Quotes
 John the Baptist: [to Herodias] Woman, is not your cup of abominations full enough? Salome: [speaking of John the Baptist] His heart should be ripped from his body!
Salome: [to John the Baptist, sarcastically] You frighten me, you angry man!
[Jesus is mending a chair for the Virgin Mary, but has to leave for Jerusalem]
Jesus: The chair will have to wait until I return.
Virgin Mary: [having a vague premonition of Jesus` arrest, trial and death] The chair will never be mended. I am going with you.
Lucius: [to Jesus, who is trying to visit John the Baptist in prison] For some reason, I favored Your mother once before. I will give You a moment with the prisoner John. But remember this... break Caesar`s law, and you shall find in me the most merciless of men.
Jesus: [during the Last Supper, Jesus catches a bread pronounces the blessing, he breaks him and he gives him to the disciples] Blessed you are you, oh Master, Our King of the Universe that gives us the bread, fruit of the Earth. Take, eat, therefore this is my body that will be given by you, do this in my memory.
Jesus: [then, Jesus catches a chalice of wine, he pronounces the blessing, and he gives him to the disciples] Blessed you are you, oh Master, Our King of the Universe that gives us the wine, fruit of the Vineyard. Take, drink, therefore this is my blood that will be spilled by many for the pardon of the sins.
Herod: Lucius, order every first born male child put to the sword.
Lucius: I am a Roman soldier. I do not murder children.
Lucius: [after Jesus dies] He is truly the Christ!
Lucius: Pilate offered that mob a choice.
Barabbas: [incredulous] And they chose me?
Lucius: Your followers yelled the loudest! Go; look at Him who is dying for you!
last lines]
Narrator: And when the tomb was found empty, some days passed, and Christ was seen at Emmaus, and in Jerusalem, and those who saw Him knew He was the Lord God. And then a final time He came among His disciples by the shore of Galilee...
Jesus: Do you know and love Me? Feed My sheep, for My sheep are in all the nations. Go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature who hungers. I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Trivia
Ray Bradbury wrote the narration, but was uncredited.
Agnes Moorehead served as Jeffrey Hunter`s dialogue coach in post-dubbing.
Carmen Sevilla`s voice was dubbed by an uncredited actress (her real voice can be heard in Spanish Affair (1957)).
Gérard Tichy`s voice was dubbed by an uncredited actor
The voice of Luis Prendes, who plays the Good Thief crucified alongside Jesus, was dubbed by another actor.
The crucifixion scene had to be re-shot because a preview audience was offended at Jesus having a hairy chest.
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# Due to Jeffrey Hunter`s youthful, teen-idol appeal, the film was jokingly referred to within the industry as "I Was a Teenage Jesus" - in imitation of the low-budget teen-audience successes I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957).
This was the only MGM religious epic not to be nominated for any awards at all, not even for its now-classic musical score.
Hurd Hatfield was only cast as Pontius Pilate after a number of British heavyweights had passed on the part.
Richard Burton was originally offered the part of Jesus.
The scenes between John the Baptist, Herod, Herodias, and Salome are supposedly based more on Oscar Wilde`s play "Salome", than on the Bible, though Salome`s grisly behavior as depicted by Wilde is not shown.
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# Jeffrey Hunter was jokingly referred to as "I Was a Teenage Jesus" for his youthful appearance. In reality, he was 35 years old at the time of filming, much closer to Jesus` real age at the time of the story (33 years) than was usual in previous Hollywood treatments. Movie audiences were accustomed to more mature actors portraying Jesus.
Hurd Hatfield (Pontius Pilate) and Viveca Lindfors (Claudia) had appeared together in the original Broadway stage production of "Anastasia". Lindfors played Anna Anderson and Hatfield played Prince Paul.
This film`s narrator, Orson Welles, would later narrate a portion of another Biblical work, The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (1979). Before narrating this Biblical epic about the King of kings, Welles had earlier portrayed a king himself in another Biblical epic, David e Golia (1960). Welles would even portray a director directing a Biblical epic in Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963), when he ironically had earlier directed himself in his own scenes in an actual Biblical epic, David e Golia (1960).
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