Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

"There is no other king but Caesar. There is no power greater than his, in this world, or any other." Demetrius

Following the success of The Robe, 20th Century Fox immediately began to work on a sequel. The result was Demetrius and the Gladiators, a film in the 50s biblical epic tradition of big stars, lavish costumes, gorgeous sets, majestic scores, and cheesy scripts.

Demetrius and the Gladiators starts out with the ending scene of The Robe where Richard Burton and Jean Simmons march stoically out to their deaths, handing the robe off to somebody to give to "The Big Fisherman" (Michael Rennie), who in turn hands it over to Demetrius (Victor Mature) to safeguard until his return.

Protecting the robe proves to be troublesome and Demetrius is arrested and sentenced to gladiator training. The gladiator trainer is Strabo; Ernest Borgnine in a typical role for him. Susan Hayward is Messalina who is the chief meddler in this piece. She falls for Mature but his purity won't allow him to succumb to her charms (yet) so she makes sure his life will be interesting. The gladiator school belongs to Claudius (Barry Jones), the emperor's uncle and Hayward's husband. Hayward's idea of a good time is sitting in her personal balcony overlooking the playroom where the gladiators indulge in their pre-fight revels with women of loose morals, alcohol, and so forth. The orgy is very antiseptic, in typical 50s fashion, similar to the "golden calf orgy" played out in The Ten Commandments every Easter.

Demetrius has a recurring relationship with the gladiator school; he gets released, gets into trouble again, and gets sent back to the arena throughout the film. He also loses his faith and drowns his sorrows in Hayward's charms, again very G rated, like most 50s romances. Of course Peter (Michael Rennie) returns and without a reference to Mature's behavior, nonetheless, Mature is conscience stricken and must repent. Meanwhile The Robe and Caligula (Jay Robinson) are working overtime to make sure that things remain stirred up.

Victor Mature gets the lion's share of screen time in Demetrius and the Gladiators and to his credit he makes a stalwart and earnest hero despite the limitations of the dialog. Mature was in a lot of these sword and sandal epics as he had the proper Mediterranean look, but he really could act and was above the material that they made him play under contract.

Susan Hayward, on the other hand, fails to rise to the occasion and is a simpering shadow of what a true villainess should be. Hayward is pretty, but her heart did not appear to be in her work. Jay Robinson, as Caligula, made a good show of chewing the scenery just as he had in The Robe. The supporting cast was good, with Richard Egan (The 300 Spartans), Ernest Borgnine (Barabbas and William Marshall standouts.

The script, from Lloyd C. Douglas' book of the same name, was typical biblical epic kitsch that would have made Cecil B. DeMille, one of the most grandiose directors, proud. Delmer Daves (3:10 to Yuma) directed, and of course the sets, costumes, and cinematography was gorgeous. Franz Waxman, one of the premier Hollywood composers, did the honors with a suitably majestic score. The best scenes were the arena scenes where the gladiators killed each other in bloodless combat. Mature even had to fight a trio of tigers when he displeased Caligula!

The 20th Century Fox DVD is presented in 2.35:1 CinemaScope format and is well preserved with the unearthly beauty that only technicolor has. The film runs 102 minutes and the only extras are English and Spanish subtitles.

For those who like Victor Mature, I recommend the following:

The Robe

Samson and Delilah

The Egyptian

Enjoy a good film tonight!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV