Salome (1923)
Directed by Charles Bryant

Film Review

A curiosity from the silent era of film, Salome feels more like a bizarre Art Nouveau-inspired erotic dream than a piece of cinema.  The extravagant costumes, striking minimalist set design and highly stylised acting suggest narcotic-induced fantasy, not realism.  Whilst the film's effete artificiality and sluggish pace are somewhat off-putting, these are outweighed by its sheer novelty value - it is a work of visual poetry which tacitly defies categorisation and for which there is no comparable benchmark.  It is a "one off", in the strictest sense of the term, and a treat for any admirer of experimental cinema.

The star of the film is Alla Nazimova, a flamboyant Russian-born actress of stage and screen who, in her day, was almost as famous as Sarah Bernhardt.  Although in her early-40s when she played the part of Salome, Nazimova manages to suggest a beguiling mix of childlike naivety and daring sensuality. It's a pity that her gestures are so grossly exaggerated, and her dance of the seven veils is, it has to be said, pretty lamentable.  The film was financed by Nazimova (almost bankrupting her) and she directed the film under the name of her husband, Charles Bryant.

The film is an adaptation of the highly controversial play by Oscar Wilde (whose initial stage production in London was banned for being judged blasphemous).  The marvellous illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley for the first English edition (1894) of Wilde's play provided the inspiration for the film's distinctive art design.

Film Synopsis

Salome is the young stepdaughter of Herod, the tyrannical Tetrarch of Judea who murdered his brother to usurp both his throne and his wife.  The beautiful Salome is an object of desire for both Herod and his guard captain, but she is interested only in Jokaanan, a Syrian prophet whom Herod has imprisoned.  Against the king's edict, Salome has Jokaanan brought to her so that she can seduce him, but he rejects her advances and returns voluntarily to his cell.  When Herod asks Salome to dance for him, she agrees, but on one condition...