Esther and the King

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Esther and the King

1960

1h 49m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

33%

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6 Reviews

24%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In Persia, King Ahasuerus (Richard Egan) is in search of a new queen. Simon (Rik Battaglia), an ally of the king, is set to marry Esther (Joan Collins), a Jewish woman, but she is taken away as a possible mate for Ahasuerus. Simon is initially furious, but soon discovers that all Jewish people are threatened by the machinations of villainous official Haman (Sergio Fantoni). If Esther can make it to the throne without Haman's intervening, the Jews will have royal protection.

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

May 9, 2005

The best to be said for this chromo ... is that it drives one more spike into the coffin of these synthetic biblical films.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Mar 16, 2025

1/5

There's a good film to be made about the Purim story but Esther and the King contains way too many fabrications.

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Tag Gallagher

Senses of Cinema

Mar 12, 2014

TV Guide

Mar 5, 2014

1/4

Collins further undermines this travesty of the Bible, a late entry from director Raoul Walsh, by playing Esther without a shred of conviction.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jun 18, 2005

1/5

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

May 28, 2005

One of the best Biblical films, moving and trenchant.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 8, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Lanfranco C

@Lanfrancobz May 11, 2026

It does not deserve so bad rewievs. It is worth to be watched

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Blobbo X

@Blobbo Jul 12, 2022

Slow. But with slow cast of thousands!

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Apr 8, 2020

was alright, but they added stuff to the story that were not there, keep on your toes if you have read the story of esther, they made mordacai part of the kings council, so yeah, not exactly biblical. it was ok, and decent for what it was, but only worth a watch if your bored, and dont like the christian movies that are out now.

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Oct 10, 2018

absolutely disgusting!

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Mar 23, 2012

This film had nothing, and I mean nothing to do with the Bible story.

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Raoul Walsh

Director

Joan Collins

Esther

Richard Egan

King Ahasuerus

Denis O'Dea

Mordecai

Sergio Fantoni

Haman

Rik Battaglia

Simon

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Synopsis

In Persia, King Ahasuerus (Richard Egan) is in search of a new queen. Simon (Rik Battaglia), an ally of the king, is set to marry Esther (Joan Collins), a Jewish woman, but she is taken away as a possible mate for Ahasuerus. Simon is initially furious, but soon discovers that all Jewish people are threatened by the machinations of villainous official Haman (Sergio Fantoni). If Esther can make it to the throne without Haman's intervening, the Jews will have royal protection.

Director: Raoul Walsh
Producer: Raoul Walsh
Screenwriter: Raoul Walsh, Michael Elkins
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Galatea Film
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 1960, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 49m

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