The Story of Ruth

This is another biblical drama from Henry Koster (The Robe, 1953) that does not measure up to his earlier success, but then any adaptation of a short passage in the Bible would be hard-put to fill over two hours of screen time. Ruth's (Elana Eden) life is followed as she becomes a priestess for the Moabites, ruled over by a high priestess (Viveca Lindfors) whose character is not exactly holy. Ruth eventually falls in love with Mahlon (Tom Tryon) and converts to Judaism. Once Mahlon dies, Ruth decides to escape with his mother Naomi (Peggy Wood) to Bethlehem, where her dramatic story and her love life continue.