Sheba and the Gladiator (1959) Nel segno di Roma (original title)

Director:

Guido Brignone
(more)

Writers:

Francesco Thellung (writer) and
Francesco De Feo (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 September 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

SEE! THE DESTRUCTION OF A MIGHTY PAGAN EMPIRE

Plot:

Zenobia, Queen of Palmira, revolts against Rome and defeats the Roman troops... But she makes a big mistake when she falls in love with enemy officer Marco Valerio.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Catapult | Bare Chested Male | Grindstone | Treason

Cast

Anita Ekberg	...	Zenobia, Queen of Palmira
Georges Marchal	...	Marcus Valerius, Roman Consul
Folco Lulli	...	Zemanzius, Zenobia's Prime Minister
Chelo Alonso	...	Erica, Zemanzius' Favourite and Dancer
Gino Cervi	...	Aurelianus, Emperor of Rome
Jacques Sernas	...	Julianus, Roman Centurian
Lorella De Luca	...	Bathsheba, the Vestal
Alberto Farnese	...	Marcello
Paul Muller	...	Slave Master
Mimmo Palmara	...	Lator
Alfredo Varelli	...	Vithos
Sergio Sauro	...	Flavio
Arturo Bragaglia
Remo De Angelis

Directed by
Guido Brignone
Michelangelo Antonioni		(uncredited)
Riccardo Freda		(uncredited)
Vittorio Musy Glori		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Francesco Thellung		(writer) and
Francesco De Feo		(writer) and
Sergio Leone		(writer) and
Giuseppe Mangione		(writer) and
Guido Brignone		(writer)

Produced by
Enzo Merolle	....	producer

Original Music by
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino

Cinematography by
Luciano Trasatti

Film Editing by
Nino Baragli

Art Direction by
Ottavio Scotti

Set Decoration by
Ugo Pericoli

Costume Design by
Vittorio Nino Novarese

Makeup Department
Giuliano Laurenti	....	key makeup artist
Ada Palombi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Fernando Cinquini	....	production supervisor
Rino Merolle	....	production manager
Sergio Merolle	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Riccardo Freda	....	assistant director: battle scenes
Michele Lupo	....	assistant director
Sergio Leone	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Mario Amari	....	sound
Adriano Taloni	....	sound

Special Effects by
Joseph Nathanson	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Franco Villa	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Enzo Bulgarelli	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Gigliola Rosmino	....	editing secretary

Music Department
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino	....	musical director

Other crew
Guido Brignone	....	general supervisor
Sante Chimirri	....	production assistant
Tonino Garzarelli	....	production assistant
Claude Marchand	....	choreographer
Gianfranco Bellini	....	voice dubbing: Sergio Sauro (uncredited)
Giorgio Capecchi	....	voice dubbing: Folco Lulli (uncredited)
Emilio Cigoli	....	voice dubbing: Georges Marchal (uncredited)
Dhia Cristiani	....	voice dubbing: Chelo Alonso (uncredited)
Maria Pia Di Meo	....	voice dubbing: Lorella De Luca (uncredited)
Nando Gazzolo	....	voice dubbing: Alberto Farnese (uncredited)
Pino Locchi	....	voice dubbing: Jacques Sernas (uncredited)
Glauco Onorato	....	voice dubbing: Mimmo Palmara (uncredited)
Giuseppe Rinaldi	....	voice dubbing: (uncredited)
Giuseppe Rinaldi	....	voice dubbing: Alfredo Varelli (uncredited)
Lidia Simoneschi	....	voice dubbing: Anita Ekberg (uncredited)
Renato Turi	....	voice dubbing: Arturo Dominici (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Glomer Film
• Lux Film (co-production)
• Societé Cinématographique Lyre (co-production)
• Tele Film GmbH (co-production)
• Dubrava Film (in association with)

Distributors

• Glomer Film (1959) (Italy) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (as "Sign of the Gladiator")
• Deutscher Filmring (DEFIR) (1959) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (1959) (France) (theatrical)
• Sascha Filmverleih (1959) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Pompei Video (1980) (France) (VHS)
• VIP (1980) (France) (VHS)
• Pompei Video (1982) (France) (VHS)
• Magic Video (1991) (Germany) (video) (dubbed in German)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Nel segno di Roma" - Italy (original title)
"Sign of Rome" - International (English title) (informal literal title)
"Sign of the Gladiator" - USA

Runtime:

98 min | West Germany:92 min | UK:85 min

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany | Yugoslavia

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Globus-Dubravafilm, Zagreb, Croatia

Company:

Glomer Film

Trivia:

The producers were unsatisfied with some of the action footage, and Michelangelo Antonioni, at the time a respected second-unit director, was called in for re-shoots of some interior scenes.

Quotes:

Julianus, Roman Centurian:Tell me, have you news of the Consul Valerius? They haven't killed him yet, have they, Bathsheba?
Bathsheba, the Vestal:Worse. He's a slave in the mines.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

Soundtrack:

Xenobia

Half a century later, is it worth?

I believe it is. Even reduced in it's intended length, the film has a number of curious elements to make it worth while even today. It was one of the first great productions from the "peplum" film industry, in this case in association with German, French, and Jugoslav studios. The army action relied entirely on men and horses, and also the war machines and traps that are here quiet realistic - catapults and multi-spear throwers, mainly (Stalin Organs, avant la lettre). Then, for arty fans, this is a good way to see where did Michelangelo Antonioni start perfecting his interior shots of dialogue; if you watch the German video copy (one of the best colors and editing around) without knowing the language (as I did), you'll notice that the interior shots are never boring - although you get to see some very poor "Egyptian" wall paintings... Finally, the two most prominent topics for most male viewers: Anita Ekberg riding a horse in mini-skirt, wearing daring low-cut evening dresses, and getting her man with a kiss, and a vengeful spear; Chelo Alonso proving in 4 minutes (longer, in the original version) how to be the focus of attention of the film industry with just one choreography... She mixes hand movements from Indian dance, with minimalist ballet and Turkish belly-dance to a perfection; she was famous as a dancer when discovered by film-makers, and with good reason.