Fabiola (1949)

In ancient Rome a love story blossoms between Fabiola, daughter of a senator, and Rhual, a gallic gladiator. When Fabiola's father is killed, the Romans blame the Christians and the ... See full summary »

Director:

Alessandro Blasetti

Writers:

Nicholas Patrick Wiseman (novel), Alessandro Blasetti (story),

Stars:

Michèle Morgan, Henri Vidal, Michel Simon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michèle Morgan	...	Fabiola
Henri Vidal	...	Rhual
Michel Simon	...	Senator Fabius Severus
Louis Salou	...	Fulvius Petronius
Elisa Cegani	...	Sira
Massimo Girotti	...	Sebastian
Gino Cervi	...	Quadratus
Sergio Tofano	...	Luciano
Rina Morelli	...	Faustina
Paolo Stoppa	...	Proconsul Manlius Valerian
Carlo Ninchi	...	Galba
Franco Interlenghi	...	Corvino
Guglielmo Barnabò	...	Antoniano Leto
Aldo Silvani	...	Cassiano
Silvana Jachino	...	Lucilla

Storyline

In ancient Rome a love story blossoms between Fabiola, daughter of a senator, and Rhual, a gallic gladiator. When Fabiola's father is killed, the Romans blame the Christians and the persecution begins. Rhual confesses to be a christian and is accused of the murder and sentenced to fight to death in the arena.

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Plot Keywords:

gladiator | ancient rome | hairy chest | arrow | execution | 

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Taglines:

Goddess of Love in a City of Sin!

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1 June 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fabíola

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universalia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

164 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Lost Civilizations: Rome: The Ultimate Empire

User Reviews

Lions,Togas and Christians!

For anyone who thinks that SPARTACUS and GLADIATOR are the definitive Hollywood accounts of Ancient Rome vs. Early Christians and the downtrodden I heartily recommend Alessandro Basetti's 1949 black and white Italian production of FABIOLA. Released in the Unites States a few years after its Italian premiere, the picture unfortunately was hacked to pieces so that it could afford more daily showings in theaters. What once was a nearly 3 hour epic was reduced to an incomprehensible 90 minutes. Nevertheless, the fairly large scope of the film manages to break through and the striking production design and visuals (even on a poor print in a less than satisfactory DVD transfer) somewhat make up for a severely truncated screenplay. A well-spoken English narration does help to tie the loose ends together. One can only imagine what the original cut of this film was like, but from the skeletal remains on view I suspect this was an above average sword and sandal epic.