Salomé (film)

by Charles Bryant

For other versions of this work, see Salomé.

Nazimova
in
"SALOMÉ"
An Historical Phantasy
by
OSCAR WILDE
Written for the screen
by
Peter M. Winters

Direction by
CHARLES BRYANT

Sets and Costumes
by
MISS NATACHA RAMBOVA
(After Aubrey Beardsley.)

Photography
by
CHARLES J. VAN ENGER, A. S. C.

Profound was the moral darkness that enveloped the World on which the Star of Bethlehem arose.

To the Court of Herod, Tetrarch of Judea, were attracted representatives of every nation. Rome, rotting within, though still trampling of World; Greece, senile and conquered; Egypt, wrapped like its own mummies in the vestments of the Past—all sent their emissaries.

In a chaos of crime and wickedness, Herod ruled Judea but was himself rules by Passion. He had murdered his brother, usurped his throne, he had stolen his wife, Herodias, and now covets his brother's daughter, Salomé.

But a Light was dawning on the horizon and a voice was crying in the Wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord!"

The Prophet, John (Jokanaan in the story) was launching thunderbolts of Divine Wrath against the iniquities of Herod and the abominations of Herodias his Consort.

Herod, filled with superstitious awe, imprisoned the Prophet in an abandoned well to protect him against the violence of the mob and the hatred of Herodias.

It is at this point that the drama opens, revealing Salomé who yet remains an uncontaminated blossom in a wilderness of evil.

Though still innocent, Salome is a true daughter of her day, heiress to its passions and its cruelties. She kills the thing she loves; she loves the thing she kills, yet in her soul there shines the glimmer of the Light and she sets forth gladly into the Unknown to solve the puzzle of her own words——

The Mystery of Love is greater than the Mystery of Death.

Herod, Tetrarch of Judea

… Mitchell Lewis

Salomé, Stepdaughter of Herod

… NAZIMOVA

Herodias, Wife of Herod, Mother of Salomé

… Rose Dione

"Drink a little wine with me, Salomé."

"You must not look at her! You are always looking at her!"

Narraboth, a Syrian Prince robbed of his throne and forced to serve Herod as Captain of the Guard

… Earl Schenk

The Page of Herodias

… Arthur Jasmine

"How strange the moon seems! One might fancy she was looking for dead things."

"You are always looking at her. You look at her too much!"

"There ARE angels!"

"ANGELS DO NOT EXIST!"

"I am not looking at her!"

"Will you be seated, Princess?"

"Why do you speak to her? O! Something terrible will happen!"

"Behold! The Lord hath come! The eyes of the blind shall see the day, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened."

"Who was that who cried out?"

"It was the prophet Jokanaan who cried out, Princess."

"Is it your pleasure that I bid them bring your litter, Princess? The night is fair in the garden."

Jokanaan, the Prophet

… Nigel DeBrulier

"The Tetrarch bids the Princess to return to the feast!"

"Princess, the Tetrarch prays you to return to the feast."

"I would speak with this prophet."

"The Tetrarch does not suffer anyone to speak with him—it is impossible! We dare not, Princess."

"What answer may I give the Tetrarch from the Princess?"

"Bring forth this prophet!"

"Princess! Our lives belong to you, but we cannot do what you have asked! The Tetrarch has even forbidden the High Priest to speak with him!"

"Thou wilt do this thing for me, Narraboth, wilt thou not? And tomorrow when I pass in my litter, I will let fall for thee a little green flower."

"The Tetrarch has formally forbidden—I cannot, Princess—I can not!"

"Thou wilt do this thing for me, Narraboth! Look at me—it may be I will smile at thee!"

"Where is she who gave herself up unto the lust of her eyes? Go, bid her come, that she may repent her of her iniquities!"

"I am Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judea."

"Speak again, Jokanaan, and tell me what I must do."

"Daughter of Herodias, come not near me! Get thee to the desert and seek out the Son of Man!"

"Is he as beautiful as thou art, Jokanaan?"

"Angel of Death, what doest thou here with thy sword? Whom seekest thou in this palace?"

"Back, daughter of Babylon! I listen but to the voice of the Lord God."

"Thy body is hideous! It is like the body of a leper. I love not thy body!"

