The Greatest Story Ever Told
Filmmaker George Stevens chose Monument Valley, Utah for his exterior sequences in The Greatest Story Ever Told, this ($20 million) adaptation of Fulton Oursler's best-selling book. The Greatest Story is, of course, the life of Jesus Christ, played herein by Max Von Sydow. The large supporting cast includes Dorothy McGuire as Mary, Claude Rains as Herod the Great, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, Donald Pleasence as Satan (identified only as The Dark Hermit), David McCallum as Judas Iscariot, Sidney Poitier as Simon of Cyrene, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and Martin Landau as Caiaphas. Even Robert Blake as Simon the Zealot, Jamie Farr as Thaddaeus, and motorcyle-flick veteran Richard Bakalyan as Dismas, the repentant thief, are well-suited to their roles. Originally roadshown at 260 minutes, Greatest Story Ever Told was later available in a 195-minute version.
| Director: | George Stevens |
| Studio: | United Artists |
| Producer(s): | George Stevens |
| Cast: | Angela Lansbury, Claude Rains, Martin Landau, Robert Blake, Robert Loggia, Marian Seldes, Max von Sydow, Charlton Heston, David McCallum, Donald Pleasence, Jose Ferrer, Telly Savalas, Dorothy McGuire, Roddy McDowall, Shelley Winters, Van Heflin, Gary Raymond, Jamie Farr, Rodolfo Acosta, John Abbott, David Sheiner, Michael Ansara, John Wayne, Carroll Baker, Michael Anderson Jr., John Considine |
| Writer(s): | James Lee Barrett, George Stevens |
