The Shepherd King (1923)

Interesting facts

The Shepherd King is a 1923 American silent biblical epic film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Violet Mersereau, Nerio Bernardi, and Guido Trento. It is a film adaptation of a 1904 Broadway play by Wright Lorimer and Arnold Reeves. The film depicts the biblical story of David (Bernardi), a shepherd prophesied to replace Saul (Trento) as king. David is invited into Saul's court, but eventually betrayed. He assembles an army that defeats the Philistines, becomes king after Saul's death in battle, and marries Saul's daughter Michal (Mersereau).

Production

Wright Lorimer and Arnold Reeves wrote a play based on the biblical story of David, titled The Shepherd King ... a Romantic Drama in Four Acts and Five Scenes. It debuted on Broadway on April 5, 1904 at the Knickerbocker Theatre, where it ran for 27 engagements. The play was well-received by critics, especially the performance of Margaret Hayward as the Witch of Endor.

The first film based on the Lorimer and Reeves play was directed by J. Stuart Blackton for Vitagraph Studios in 1909. This one-reel short film, titled Saul and David, was an unauthorized adaptation that did not credit its source.

As with many historical films produced by Hollywood studios in the 1920s, including Edwards's earlier Nero (1922), an Italian crew was used; actor Henry Armetta accompanied the production as an interpreter. For The Shepherd King, most of the cast were also Italian. Some scenes were filmed in Rome; Saul's palace was a constructed set, built with the assistance of the Capitoline and Vatican Museums.

Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 had sparked a wave of Egyptomania. Seeking to capitalize on this trend, Fox had Edwards add an opening sequence to the film based on the Exodus. This introduction was filmed in Egypt, with the Sphinx and pyramids in the background.

Unlike either the stage production or Saul and David, the battle between David and Goliath was featured on screen. A chariot race was also included in an effort to capitalize on the success of a similar scene in The Queen of Sheba. Some scenes required large numbers of extras. Photoplay reported that Edwards's crew avoided potential religious conflict while filming in Jerusalem by having British troops costumed as Arabs.

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