The Shepherd King (1923)
November 25, 1923Release Date
The Shepherd King (1923)
November 25, 1923Release Date
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Release DateNovember 25, 1923
StatusReleased
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The Shepherd King is a 1923 American silent biblical epic film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Violet Mersereau, Nerio Bernardi, and Guido Trento. It is a film adaptation of a 1904 Broadway play by Wright Lorimer and Arnold Reeves. The film depicts the biblical story of David (Bernardi), a shepherd prophesied to replace Saul (Trento) as king. David is invited into Saul's court, but eventually betrayed. He assembles an army that defeats the Philistines, becomes king after Saul's death in battle, and marries Saul's daughter Michal (Mersereau).
Advertising for the film tried to take advantage of the popular interest in Egypt following the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, despite only an introductory scene in the film taking place in Egypt. The film opened to mixed reviews from contemporary critics. In part due to direct competition from another biblical epic, Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, The Shepherd King was not considered successful. Like many of Fox Film's early works, it was likely lost in the 1937 Fox vault fire.