Unreliable biblical sword and sandal (a genre which became very popular in US and mainly in Italy in the fifties and the early sixties ) , this little movie suffers from an obvious lack of means and from weak acting by Terry Kilburn as listless conqueror Cyrus and Linda Christian as a sulken princess "whose beauty would equal that of Helen of Troy "; the total absence of chemistry between them makes the viewer wonder why the victor wants to marry this vapid virgin.
The screenplay is based on the legend :Cyrus was never a shepherd ,except in bedtime stories ; here he is given a treatment which will remind you those of Oedipus ,Romolo and Remo and even Mosis ;hence the invention of the principal of the film :Nahoum ,the deus ex machina,without whom ....Fortunately ,he is portrayed by the great film noir character actor Richard Conte. He and Maurice Schwarz as prophet Daniel (who was really a king's counselor) give the peplum some substance ;anyway the Hebrews were not mistreated in Babylone and,except for Daniel's jealous enemies , their religion was respected .There's the de rigueur scene of the lions pit though . Cyrus did help them get back to their country ,but Daniel was too old to accompany them and according to historians,died in Babylon.
The screenplay is based on the legend :Cyrus was never a shepherd ,except in bedtime stories ; here he is given a treatment which will remind you those of Oedipus ,Romolo and Remo and even Mosis ;hence the invention of the principal of the film :Nahoum ,the deus ex machina,without whom ....Fortunately ,he is portrayed by the great film noir character actor Richard Conte. He and Maurice Schwarz as prophet Daniel (who was really a king's counselor) give the peplum some substance ;anyway the Hebrews were not mistreated in Babylone and,except for Daniel's jealous enemies , their religion was respected .There's the de rigueur scene of the lions pit though . Cyrus did help them get back to their country ,but Daniel was too old to accompany them and according to historians,died in Babylon.