SODOM AND GOMORRAH—two of our favorite towns: party-party-party, leaving Salt Lake City a distant third. An Anglo-Italian epic from 1963, this was directed by the iconoclastic Robert Aldrich in furnace conditions over a six-month period in Morocco. He fired assistant director Sergio Leone for “loafing”, sued in Italian court (did someone say ‘nightmare’?) over editing, and put as much of producer Joseph E. Levine’s $6,000,000 onscreen as he could manage in 154 minutes of ‘dramatically improved’ Bible-fearing.

Typical morning-after scene in Sodom. Probably a Thursday.

There’s nasty showcasing of vice & torture, debauchery & generalized anti-social behavior from denizens of those fabled twin cities of badness. The upright Hebrews are led by Lot, better known as Stewart Granger, whose mane of hair is shock-waved for noble effect. Stanley Baker has fun as ‘Prince Astaroth’, while a tilt toward Sappho is displayed by evil ‘Queen Bera’ (Anouk Aimee, looking suitably ‘European’, qualifying as decadent for audiences in the Bible Belt). God (played by lightning and loud sound effects) steps in at the finale to blast the dens of iniquity to piles of rubble. Enough structures collapse on panicked crowds to please the average ten-year old.

The score carries expected exotic flourish, courtesy of Miklos Rozsa, undisputed master maestro of Spectacle Scoring, B.C. Division. There’s a big battle with a gazillion horses that features fire, flood and massed slingshots. Sets and costumes are okay. It’s too long, and the florid dialogue and dubbed sound often skirt the low-grade ‘Maciste’ pix of the day. Camp followers will get their fill. Those expecting more will be tested. *

Enjoy the lust-crazed extras who continue to madly make out even when the earthquake is underway and stuff is falling everywhere: that is focus. The big torture-wheel is likewise impressive, in a save-the-piety-and-admit-you’re-curious-about-this-sick-stuff way.

Nice Bible lesson for the kids

With Pier Angeli (lady Lot), Rossana Podesta (demoted from Helen of Troy, seven years earlier), Rik Battaglia, Scilla Gable and Mitsuko Takara, as the sultry somewhere-from-Asia slave-girl playtoy for the Queen. Silk Road already operating?

On loan from Cleopatra

* Funny anecdote from Aldrich about the scoring: “I wanted Dimitri Tiomkin to do the music score. Well, they didn’t want to spend the money and who needs an American composer, etc. But I kept arguing that Tiomkin would be great and finally I wore them down. Tiomkin was signed up and he charged them a fortune! He came over to Rome to look at the picture and he sits down in the cutting room. We get down to the last reel and I could sense he wasn’t totally happy and I came up to him near the end and he said, ‘I don’t buy it.’ I asked him what he meant. He said, ‘I don’t buy the concept.’ I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t buy the concept? What don’t you like?’ He said, ‘I don’t believe she turned to salt.’ I just sat there and dropped my head. Finally I got up, put on my coat, and started out of the room. He said, ‘Where are you going? What can I do? What can I say? I can’t do anything I don’t believe in.’ I asked him, ‘What the hell would you have me do? Re-shoot it, re-write, the Bible? You don’t buy the concept! Now how in hell am I going to combat that?’ ”

Mighty is the punishment unto those who reap woe.