"Thy hair, Jokanaan, is like the long black nights when the moon hides her face! The silence that dwells in the forest is not so black as thy hair!"

"Back, daughter of Herodias! Profane not the temple of the Lord God!"

"Thy mouth, Jokanaan, is like a band of scarlet on a tower of ivory! The red blasts of trumpets are not so red as thy mouth!"

"Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan."

"Never! Daughter of Herodias! Never!"

"Princess, Princess! I cannot endure it!"

"Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan."

"Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias? Hath he not come, the Angel of Death?"

"Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan."

"I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan!"

"I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan. I WILL KISS THY MOUTH!"

"What does this body here? I issued no order that he should be slain."

"He slew himself, sire. With his own hand he slew himself."

"Salomé! Dip into the wine thy little red lips, that I may drain the cup."

"I am not thirsty, Tetrarch."

"Salomé! Bite but a little of this fruit, that I may eat what is left!"

"I am not hungry, Tetrarch."

"You see how you have brought up this daughter of yours!"

"My daughter and I come of a royal race. As for thee, thy father was a camel driver! He was a thief and a robber to boot!"

"Salomé, dance for me, and I will give thee the throne of thy mother."

"I have no desire to dance, Tetrarch."

"Ah! The daughter of Babylon, with her golden eyes and her gilded eyelids!"

"This man is forever hurling insults against me! Why do you not deliver him to the Jews who have been clamoring for him?"

"No! He is a holy man. He is a man who has seen God."

"Salomé, Salomé, dance for me! And thou mayest ask of me what thou wilt even unto the half of my kingdom."

"I will not dance, Tetrarch."

"Ah, the daughter of Babylon! Let the people take stones and stone her!"

"Ah, the wanton one! Let the captains of the hosts pierce her with their swords!"

"If I dance for thee, Tetrarch, wilt thou indeed give me whatsoever I shall ask of thee?"

"I swear it, Salomé. By my life, by my crown, by my gods! And I am not one of those who break their oaths."

"I will dance for you, Tetrarch."

"I will not have my daughter dance while that man is continually crying out. I will not have her dance!"

"Ah! Let them crush her with their shields!"

"I will give thee whatsoever thy soul desireth! What wouldst thou have? Speak!"

"I would that they presently bring me in a silver charger—"

"What is it thou wouldst have in a silver charger, O sweet and fair Salomé?"

"I ASK OF YOU THE HEAD OF JOKANAAN!"

"Well said, my daughter. That man has covered me with insults! Ah, one can see that she loves her mother well!"

"Do not listen to thy mother's voice. This is a terrible thing to ask me! Ask of me the half of my kingdom and I will give it to thee!"

"You have sworn an oath, Herod! Forget not that you have sworn an oath!"

"It is the largest emerald in the world. Ask it of me and I will give it to thee! Only release me from my oath!"

"I DEMAND THE HEAD OF JOKANAAN."

"Salomé, thou knowest my white peacocks! In the midst of them thou wilt be like unto the moon in the midst of a great white cloud—"

"GIVE ME THE HEAD OF JOKANAAN."

"I have jewels hidden in this palace that thy mother even has never seen. Thou shalt be as fair as a queen when thou wearest them—"

"It is thus that I will wipe out all wickedness from the earth and that all women shall learn not to imitate her abominations!"

"GIVE ME THE HEAD OF JOKANAAN!"

"Let her be given what she asks—of a truth she is her mother's child!"

"He is a coward, this slave! Let soldiers be sent!"

"Thou wert the friend of him who is dead. I tell thee there are not dead men enough!"

"Command thy soldiers that they bring me the thing thou hast promised me! The thing that is mine!"

"Thou wouldst have none of me, Jokanaan. Thou rejectedst me. Me, Salomé, Princess of Judea!"

"Thou wert the man that I loved alone among men. All other men were hateful to me. I saw thee, and I loved thee, Jokanaan—I love thee yet, I love only thee—"

"I have kissed thy mouth, Jokanaan——Love hath a bitter taste——But what matter?—What matter?—"

"KILL THAT WOMAN!"

"THE MYSTERY OF LOVE IS GREATER THAN THE MYSTERY OF DEATH!"

THE END