The Robe (1953)

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

Writers:

Philip Dunne (screenplay), Gina Kaus (adaptation)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Burton	...	Marcellus Gallio
Jean Simmons	...	Diana
Victor Mature	...	Demetrius
Michael Rennie	...	Peter
Jay Robinson	...	Caligula
Dean Jagger	...	Justus
Torin Thatcher	...	Sen. Gallio
Richard Boone	...	Pontius Pilate
Betta St. John	...	Miriam
Jeff Morrow	...	Paulus
Ernest Thesiger	...	Emperor Tiberius
Dawn Addams	...	Junia
Leon Askin	...	Abidor

Storyline

Marcellus is a tribune in the time of Christ. He is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus. Drunk, he wins Jesus' homespun robe after the crucifixion. He is tormented by nightmares and delusions after the event. Hoping to find a way to live with what he has done, and still not believing in Jesus, he returns to Palestine to try and learn what he can of the man he killed.

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Plot Keywords:

1st century | epic | palestine | robe | crucifixion | 

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Taglines:

The first motion picture in CinemaScope--the modern miracle you see without glasses!

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century-Fox - DVD [UK] 20th Century-Fox Studio Classics [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

Das Gewand

Filming Locations:

La Pedriza, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$36,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (5.0) (L-R)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although widely regarded as the first film produced in the anamorphic CinemaScope format (along with How To Marry A Millionaire), that honour actually belongs to a French film shot in the late-1920s called Construire Un Feu (To Build A Fire). Based on a Jack London story and directed by Claude Autant-Lara, it utilised a lens developed by French astronomer Henri Chrétien and was patented as the Hypergonar process.

Bizarrely, higher-ups in the French film industry demanded that cinema owners stop showing the film, even threatening them with a revocation of their exhibition license should they not comply immediately. This perhaps explains why there are no surviving prints of this landmark film: indeed, only a scant handful of frames exist to this day.

In 1955, Chrétien received an Academy Award for his work on CinemaScope.

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Goofs

The Emperor Tiberius' wife, Julia, puts in an appearance complaining about Diana being considered "too good for Caligula" and Tiberius mentions his "30 years with Julia". Actually, his wife, Julia, the daughter of his predecessor, the Emperor Augustus, had been permanently exiled by her father for lewd behavior long before Tiberius even became Emperor. By the time "The Robe" opens, in the last years of Tiberius' reign, Julia had been dead and forgotten for decades.

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Quotes

Emperor Tiberius: After forty years with Julia, my approaching death holds few terrors for me.

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Connections

Featured in Constantine's Sword (2007)

User Reviews

Inspiring film

I have probably seen this film over 100 times, and I never tire of it nor does it fail to inspire my love of faith even more. Although the focus is not on Jesus directly, it is through the great talents of the actors, writers and director that the focus IS placed back on Jesus' effect on the lives of the movie characters.

There is not a single performer in this film who is not brilliant. Richard Burton turns in a superb & convincing performance as Marcellus, the Roman tribune whose life is a meaningless series of women and wine until fate gives him faith. And there is no more beautiful actress ever than Jean Simmons as Diana. (I even named my only daughter Diana because of the effect that this character had on me as a child; Diana defined beauty to me.) But my favorite by far was Victor Mature's Demetrius, a role which was so beloved at the time, that the sequel of Demetrius and the Gladiators began filming soon after The Robe was released to critical and popular acclaim. Mr. Mature's portrayal of Demetrius, a Greek slave who would only see Jesus, yet be changed permanently by His glance, helped develop my faith in me as a child.

All of the other performances are excellent and uplifting. It is a great movie to watch with the family and explain all the different ways faith was given to each of the characters. It is a visually stunning film, with beautiful and haunting music (score by Hollywood musical genius Alfred Newman), and one that stands the test of time (I've been watching it for over 40 years.)