The Greatest Story Ever Told

Directed by
George StevensDavid Lean uncredited
Produced by George Stevens
Frank I. Davis
George Stevens, Jr.
Antonio Vellani
Written by George Stevens
James Lee Barrett
Starring Max von Sydow
Charlton Heston
Dorothy McGuire
Jose Ferrer
Telly Savalas
Music by Alfred Newman
Cinematography Loyal Griggs
William C. Mellor
Editing by Harold F. Kress
Argyle Nelson, Jr.
Frank O'Neil
Studio George Stevens Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) April 9, 1965 (UK)
Running time 260 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $21 million
Box office $15,473,333

For The Greatest Story Ever Told, Stevens cast Swedish actor Max von Sydow as Jesus. Von Sydow had never appeared in an English-language film and was best known for his performances in Ingmar Bergman's dramatic films.Stevens wanted an unknown actor free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public.

The Greatest Story Ever Told featured an ensemble of well-known actors, many of them in brief, even cameo, appearances. Some critics would later complain that the large cast distracted from the solemnity, notably in the appearance of John Wayne as the Roman centurion who comments on the Crucifixion, in his well-known voice, by stating: "Truly this man was the son of God."

Beyond von Sydow, the film's primary cast was
Dorothy McGuire as the Virgin Mary
Charlton Heston as John the Baptist
Claude Rains as Herod the Great
Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas
Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate
Martin Landau as Caiaphas
David McCallum as Judas Iscariot
Donald Pleasence as "The Dark Hermit" (a personification of Satan)
Michael Anderson, Jr. as James the Just
Roddy McDowall as Matthew
Joanna Dunham as Mary Magdalene
Joseph Schildkraut as Nicodemus
Ed Wynn as "Old Aram"

Smaller roles (some only a few seconds) were played by Michael Ansara, Ina Balin, Carroll Baker, Robert Blake, Pat Boone, Victor Buono, John Considine, Richard Conte, Jamie Farr, David Hedison, Van Heflin, Russell Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Mark Lenard, Robert Loggia, John Lupton, Sal Mineo, Nehemiah Persoff, Sidney Poitier, Gary Raymond, Marian Seldes, David Sheiner,Paul Stewart, John Wayne and Shelley Winters.