One of the most popular genres in American films of the 1950s were Biblical epics. Some of the films (such as "The Ten Commandments", "Ben Hur" and "Quo Vadis") were huge epics...others were silly and trivial ("David and Bathsheba")...but they were very popular. One of the lesser known Biblical films is this movie, "Slaves of Babylon". While it was filmed in color (as ALL these films were), it stars second-tier actors and tells the story of the Jews during their captivity in Babylon...as well as their rescue by the Persians.
When the movie began, I laughed because I noticed that almost all the Jews in the film were made to look 'Jewish' by having them wear Stars of David...even though the symbol only dates back to the 17th century. Plus, the omnipresent stars just look silly.
The story is based VERY loosely on the book of Daniel. Some of the characters have names from the Bible (like Nahum and Daniel) but otherwise almost none of this film is from any ancient writing...just some modern Hollywood writers.
The Jews are not happy in Babylon and Daniel sends Nahum to look for a shepherd named Cyrus and convince him to become the leader of the Persians as well as to free the Jews. Now, in real life, Cyrus was a prince...never a shepherd...and never being raised by foster parents. Together, Nahum and Cyrus do great things.
Like nearly all the Biblical epics, the language is rather stilted and they are only Biblical in a very broad sense. It also includes dancing girls and lots of other time-fillers. It's modestly entertaining but not much more.
