The Story of Ruth
Encyclopedia
The Story of Ruth is a 1960 American
biblical
drama film
directed by Henry Koster
, based on the Biblical account of Ruth
. The title role is portrayed by Jewish
actress Elana Eden
, with Stuart Whitman
as Boaz
, Peggy Wood
as Naomi
, and Tom Tryon
as Mahlon.
, a pagan idolatress who serves as the spiritual teacher of a young Moabitess girl Tebah who is being prepared to be sacrificed to Chemosh
, a Moabite deity. High-priestess Eleilat, along with Ruth, orders Mahlon, a Judean artisan, to brush the Tebah's ritual crown. As Mahlon delivers the crown to Ruth at the temple, he denounces her god Chemosh explaining its nonexistence. This fictional non-Biblical part ends with the site of the Moabite girl being sacrificed, and a frightened, astonished Ruth fleeing to Mahlon and Naomi's family. The result of this "dishonor" follows Mahlon prisoned along with Elimelech his father and Chilion his brother. Chilion and Elimelech die in the prison, while Mahlon's punishment is to perform slave work for the rest of his life. After an attempt by Ruth to help him flee from the slave site, causes his death. The Biblical storyline begins now as Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth have widowed. The second part is more based toward the Biblical account found in the Book of Ruth
, a subplot is added, that of the Bethlehemites disapproval of Ruth's pagan past and Naomi's kinsman rejecting the refusal of Ruth's hand in marriage pleaded by Boaz.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Henry Koster
Henry Koster
Henry Koster was born Hermann Kosterlitz in Berlin, Germany. He became a film director and later moved to Hollywood. Koster's father, a salesman, left home when Henry was a young man...
, based on the Biblical account of Ruth
Ruth (biblical figure)
Ruth , is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.-Biblical narrative:Ruth was a Moabitess, who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, but Elimelech and his two sons died...
. The title role is portrayed by Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
actress Elana Eden
Elana Eden
Elana Eden is a Jewish-Israeli actress best known for her film debut and title role in The Story of Ruth .Born Elana Lani Cooper in Bat Yam, Israel; to a Polish landscape gardener, Eden originally auditioned for a part in The Diary of Anne Frank...
, with Stuart Whitman
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...
as Boaz
Boaz
Boaz is a major figure in The Book of Ruth in the Bible. The term is found 24 times in the Scriptures, being two in Greek ....
, Peggy Wood
Peggy Wood
Peggy Wood was an American actress of stage, film and television.-Early career:She was born Mary Margaret Wood in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Eugene Wood, a journalist, and Mary Gardner, a telegraph operator. She was a direct descendant of Daniel Boone...
as Naomi
Naomi (Bible)
Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth...
, and Tom Tryon
Tom Tryon
Tom Tryon was an American film and television actor, best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal and the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter...
as Mahlon.
Plot
The first part of the film revolves around RuthRuth (biblical figure)
Ruth , is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.-Biblical narrative:Ruth was a Moabitess, who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, but Elimelech and his two sons died...
, a pagan idolatress who serves as the spiritual teacher of a young Moabitess girl Tebah who is being prepared to be sacrificed to Chemosh
Chemosh
Chemosh , was the god of the Moabites . The etymology of "Chemosh" is unknown. He is also known from Ebla as Kamish....
, a Moabite deity. High-priestess Eleilat, along with Ruth, orders Mahlon, a Judean artisan, to brush the Tebah's ritual crown. As Mahlon delivers the crown to Ruth at the temple, he denounces her god Chemosh explaining its nonexistence. This fictional non-Biblical part ends with the site of the Moabite girl being sacrificed, and a frightened, astonished Ruth fleeing to Mahlon and Naomi's family. The result of this "dishonor" follows Mahlon prisoned along with Elimelech his father and Chilion his brother. Chilion and Elimelech die in the prison, while Mahlon's punishment is to perform slave work for the rest of his life. After an attempt by Ruth to help him flee from the slave site, causes his death. The Biblical storyline begins now as Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth have widowed. The second part is more based toward the Biblical account found in the Book of Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
, a subplot is added, that of the Bethlehemites disapproval of Ruth's pagan past and Naomi's kinsman rejecting the refusal of Ruth's hand in marriage pleaded by Boaz.
Cast
- Stuart WhitmanStuart WhitmanStuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...
... BoazBoazBoaz is a major figure in The Book of Ruth in the Bible. The term is found 24 times in the Scriptures, being two in Greek .... - Tom TryonTom TryonTom Tryon was an American film and television actor, best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal and the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter...
... Mahlon - Peggy WoodPeggy WoodPeggy Wood was an American actress of stage, film and television.-Early career:She was born Mary Margaret Wood in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Eugene Wood, a journalist, and Mary Gardner, a telegraph operator. She was a direct descendant of Daniel Boone...
... NaomiNaomi (Bible)Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth... - Viveca LindforsViveca LindforsElsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors , better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors, was a Swedish stage and film actress.-Life and career:...
... Eleilat - Jeff Morrow ... Tob
- Elana EdenElana EdenElana Eden is a Jewish-Israeli actress best known for her film debut and title role in The Story of Ruth .Born Elana Lani Cooper in Bat Yam, Israel; to a Polish landscape gardener, Eden originally auditioned for a part in The Diary of Anne Frank...
... RuthRuth (biblical figure)Ruth , is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.-Biblical narrative:Ruth was a Moabitess, who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, but Elimelech and his two sons died... - Thayer DavidThayer DavidThayer David was a film, stage and television actor. He was best known for his work on the cult ABC serial Dark Shadows and as the fight promoter George Jergens in the Oscar-winning movie Rocky . He also appeared as Count Arne Saknussemm in the film Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1959...
... Hedak - Les TremayneLes TremayneLes Tremayne was a radio, film, and television actor. Born Lester Tremayne in England, he moved with his family at the age four to Chicago, where he began in community theatre. He danced as a vaudeville performer and worked as amusement park barker...
... Elimelech - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
... Jehoam - Leo FuchsLeo FuchsLeo Fuchs was a Polish-born Jewish American actor. According to YIVO, born Avrum Leib Fuchs in Warsaw; according to Schechter, born in Lemberg, Galicia, then Poland, now Lviv, Ukraine)....
... Sochin - Lili Valenty ... Kera
- John GabrielJohn GabrielNote: For the actor of the same name, see John Gabriel . For the webcomic character, see Penny Arcade.John Gabriel is an executive in the National Basketball Association. In 2008, he became the director of scouting for the New York Knicks...
... Chilion - Ziva Rodann ... OrpahOrpahOrpah is a woman mentioned in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible. She was from Moab and was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and wife of Chilion. After the death of her husband, Orpah and her sister-in-law Ruth wished to go to Judea with Naomi. However, Naomi persuaded Orpah to return to her people...
- Basil RuysdaelBasil RuysdaelBasil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
... Shammah - John BannerJohn BannerJohn Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria....
... King of Moab - Adelina Pedroza ... Iduma
- Daphne Einhorn ... Tebah
- Sara Taft ... Eska
- Jean Inness ... Hagah
- Berry KroegerBerry KroegerBerry Kroeger was an American film, television, and stage actor.Born in San Antonio, Texas, Kroeger got his acting start on radio as an announcer and actor, playing for a time The Falcon and The Shadow...
... Huphim - Jon Silo ... Tacher
- Don DiamondDon DiamondDonald Alan "Don" Diamond was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, F Troop .-Career:...
... Yomar