Virginia Tracy Movies

After being made into a stage play by Wright Lorimer and Arnold Reeves, the Old Testament story of David was adapted for the screen. Director J. Gordon Edwards spent over a year in Palestine, Jerusalem and Egypt filming, with a primarily Italian cast. Unfortunately all this effort was in vain, as there were too many title cards and not enough thrills. In addition, it had heavy competition due to the concurrent release of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. The only name familiar to Americans was actress Violet Mersereau, who starred as Princess Michal. When Saul, the first king of Judea (Guido Trento) disobeys the Lord's command and begins preparing too early to battle the Philistines, the Prophet Samuel (Adriano Bocanera) tells him he will lose his throne. Samuel selects David (Nerio Bernardi) to become king and all of Saul's attempts to get rid of him are in vain. David slays Goliath (Samuel Balestra) and battles the Philistines victoriously. Saul and his son Jonathan (Ferrucio Biancini) are war casualties, and David is proclaimed king. For his wife, he takes Michal, Saul's daughter. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

It is easy to imagine Theda Bara playing the lead in this Fox Biblical epic, especially since its credited director is J. Gordon Edwards, who manned the megaphone for many of Bara's films. But by 1920, Bara had pretty much left films (she would only make two more pictures during the 1920s), and Betty Blythe, who also became known for her exotic vehicles, played the lead. Blythe, however, did not exude the unbridled sexuality that Bara did -- something that trade paper Moving Picture World saw as a plus: the fact that "there is never a suggestion of the vamp in one of her poses or gestures," it noted, would keep the bluenoses from complaining about her skimpy costumes. And there is much bare flesh to be had in this picture. When the Queen of Sheba kills her mate, the wicked King (George Siegmann), her people are grateful. She pays a visit to the court of King Solomon (Fritz Leiber) and wins a chariot race for him. Solomon falls in love with her, and the night before she leaves she visits him in his private quarters. The result of this meeting is a child, which the Queen's people accept as the son of the dead King. When the boy (Pat Moore) is four, she sends him to visit Solomon, who is happy to see him. His brother (G. Raymond Nye), however, is not so thrilled -- he believes that Solomon plans to make the boy heir to his throne. He attempts to overthrow the King, and the Queen, realizing that her son is in danger, takes her army to help Solomon. Once the King's foes are vanquished, the Queen tells Solomon good-bye, and returns home with her son. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi