Review of Esther and the King

I watched this Biblical epic chiefly for the involvement of Mario Bava, who acted as assistant director. It's a rather stodgy and pedestrian Hollywood-style story which focuses on the history over drama, incident or excitement. A youthful Joan Collins plays the titular character, trapped and used by the men in her life, but there's too much of the romance here and little danger or excitement when it comes down to it. Interesting to see the familiar Italians in the cast (Rik Battaglia, Gabriele Tinti, Rosalbi Neri) at an early stage of their careers, but as a film it drags.