the two-color process invented by Herbert Kalmus. Release The King of Kings was the first movie that premiered at the noted Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 1927. The film was screened there again on May 24, 1977, to commemorate the theater's 50th anniversary. In what is considered one of the earliest applications of market segmentation to film promotion, students ranging from elementary to high school were dismissed early to attend afternoon screenings of the film. The King of Kings was seen by around 500 million viewers between its original release in 1927 and the remake in 1961. Critical reception The King of Kings received rave reviews from the critics. The Film Daily stated: "There can be said nothing but praise for the reverence and appreciation with which the beautiful story has been developed. . . 'The King of Kings' is tremendous from every standpoint. It is the finest piece of screen craftsmanship ever turned out by DeMille". Photoplay described the film as "Cecil B. DeMille's finest motion picture effort" and thought he took "the most difficult and exalted theme in the world's history—the story of Jesus Christ—and transcribed it intelligently and ably to the screen." Norbert Lusk of Picture Play believed "'The King of Kings' is Cecil B. DeMille's masterpiece, and is among the greatest of all pictures. It is a sincere and reverent visualization of the last three years in the life of Christ, produced on a scale of tasteful magnificence, finely acted by the scores in it, and possessed of moments of poignant beauty and unapproachable drama. This is a picture that will never become outmoded." Accolades In June 1927, Photoplay named the film one of "The Best Pictures of the Month". For their work in The King of Kings, H. B. Warner, Victor Varconi, Rudolph Schildkraut, and Ernest Torrence were included among "The Best Performances of the Month". In 2008, AFI nominated this film for its Top 10 Epic Films list. It is widely considered to be among the most popular Hollywood biblical epic films depicting the life of Christ. Lawsuit In 1928, actress Valeska Surratt and scholar Mirza Ahmad Sohrab sued DeMille for stealing the scenario for The King of Kings from them. The case went to trial in February 1930 but eventually was settled without additional publicity. Surratt, who had left films to return to the stage in 1917, appeared