Sins Of Jezebel (1953)

In 9th century B.C. Israel, its King (Eduard Franz) is marrying the Phonecian Princess Jezebel (Paulette Goddard) against the advice of his prophet Elijah (John Hoyt). The evil Jezebel takes a lover (George Nader), the captain of the King's guards, upon her arrival and soon plots to install her pagan gods in Israel. Part of the pleasures of watching the biblical or Roman epics of the 1950s is the extravagance of the sets and costumes and exotic locations. Those that aren't legitimately good films (BEN-HUR, SPARTACUS) can often be kitschy fun (SAMSON AND DELILAH). Alas, this low budget "epic" plays like a Sunday school pageant. Garbed in cheap looking threads, we're begrudged the minor pleasure of even Goddard in glamorous costumes. Ghastly and not even ludicrous enough to be "camp". The film makers even deny us the spectacular Biblical death of Jezebel who according to scripture was gobbled up by wild dogs (instead she's run over by a chariot)! Directed by Reginald Le Borg, it was filmed in a TV station on Sunset Boulevard with the exteriors shot in Simi Valley, California. With Margia Dean and John Shelton.