In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending the king to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are (contrary to Scripture) nearing conversion to the new religion. And the famous climactic dance turns out to have unexpected implications... 莎乐美（丽塔·海华斯 Rita Hayworth 饰）是风情万种的美丽少女，她的母亲希罗底（ 朱迪丝·安德森 Judith Anderson 饰）曾经犯了弑父之罪，之后改嫁希律王（查尔斯·劳顿 Charles Laughton 饰）。施洗约翰（艾兰·巴德尔 Alan Badel 饰）非常鄙视希罗底曾经犯下的罪孽，对她出言不逊，希罗底因此怀恨在心，并且开始寻找报复施洗约翰的机会。 希律王将施洗约翰关入牢中，他的坚贞和正义吸引了莎乐美的注意，莎乐美在施洗约翰面前跳了一支求爱之舞，但施洗约翰不为所动。之后，莎乐美又在希律王面前表演了美妙绝伦的七层纱之舞，龙颜大悦的希律王答应满足莎乐美的一切要求。
