The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack
(more)

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (story) and
Melville Baker (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 October 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Gladiator | Blacksmith | Disaster | City | Roman

Cast

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
John Davidson	...	Phoebus, Runaway Slave
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Betty Allen	...	Woman (uncredited)
Reginald Barlow	...	The Janitor of the Slave Market (uncredited)
Maurice Black	...	Attendant in Gladiators' Training Room (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Murmex of Carthage, a Gladiator (uncredited)
Tom Brower	...	Runaway Slave (uncredited)
Curley Dresden	...	Cato the Gladiator (uncredited)
Helen Freeman	...	Martha (uncredited)
Winston Hibler	...	Marcellus (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	The Lanista (uncredited)
Bruce King	...	Scythian Prisoner (uncredited)
Marc Loebell	...	Lucius (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Pompeii Nobleman (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	The Augur, a Pompeii Official (uncredited)
Margaret McWade	...	Calvus' Wife (uncredited)
Jack Mulhall	...	Citizen of Pompeii (uncredited)
John T. Murray	...	Pilate's Servant (uncredited)
Ole M. Ness	...	Drusus, Runaway Slave (uncredited)
Marie Osborne	...	Extra (uncredited)
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Tax Gatherer (uncredited)
Jim Thorpe	...	Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Merian C. Cooper		(uncredited)

Writing credits
James Ashmore Creelman		(story) and
Melville Baker		(story)
Ruth Rose		(screenplay)
Boris Ingster		(collaborator for adaptation)
Jerry Hutchinson		contributor to treatment (uncredited)
G.B. Stern		contributor to treatment (uncredited)

Produced by
Merian C. Cooper	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
J. Roy Hunt
Jack Cardiff		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Archie Marshek		(as Archie F. Marshek)

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Aline Bernstein

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Howard Smit	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ivan Thomas	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Byron L. Crabbe	....	art technician (as Byron Crabbe)
Alfred Herman	....	associate art director (as Al Herman)
Thomas Little	....	set dresser
Aloys Bohnen	....	art work (uncredited)

Sound Department
Walter Elliott	....	sound effects
Clem Portman	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects (as Harry Redmond)
Vernon L. Walker	....	photographic effects (as Vernon Walker)
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Marcel Delgado	....	miniatures (uncredited)

Stunts
Yakima Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buster Wiles	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Eddie Linden Jr.	....	photographic technician (as Eddie Linden)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Philip Faulkner Jr.	....	music recordist (as P.J. Faulkner Jr.)
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Roy Webb	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Willis H. O'Brien	....	chief technician (as Willis O'Brien)
John Speaks	....	production associate
Russell Lewis	....	director: dance numbers (uncredited)
Elizabeth McGaffey	....	researcher (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• King of Video (video)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #1263) | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Despite all the spectacle, the movie was a box-office flop, and required several re-releases (on a double bill with King Kong (1933)) to earn back its cost.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The central subplot of the meeting with Jesus is impossible, as Pompeii was destroyed after his death in 79 A.D. Given these dates, Flavius would have been a middle aged man, clearly not the youth in his 20's as portrayed in the film.

Quotes:

Gaius Tanno:You remind me of an acrobat in the arena walking on a rope stretched high in the air.
Marcus:Walking on a rope?
Gaius Tanno:Yes, a rope no wider than my thumb.
Marcus:[laughing] I'm not walking on a rope.
Gaius Tanno:Oh, yes, you are. Every poor man is. You think you're balanced nicely, but only money can make you safe. Some little unexpected thing, and you're down... smashed!

Movie Connections:

References King Kong (1933)

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.