Sign of the Pagan (1954)

With the Roman Empire divided, Attila the Hun hopes to conquer. In his way are a brave centurion, a beautiful princess...and Christianity.

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (screenplay), Barré Lyndon (screenplay) (as Barre Lyndon)

Stars:

Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tchérina

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Chandler	...	Marcian
Jack Palance	...	Attila
Ludmilla Tchérina	...	Princess Pulcheria (as Ludmilla Tcherina)
Rita Gam	...	Kubra
Jeff Morrow	...	General Paulinus
George Dolenz	...	Emperor Theodosius
Eduard Franz	...	Astrologer
Allison Hayes	...	Ildico
Alexander Scourby	...	Chrysaphius
Howard Petrie	...	Gundahar
Michael Ansara	...	Edecon
Leo Gordon	...	Bleda
Moroni Olsen	...	Pope Leo I
Fred Nurney	...	Chamberlain
Sara Shane	...	Myra

Storyline

Roman centurion Marcian is captured by Attila the Hun en route to Constantinople, but escapes. On arrival, he finds the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius plotting with Attila to look the other way while the latter marches against Rome. But Marcian gains the favor of Pulcheria, lovely sister of Theodosius, who favors a united Empire. As Attila marches, things look bleak for the weakened imperial forces. But the conqueror has an awe of the power of the Christians' God...

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Plot Keywords:

constantinople | istanbul | byzantine empire | theodosian dynasty | marcian | 

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Taglines:

Against the ravaging hordes of ATTILA...stood a warrior's might and a people's faith! Against his ruthless pagan lusts...the power of a woman's love!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atila frente a Roma

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Moroni Olsen.

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Goofs

All of the mounted troops have stirrups, which would not come into use in Europe for at least another four hundred years.

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Quotes

Pope Leo I: [to Attila] If God is with *you*, then Rome *will* be destroyed!

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Crazy Credits

After the list of actors at the start of the film it says: "AND Statesmen, Citizens, Soldiers of the Armies of the Roman Empire and the Hordes of Attila"

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Connections

Referenced in The Long Day Closes (1992)

User Reviews

one of the better Roman epics of the 1950s

An enjoyable spectacle, though some of the plot was a bit unconvincing. For a tough guy, Marcian was very eager to volunteer details of his mission when he was captured by Attila, and I don't know he he got intelligence of the pagan hordes' move on Rome and was able to rush some of his troops to its defence across considerable distances. And I was also puzzled by how Attila came to be in awe of Christianity. But Palance made an excellent Hun, and was every bit as good a villain as he was in Shane and Arrowhead. And Chandler has never looked better, thanks to his Roman armour and longer hair than usual. It was also fun to try to recognise lesser actors such as Pat Hogan and Leo Gordon in their barbarous costumes. A good 90 minutes of entertainment.