''Sins of Jezebel'' is a 1953 American

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

produced by

Sigmund Neufeld Sigmund Neufeld (May 3, 1896 – March 21, 1979) was an American B movie producer. He spent many years at Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation where he mainly produced films directed by his brother Sam Newfield. When PRC was taken o ...

and directed by

Reginald Le Borg Reginald Le Borg (11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna, Austria with the surname Groebel and directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974. Le Borg made a series of low-budget horror films at Un ...

. It stars

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career a ...

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

, the

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

queen of the northern kingdom of Israel during the 9th century BC. The film was shot in

Ansco Color An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...

for

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

projection.

Plot

In 9th century BC

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the prophet

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

advises king

Ahab Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, ...

not to marry

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

, an idolatrous princess of

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

. Ahab sends for Jezebel, however, and commands

Jehu ) as depicted on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III , succession = King of Northern Israel , reign = c. 841–814 BCE , coronation = Ramoth-Gilead, Israel , birth_date = c. 882 BCE , death_date = c. 814 BCE , burial_place = ...

, his captain, to escort her caravan safely to Jezreel. Once Jehu meets Jezebel, he immediately becomes attracted to her and she confuses him for Ahab. Jezebel finally arrives at Jezreel and is greeted by Ahab who, stunned by her beauty, provides her with an individual chamber until they marry. On her wedding night, Jezebel evades Ahab and pursues Jehu, whom she seduces. Jezebel establishes the cult of

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

, her idol, in Israel and builds a temple.

Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judais ...

, the God of the Israelites, delivers drought upon Israel because of the idolatry and sends his prophet

to reprimand the people. Elijah prays to Jehovah and the drought ends.

Cast

Production

Paulette Goddard was signed to star in the film on April 22, 1953. Margia Dean was cast as Deborah on May 11. The film began shooting on May 13. Interior scenes were shot at KTTV Studios and exterior scenes were shot at Corriganville Ranch.

Release

Critical reception

''Sins of Jezebel'' received mixed reviews from critics. ''The News and Eastern Townships Advocate'' described the film as "a spectacular Robert L. Lippert, Jr. production in gorgeous new Ansco Color." ''

The Toledo Blade ''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835. Overview The first issue o ...

'' also praised the film's color cinematography, but questioned the film's low budget by writing, "the desire was strong, but the cash was weak." As for the film's cast, ''The News and Eastern Townships Advocate'' praised Goddard's "fascinating performance" as she was "ideally cast" as Jezebel, and ''The Toledo Blade'' commended the "competent job" of John Hoyt as Elijah.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Reginald Le Borg 1953 films 1953 drama films Films set in the 9th century BC Films based on the Hebrew Bible Films set in ancient Israel Religious epic films Lippert Pictures films 1950s historical drama films American historical drama films Films directed by Reginald Le Borg 1950s English-language films 1950s American films