The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.
This was a solid and very satisfying sequel to 'The Robe' for me. I have both a soft spot for swords-and-sandals epics of days gone by, and a preferential fondness for films from cinema's studio glory days of the 20's to 60's--not to mention my enjoyment of earlier Daves' classics such as 'The Petrified Forest', 'Dark Passage' and 'Destination Tokyo'--so this was like a fine red wine for me.
This is a place where men are trained to kill each other like animals!
Demetrius and the Gladiators is a sequel to The Robe. It's directed by Delmer Daves and stars Victor Mature as Demetrius, a Christian slave made to fight in the Roman arena as a gladiator (and ultimately entering into a bigger fight, that of faith), and Susan Hayward as Messalina. Filling out the support cast are Ernest Borgnine, William Marshall, Michael Rennie, and Jay Robinson as the maniacal emperor Caligula. The screenplay is from Philip Dunne (How Green Was My Valley/The Agony and the Ecstasy) and cinematography comes courtesy of Milton R. Krasner (Academy Award winner Best Color Cinematography for Three Coins in the Fountain 1955).
Following straight on from...
was about to rate it 3 for the tiger fight, but the end was too corny to handle
Richard Burton and Jean Simmons made sure they couldn't be involved in this sequel to "The Robe" (1953) but director Delmer Dawes did manage to bring in Susan Hayward and retain the maniacal services of arch-ham Jay Robinson to keep this sword and sandals story watchable. If you recall, "Demetrius" (Victor Mature) was the servant present at the crucifixion and who now holds the red robe used on the day. It's a prized possession amongst the Christians but when Caligula (Robinson) hears of its supposed recuperative powers he demands it be found. The ensuing searching ends up with "Demetrius" back in slavery, only this time working for the famed Messalina (Hayward) who is married to the emperor's uncle Claudius (Barry Jones). She takes a shine...
