Jerusalem streets and the Nativity scenes.[35]

Filming ended on August 1, 1963, where Stevens had shot over six million feet of Ultra Panavision 70 film. The final production budget had spent nearly $20 million (equivalent to $177 million in 2021) plus additional editing and promotion charges, making it the most expensive film shot in the United States.[1]

The marketing campaign included exhibits created for churches and Sunday schools, department stores, primary schools, and secondary schools. The Smithsonian Institution put together a traveling exhibition of props, costumes, and photographs that toured museums around the country. Promotional items made available to groups identified for market segmentation included school study guides, children's books, and a reprint of the original novel by Oursler. Previews of the film were shown to leading industrialists, psychologists, government officials, religious leaders, and officials from the Boy and Girl Scout organizations.[42]

The film was advertised on its first run as being shown in Cinerama. While it was shown on an ultra-curved screen, it was with one projector. True Cinerama required three projectors running simultaneously. A dozen other films were presented this way in the 1960s.

The film was released on DVD in 2001, which featured a 3 hr 19 min (199 min) version along with a documentary called He Walks With Beauty (2011), which details the film's tumultuous production history.[26]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times described the film as the "world's most conglomerate Biblical picture" with "scenes in which the grandeur of nature is brilliantly used to suggest the surge of the human spirit in waves of exaltation and awe." However, he felt the scenes of Jesus preaching to the multitude were too repetitive and "[t]he most distracting nonsense is the pop-up of familiar faces in so-called cameo roles, jarring the illusion."[43] Robert J. Landry of Variety called the film "a big, powerful moving picture demonstrating vast cinematic resource". He also praised von Sydow's performance, writing he "is a tower of strength and sensitivity". However, he felt Stevens was "not particularly original in his approach to the galaxy of talent, some 60 roles," noting several prominent actors were underused in their cameo appearances.[38] James Powers of The Hollywood Reporter stated: "George Stevens has created a novel, reverent and important film with his view of this crucial event in the history of mankind."[44]

Time magazine wrote: "Stevens has outdone himself by producing an austere Christian epic that offers few excitements of any kind ... Greatest Story is a lot less vulgar, though audiences are apt to be intimidated by its pretentious solemnity, which amounts to 3 hours and 41 minutes' worth of impeccable boredom. As for vigorous ideas, there are none that would seem new to a beginners' class in Bible study."[45] Brendan Gill wrote in The New Yorker wrote: "If the subject matter weren't sacred in the original, we would be responding to the picture in the most charitable way possible by laughing at it from start to finish; this Christian mercy being denied us, we can only sit and sullenly marvel at the energy for which, for more than four hours, the note of serene vulgarity is triumphantly sustained.[46] Shana Alexander, reviewing for Life magazine, stated: "The scale of The Greatest Story Ever Told was so stupendous, the pace was so stupefying that I felt not uplifted but sandbagged."[47] John Simon wrote: "God is unlucky in The Greatest Story Ever Told. His only begotten son turns out to be a bore."[39]

In an interview for The New York Times, Stevens stated, "I have tremendous satisfaction that the job has been done – to its completion – the way I wanted it done; the way I know it should have been done. It belongs to the audiences now ... and I prefer to let them judge."[48] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[49]

Three weeks after opening at the Warner Cinerama, the film had earned nearly $250,000 in advance ticket sales. Based on the ticket sales and advanced reserve-seating ticket sales before Easter, Eugene Picker, United Artists vice president, told Variety that the film "was way ahead of any other previous UA hard-tickets being used up for each group and window sales."[50] By 1982, it had grossed less than $8 million worldwide,[51] which was far less than the $35–38 million needed to break even.[52] Steven D. Greydanus, a film critic for the National Catholic Register, believed the film's inability to connect with audiences discouraged future productions of biblical epics for decades.[53]

Though it received a poor reception from some critics, The Greatest Story Ever Told was nominated for five Academy Awards:[54]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[56]
• 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated[57]
• 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
  • Nominated Epic Film[58]