David and Goliath (1960 film)

David and Goliath (Italian: David e Golia) is a 1960 Italian film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and Richard Pottier with sequences filmed in Israel and Yugoslavia.

David and Goliath
Directed by	Ferdinando Baldi Richard Pottier
Written by	Gino Mangini Ambrogio Molteni Emimmo Salvi Umberto Scarpelli
Produced by	Emimmo Salvi
Starring	Orson Welles Eleonora Rossi Drago Ivica Pajer Giulia Rubini Pierre Cressoy Hilton Edwards Aldo Pedinotti Massimo Serato
Cinematography	Carlo Fiore Bitto Albertini
Edited by	Franco Fraticelli
Music by	Carlo Innocenzi
Distributed by	Allied Artists
Release date	22 January 1960 (1960-01-22)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	Italy
Languages	English Italian

Plot

The Prophet Samuel foretells a new king will rule Israel to the dismay of King Saul and his cousin and commander in chief Abner. King Saul has been having a streak of bad luck since the Philistine captivity of the Ark and fears the newcomer but doesn't know who the new king will be.

The unsuspecting shepherd David visits Jerusalem where he is identified as the king. Abner decides to test his wisdom by asking how the Israelites can get around the Philistines' imposed edict that the only ones who may lawfully bear arms in defeated Israel are the officers of Saul's court and his palace guard. David replies that the Philistines have set no limit on the number of officers or palace guards.

Meanwhile, King Asrod of the Philistines plots another attack on the riches of Israel, this time accompanied by the fearsome giant Goliath.

Cast

• Orson Welles as King Saul
• Eleonora Rossi Drago as Merab
• Ivica Pajer as David. Credited as Ivo Payer.
• Giulia Rubini as Michal
• Pierre Cressoy as Jonathan
• Hilton Edwards as Prophet Samuel
• Aldo Pedinotti as Goliath. Credited as "Kronos".^[1]
• Massimo Serato as Abner
• Furio Meniconi as Asrod, King of the Philistines
• Dante Maggio as Cret
• Luigi Tosi as Benjamin of Gaba
• Umberto Fiz as Lazar
• Ugo Sasso as Huro

Production

A part of the production took place in Jerusalem, another in Yugoslavia.^[2]

Comic book adaptation

• Dell Four Color #1205 (July 1961)^[3][4]