6.2/10
695
19 user 8 critic

Androcles and the Lion (1952)

Approved | | Adventure, Comedy | 9 January 1953 (USA)
Androcles and the Lion Poster
Story of a Christian in ancient Rome who befriends a lion.

Directors:

Chester Erskine, Nicholas Ray (uncredited)

Writers:

Chester Erskine (screen adaptation), Ken Englund (screen adaptation)

Stars:

Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Alan Young | See full cast & crew »
Reviews

On Disc

at Amazon

Photos

See all 17 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
Biography | Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

At the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar, who teaches her how to rule Egypt.

Director: Gabriel Pascal
Stars: Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger
Next »
Hot Blood (1956)
Drama | Musical
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Stephen Torino (Wilde), who is tricked by his brother Marco (Adler) into an arranged marriage with tempestuous Annie Caldash (Russell). Annie is willing to give the union a go, but Torino wants none of it.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Stars: Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde, Luther Adler
Next »
Major Barbara (1941)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A young and idealistic woman, who has adopted the Salvation Army and whose father is an armament industrialist, will save more souls directing her father's business. A comedy with social commentary.

Directors: Gabriel Pascal, Harold French, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley
Next »
Macao (1952)
Certificate: Passed Adventure | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Nick Cochran, an American in exile in Macao, has a chance to restore his name by helping capture an international crime lord. Undercover, can he mislead the bad guys and still woo the handsome singer/petty crook, Julie Benson?

Directors: Josef von Sternberg, Nicholas Ray
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix
Next »
We Can't Go Home Again (1973)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

The most complete, newly restored version of Nicholas Ray's experimental masterpiece embodies the director's practice of film-making as a "communal way of life." Ray plays himself in the ... See full summary »

Director: Nicholas Ray
Stars: Richard Bock, Tom Farrell, Danny Fisher
Next »
Young Bess (1953)
Biography | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

The early life of Elizabeth I, from her childhood until her accession to the throne of England in 1558.

Director: George Sidney
Stars: Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr
Next »
The Robe (1953)
Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

In the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.

Director: Henry Koster
Stars: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature
Next »
Murder on Monday (1952)
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

David Preston, a bank official goes missing for twenty-four hours and has no memory of the lost time, but when he learns that the steward of his local club has implicated him in a robbery, ... See full summary »

Director: Ralph Richardson
Stars: Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, Jack Hawkins
Next »
The Savage Innocents (1960)
Adventure | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Stars: Anthony Quinn, Yôko Tani, Peter O'Toole
Next »
Cage of Gold (1950)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

In post-WW2 Britain, a young woman marries an old flame but after he disappears, and is later declared dead, she re-marries, only to be blackmailed by the supposedly-dead first husband who suddenly re-appears in her life, in need of money.

Director: Basil Dearden
Stars: Jean Simmons, David Farrar, James Donald
Next »
Adam and Evalyn (1949)
Certificate: Passed Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

When a friend dies, a gambler adopts his daughter. Complications ensue.

Director: Harold French
Stars: Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Edwin Styles
Next »
Wind Across the Everglades (1958)
Adventure | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

An ornithologist battles a family of bird poachers in the Florida Everglades.

Directors: Nicholas Ray, Budd Schulberg
Stars: Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer, Chana Eden
Edit

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Simmons ... Lavinia
Victor Mature ... Captain
Alan Young ... Androcles
Robert Newton ... Ferrovius
Maurice Evans ... Emperor Antoninus (Caesar)
Elsa Lanchester ... Megaera
Reginald Gardiner ... Lentulus
Gene Lockhart ... Menagerie Keeper
Alan Mowbray ... Editor of Gladiators
Noel Willman ... Spintho
John Hoyt ... Cato
Jim Backus ... Centurion
Lowell Gilmore ... Metellus
Woody Strode ... The Lion
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Androcles is a Christian who follows that religion's teachings even as they apply to the treatment of animals. Seeing a lion in pain, he removes a huge thorn from the beast's paw, creating a friend for life. Androcles and a number of other Christians are evenutally arrested and condemned to death in the arena. They are to die by being eaten by lions. Is it too much to hope that one of the lions may have a paw that has healed recently and might remember who helped heal it? Written by Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

christians vs. lions | androcles character | lion | arena | ancient rome | See All (26) »

Taglines:

Gasp at its SPECTACLE! Glow to its ROMANCE! Howl at its LAUGHS! (original print ad) See more »

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1953 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion See more »

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA See more »
Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$1,250,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

When shooting began, James Donald was playing the Captain, but when production was suspended for 6 months in 1951, he was forced to leave because of scheduling conflicts and Victor Mature replaced him. See more »

Goofs

The Christians sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers" - a hymn published in 1871. See more »

Quotes

Androcles: Let him go, brother. Our religion forbids you to strike him.
Ferrovius: On the contrary, it commands me to strike him. How could he turn the other cheek if he's not first struck on one cheek?
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: ROME 161 A.D. IN THE REGION OF THE EMPEROR ANTONINUS See more »

Connections

Features The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) See more »

Soundtracks

Onward, Christian Soldiers
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Words by Sabine Baring-Gould
sung by the marching Christian martyrs
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Probably terrible, but, I have to admit, I enjoyed it for its weirdness
19 June 2012 | by zetes – See all my reviews

An adaptation of a lesser George Bernard Shaw play. It supposedly doesn't "get" the original play, at least according to some other reviews I perused. I'm not even sure what the point of it all was (perhaps that, throughout all times, Christians have been annoyingly self-righteous, but at least during Roman days, you could feed them to lions), and it's a pretty big mess. However, I have to admit, almost grudgingly, that I sort of enjoyed it, perhaps just because of its weirdness. Alan Young plays Androcles, a comedic character with a hen-pecking wife (Elsa Lanchester, really playing it up - I have to wonder why they didn't have her carry a rolling pin). Because of his apparent friendship with a lion (from whose paw, of course, he pulled a thorn), people accuse him of witchcraft, and he is suggested to the Caesar (Maurice Evans) as a potential sacrifice. Also among those sacrifices are Jean Simmons, a beautiful young Christian, and Robert Newton, a pious warrior. Young is amusing in his way, and Evans is quite amusing, but the real reason to watch this film are for Simmons and Newton, both of whom are wonderful. Victor Mature is the least successful member of the cast, playing an army captain who falls for Simmons. He looks as if he's about to have a stroke most of the time. Alan Young is perhaps most famous for playing Wilbur on Mr. Ed, but to my generation he's even better known as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in stuff like Mickey's Christmas Carol and, of course, DuckTales. He's in his 90s nowadays and is still doing Scrooge McDuck.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 19 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Action and Adventure Titles With Prime Video

Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed