The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

In the doomed Roman city, a gentle blacksmith becomes a corrupt gladiator, while his son leans toward Christianity.

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (story), Melville Baker (story),

Stars:

Preston Foster, Alan Hale, Basil Rathbone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Preston Foster	...	Marcus
Alan Hale	...	Burbix
Basil Rathbone	...	Pontius Pilate
John Wood	...	Flavius, as a Man
Louis Calhern	...	Prefect (Allus Martius)
David Holt	...	Flavius, as a Boy
Dorothy Wilson	...	Clodia
Wyrley Birch	...	Leaster
Gloria Shea	...	Julia
Frank Conroy	...	Gaius Tanno
William V. Mong	...	Cleon, the Slave Dealer
Murray Kinnell	...	Simon, Judean Peasant
Henry Kolker	...	Warder
Edward Van Sloan	...	Calvus
Zeffie Tilbury	...	The Wise Woman

Storyline

Peaceloving blacksmith Marcus refuses lucrative offers to fight in the arena...until his wife dies for lack of medical care. His life as a gladiator coarsens him, and shady enterprises make him the richest man in Pompeii, while his son Flavius (who met Jesus on a brief visit to Judaea) is as gentle as Marcus once was. The final disaster of Marcus and Flavius's cross purposes is interrupted by the eruption of Vesuvius.

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Plot Keywords:

gladiator | blacksmith | disaster | city | roman | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Untergang von Pompeji

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite all the spectacle, the movie was a box-office flop, and required several re-releases (on a double bill with King Kong) to earn back its cost.

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Goofs

Pontius Pilate committed suicide in Gaul in approximately 38 A.D. and could not have been present in Pompeii during the same year that Mt Vesuvius erupted (79 AD).

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Quotes

Cleon, the Slave Dealer: I don't think you should look down on me, my friend. Aren't we in the same business? We both furnish amusement for the people.
Marcus: I risk my life with the man I'm fighting. You buy and sell wretches to be slaughtered as a spectacle. I'm not proud of myself, but, by Jupiter, compared to you I'm a holy man.
Cleon, the Slave Dealer: You will never be an old one. It isn't bravery that survives; it's brains.
Marcus: Yes, it is well known that the rat lives longer than the lion, but who wants to be a rat? I wouldn't do your dirty work -...

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Crazy Credits

The foreword at the beginning of the film is a disclaimer stating that this film is not based on Bulwer-Lytton's novel at all. (It does not use the novel's plot, nor does it have any of the novel's characters.) However, the disclaimer goes on to say that the filmmakers are indebted to him for the description of the destruction of Pompeii.

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Connections

Featured in Androcles and the Lion (1952)

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Soundtracks

Features music from the following films:
King Kong
The Son of Kong
She

User Reviews

Fabulous film w/deep,rich undertones of conscience

I first saw this film when I was a child and the impact it had on me has never faded no matter how many times I watch it, nor at what age. Every time I find some nuance I had not noticed before...it really is an unsung masterpiece. Try to see it with eyes unjaded by years of excess on the movie screen...for its time it had great special effects..a wonderful script, interesting casting...none so much as Basil Rathbone as Pontius Pilate..I have never seen better! Basil imbues Pilate with a sense of duty and conscience that fills the screen with its irony and pain at his dilemma. Marvelous! Preston Foster is often forced and hammy...but it did not distract from the enjoyment of the movie..in fact it was "a style" of acting in the thirties that many leads presented..actors like Fredrick March, etc had the same style...a leftover from the silent age when actors, in order to convey their sentiment used their body more to propel their feelings to the screen. An exaggeration of movement that lasted for a number of years until the realization hit that on the big screen with sound actors could be more subtle with their gestures. The story is , in content wonderful...holds my attention even after all these years of viewing. It is a fascinating story...a progression from a happy, hard working man with everything he could ever want, who loses it all in a very few days for lack of money. Bitter and lost, after having lost not only those he loved but losing his principles too to try to save them, he decides the only thing worth having is money..because it is the only thing that PROTECTS you. In the backround to all of this is the story of the Christ...not meant to be in the foreground but a backdrop to everything that happens to this man struggling with the heavy burden of his reality and his decisions. This is a beautiful film worthy of repeated viewing for its amazing messages...and there are many. This is a thinking man's film, a philosopher's film, a spiritualist's film, and a film for every man and woman searching for answers to the question "why?" What it ultimately leaves you with is HOPE. This is a KEEPER.