The Story of Ruth (1960)

Good concept, poorly executed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The Story of Ruth is a beautifully-filmed story of one of the books of the Bible, Ruth. Ruth eventually became the great-grandmother of David. The film, for the most part, faithfully reconstructs the events depicted in this book of the Bible. The director does a fairly good job, as do most of the A and B actors, and the production values are very good. The pace of the film seems to be livelier in the beginning with the life of Ruth among the Moabites, and the romance between Elana Eden as Ruth and Tom Tryon (The Cardinal) son of Naomi, Mahion, plays very well. Although Stuart Whitman as Boaz probably does his best work ever in this film, he is really not a match for Tryon, either physically, or acting-wise. The woman who plays Naomi is a bit hammy, but most of the other actors play their roles well; particulary Jeff Morrow as Tob, the rival of Boaz for the love of Ruth. The pace of this film is quite leisurely; the opposite of most sword and sandal films of the time. But as a first-rate soap, most female viewers, will be very happy with the pacing. I can recommend the film as one of the more interesting stories in the Bible.

In the period from the 1940s to the 1960s there was on Hollywood the craze of making biblical epics, and while some they are lavish (like David and Bathsheba or Samson and Delilah), others, like this, are humble but pleasant to watch! And this one in particular is faithful to the Bible.The movie is based on the Biblical book of Ruth, and it's divided in three parts. In her youth Ruth is portrayed as a pagan idolatress that believes in the blood-thirsty God Kemosh, but she meets Mahlon, a young artisan, and his family, and soon she becomes doubtful of her religion and begins to believe in a God of peace. When the high Priest discovers it, arrests Ruth, Mahlon, and his family. While Mahlon is forced to work at the quarries, Ruth tries to make him free, but he is killed by a guard. So she goes to Bethlehem with Naomi (Mahlon's mother) and falls in love with Boaz, an handsome landowner that let her work in his wheat fields. But soon Boaz's brother tries to capture Ruth's heart, and after some discussions, she finally declares her feelings for Boaz and marries him.I loved this movie so much, and I explain the reasons: the scenery is wonderful, the soundtrack by Alfred Newman is majestic. And the actors, although not great ones, gave great performances here; Stuart Whitman is excellent as Boaz, and it's one of his best leading man roles; Tom Tryon is also convincing as Mahlon, the Judean that converts Ruth to a better religion and monotheism, and Peggy Wood is great as Naomi, Mahlon's mother that is also a spiritual guide for Ruth.This is maybe one of the best bible-based movies ever made in Hollywood! A must-see and I give this 8 out of 10!

Inspired by the scriptural tale. Moabitess priestess Ruth is drawn both to a Judean man and to his talk of a forgiving God. After tragedy strikes, she begins a new life in Bethlehem."The Story of Ruth" received favorable reviews upon release. Variety called it "a refreshingly sincere and restrained Biblical drama, a picture that elaborates on the romantic, political and devotional difficulties encountered by the Old Testament heroine." I like the word "restrained" in that review. Although the overall theme is definitely the promotion of the Judeo-Christian god, especially over false idols, it is never to the point where it seems unbearably preachy. There is much more focus on the love life of Ruth, and the conflict between the two countries, Moab and Judea. It almost makes me want to learn more about the history of Moab and find where it disappeared to.

I have always liked biblical epics and thought that I'd seen them all, but while watching a feature on them I saw listed "The Story of Ruth." I knew nothing of this story of the Old Testament, so I purchased the DVD. The film, made in 1960, shortly after the release of "Ben Hur" was not an epic in the sense of 'a cast of thousands' with big name stars, but rather a simply told story, both moving and charmingly portrayed by a cast who excelled in their respective roles and brilliantly directed by Henry Coaster, with a literate script by Norman Corwin. Stuart Whitman was never better than in his role as Boaz and newcomer Elana Eden was stunningly beautiful and very impressive as Ruth. In fact, it surprises me that her career waned after "Story of Ruth." The always great Peggy Wood was Oscar worthy as Naomi and the rest of the players were also well cast. Franz Waxman's score was moving and added a reverence to the entire film. It seemed pretty accurate for the most part. I wondered if there was any truth to the fact that Ruth was sold to the Moabites by her father, as my sources (Biblical dictionaries) are pretty concise. To summarize, I must say that I really enjoyed this film!