HONEYWALL1 Review of The Story of Ruth

The Story of Ruth (1960)

A beautifully made, sincerely acted and totally under-rated movie.

[10/10 · 13 April 2001]

I first saw this movie in October, 1960, when I was thirteen and a half. Like many others of my generation, I had purchased the wonderfully made Dell Movie Classic comic book adaptation of the film, with its impressive color photo cover...obviously designed as pre-release publicity to make you want to go to see the film when it arrived in town. I was very impressed with the film and it became one of my all time favorite movies. I watched the great Biblical love story come alive and unfold itself across the CinemaScope screen and I found certain parts of it very moving...especially the death of Mahlon (Tom Tryon) in that cave. As Ruth, twenty years old Elana Eden is superb. As she realises that Mahlon has just died in front of her, she falls to her knees, buries her face in her hands and sobs bitterly (very much in the mold of Jennifer Jones in that final scene of LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING) and I found the scene so moving that, as Elana Eden sobbed, so I began to sob, also. It was so well done, I became totally involved in it for two hours and twelve minutes of screen time. Because this is one of the quieter Bible stories, and contains no chariot races or battle scenes, it has been somewhat overlooked by most of today's movie historians and has only been shown on UK television once...in December, 1972, when it was already twelve years old...and not shown since. So, a couple of generations have come into the world since its original release who have never had the opportunity to see it. But it's certainly worth seeing and I give it ten out of ten. Thankfully, it's available on video in the USA and I was able to send to amazon.com for a copy last year. As to what became of Elana Eden, I'd like very much to know. According to the British November, 1960, edition of Photoplay, she signed a long term contract with 20th Century-Fox in 1960, presumably on the strength of her superb debut performance in this movie. Yet, as far as I know, she never acted again. Does anyone out there know why and whatever became of her? She was so very, very beautiful. I fell in love with her from the first time I saw her on the cover of that Movie Classic comic. A wonderful movie with an unmistakable air of sincerity about the whole production, THE STORY OF RUTH is something quite removed from most of Fox's output of the period.