Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Philip Dunne (writer)
Lloyd C. Douglas (character)

Release Date:

4 November 1954 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Tagline:

It begins where "The Robe" left off!

Plot:

The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus...

Plot Keywords:

Caligula | Messalina | Faith | Claudius | Fight

Cast

Victor Mature	...	Demetrius
Susan Hayward	...	Messalina
Michael Rennie	...	Peter
Debra Paget	...	Lucia
Anne Bancroft	...	Paula
Jay Robinson	...	Caligula
Barry Jones	...	Claudius
William Marshall	...	Glycon
Richard Egan	...	Dardanius
Ernest Borgnine	...	Strabo
Charles Evans	...	Cassius Chaerea

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #16588, General Audience)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

According to Jay Robinson (Caligula), the break in principal photography between The Robe (1953) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) was only three weeks. This would account for "The Robe"'s opening shot of the gladiatorial arena; a scene lifted from its sequel.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): While Caligula (Jay Robinson)is talking to Claudius and Messalina about the death of Marcellus and Diana he draws a dagger and plays with Claudius by threatening to stab him with it. When he puts it back in the scabbard, the scabbard and dagger inadvertently turn upside down sticking out at an odd angle and irritating Jay Robinson, who tries twice and finally rights the scabbard at his waist and goes on.

Quotes:

Glycon: Listen to me. The worst sort of life is better than the best kind of death. Forget your religion for just one day. Kill him. He is no good. Your god will thank you for it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Love's Brother (2004)

A fitting sequel to "The Robe"

Filmed at almost the same time, this film was a fitting sequel to "The Robe," considering it did not have the star power of the earlier film. None the less it loses some of the reverence of the first film, as Demetrius, so passionate a Christian in the first film, seems to give in and give up on it all too quickly in this one. The tie-in of the final scene from "The Robe" as the opening scene to this movie was a good advertising ploy, and the musical score of Franz Waxman melded well with the earlier Newman themes. The powerful insanity of Caligula is once again handled well by Jay Robinson, who brought the character vividly to life, as I remember from my Roman History studies. If the Rome of those days was as charming as depicted in these films, I would not have minded living there and then.

The performances of the cast, especially the minor characters, was excellent, although Mature was still awfully stiff in his performance. But a good sequel over all.