SODOM AND GOMORRAH (1962)

A rather unlikely film to be credited to Robert Aldrich, this euro epic would probably have been some sort of guilty pleasure at 90 minutes but unfortunately it drags on for a further 50 minutes. Considering the rather racy Bible story with a mob trying to bugger some visiting angels and Lot offering his daughters in their stead we get a plot which, despite lines of dialogue like "Look out for sodomite patrols!" doesn't really exploit the reputation of the twin cities of the plain to the full advantage of the film. Some nervous hints that the Queen is a dyke rather misses the point that the audience was expecting an altogether different kind of queen. The cast headed by Stewart Granger, Anouk Aimee and Stanley Baker is backed up (if you'll excuse the expression) by such luminaries of Cinecitta as Rik Battaglia, Rosanna Podesta, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart etc. and they all seem to be taking it very seriously. Two rather aged angels turn up near the end but their chastity is never threatened. The cities themselves (although we only seem to see Sodom) are played by some old Moroccan ruins and Ancient Israel seems to have a rather higher negro population than I would have expected. Supposedly Sergio Leone was the uncredited Second Unit Director. Rating **