Helen of Troy (1956)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

John Twist (screenplay) and
Hugh Gray (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 January 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

Its towering wonders span the age of titans!

Plot:

The Iliad's story of the Trojan war, told from the Trojan viewpoint.

Plot Keywords:

King | Queen | Slave | Escape | Trojan War

Cast

Rossana Podestà	...	Helen (as Rossana Podesta)
Jacques Sernas	...	Paris (as Jack Sernas)
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Priam (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Stanley Baker	...	Achilles
Niall MacGinnis	...	Menelaus
Nora Swinburne	...	Hecuba
Robert Douglas	...	Agamemnon
Torin Thatcher	...	Ulysses
Harry Andrews	...	Hector
Janette Scott	...	Cassandra
Ronald Lewis	...	Aeneas
Brigitte Bardot	...	Andraste
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Andros
Marc Lawrence	...	Diomedes
Maxwell Reed	...	Ajax
Robert Brown	...	Polydorus
Barbara Cavan	...	Cora
Terence Longdon	...	Patroclus
Patricia Marmont	...	Andromache
Guido Notari	...	Nestor
Tonio Selwart	...	Alpheus
George Zoritch	...	Dancer
Esmond Knight	...	High Priest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Colson	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Peter Damon	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Cristina Fantoni	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Riccardo Garrone	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Remington Olmsted	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Tessa Prendergast	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Leda Roffi	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Walter Scherer	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Dean Severence	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Maria Zanoli	...	Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Wise

Writing credits
John Twist		(screenplay) and
Hugh Gray		(screenplay)
Hugh Gray		(adaptation) and
N. Richard Nash		(adaptation)
Homer		(epic poem "The Iliad") uncredited

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(director of photography) (as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
Thomas Reilly

Casting by
Robert Lennard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Edward Carrere

Set Decoration by
Elso Valentini		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Roger K. Furse		(costumes designed by) (as Roger Furse)

Makeup Department
Bill Phillips	....	makeup artist
Alfred Scott	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Giuseppe De Blasio	....	production manager (as Giuseppi De Blasio)
Maurizio Lodi-Fè	....	production manager (as Maurizo Lodi-Fe)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gus Agosti	....	assistant director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director
Sergio Leone	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Frank Mattison	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ken Adam	....	assistant art director
Maurice Zuberano	....	continuity sketches
John More	....	prop master (uncredited)
Italo Tomassi	....	set designer (uncredited)
Vittorio Valentini	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Lang	....	sound (as Charles B. Lang)
Paul Reuting	....	sound (uncredited)
Ed Scheid	....	sound (uncredited)
Finn Ulback	....	sound (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Louis Lichtenfield	....	photographic special effects
Joseph Nathanson	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Leech	....	stunts (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paddy Ryan	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Sullivan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nazzareno Zamperla	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Amerigo Gengarelli	....	second unit photographer
Sidney Hickox	....	second unit photographer (as Sid Hickox)
Fred Mandl	....	camera operator (uncredited)

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

Music Department
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Madi Obolensky	....	bacchanal choreography
Esmond Knight	....	english dialect coach: Jacques Sernas (uncredited)
Harriet Medin	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Edmund Purdom	....	english-language voice: Jacques Sernas (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (presents) (A Warner Bros.- First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• AFEX (1956) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lux Film  Rossana Podesta by courtesy of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Germany:111 min (theatrical version) | Germany:116 min (with overture and exit music) | USA:118 min | UK:116 min (uncut) | UK:114 min (cut)

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (RCA Sound Recording) (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (original rating) (passed with cuts) | West Germany:12 (nf) | South Korea:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #16968) | UK:U (video rating) (2004) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

Esmond Knight, who plays the High Priest, was also Jacques Sernas' English Coach.

Quotes:

Paris:Make me immortal with a kiss!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

a Homer ' un

It is good for the viewer to see this cinemascope spectacular from 1956 after seeing the new TROY with Brad and Eric. HELEN OF TROY as directed by craftsman Robert Wise is very pleasingly made and with excellent action and spectacle - especially in the well populated fiery siege scenes. No CGI in those days, there really was a couple of thousand dressed and armed extras running all over the huge set. Apparently Robert Wise is on record as having said he took the $6 million assignment because he hadn't yet directed a spectacular....! Told from a different perspective than the 2004 version, this 50s view is from the point of Paris as opposed to Archilles in the new one. It would be like the new one being told from Orlando Bloom's perspective rather than from Brad Pitt's. HELEN OF TROY on DVD has good extras including the TV specials made with Gig Young as a promo of the time. The huge set created in Italy was recycled into SODOM AND GOMORRAH given the orange pillars and layout. HELEN OF TROY has excellent Warnercolour and beautiful art direction. It is a good film and well worth seeing after you see TROY as a companion/chaser.