The Silver Chalice (1954)

A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver, and sculpt around its rim, the faces of the disciples and Jesus. He travels to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome to ... See full summary »

Director:

Victor Saville

Writers:

Thomas B. Costain (novel), Lesser Samuels (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Virginia Mayo	...	Helena
Pier Angeli	...	Deborra
Jack Palance	...	Simon The Magician
Paul Newman	...	Basil
Walter Hampden	...	Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph Wiseman	...	Mijamin
Alexander Scourby	...	Luke
Lorne Greene	...	Peter
David J. Stewart	...	Adam
Herbert Rudley	...	Linus
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Nero
E.G. Marshall	...	Ignatius
Michael Pate	...	Aaron Ben Joseph
Natalie Wood	...	Helena as a Girl
Peter Raynolds	...	Basil as a boy

Storyline

A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver, and sculpt around its rim, the faces of the disciples and Jesus. He travels to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome to complete the task. Meanwhile, a nefarious interloper is trying to convince the crowds that he is the new Messiah, by using nothing more than cheap parlor tricks.

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Plot Keywords:

trick | silver | messiah | greek | disciple | 

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Taglines:

EVERY BREATHLESS MOMENT OF THOMAS B. COSTAIN'S BEST-SELLER! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Basilus - Held von Rom

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victor Saville Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min 115 min (cut) 129 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film as director for Victor Saville.

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Goofs

The bald eagle is not native to Italy.

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Quotes

Kester: There's no place like Rome...

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Crazy Credits

and introducing Paul Newman

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Connections

Referenced in Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic (1993)

User Reviews

A mixed bag, if there ever was one!

Managed to catch this film at a neighborhood theater after its first-run release and, even then, was quite stupefied by its extremely odd brew of elements: some fairly good acting (though it's no wonder Paul Newman disowned it at the time and has probably paid to have it permanently suppressed...It hasn't been scheduled on American Movie Classics, for instance, in years!); some elaborate-looking, old-timey costumes clashing with Rolf Gerard's massive sets (He was apparently told to give them a "modern" look.); the great set piece of the magician, Simon (lovingly hammed by Jack Palance), "flying" off the top of a skyscraping tower; a blonde Natalie Wood (Who thought she looked good THAT way?!?); and one of Franz Waxman's sweeping orchestral scores, taking advantage of the stereophonic sound system used for the magnetic prints. Unless A.M.C. decides to show this letter-boxed again (something they now almost never do anymore with the widescreen films they schedule...Fie on them!), the imaginative use of CinemaScope by director Victor Saville and his cinematographer, William V. Skall, will be lost to cinema-viewing antiquity. (No doubt the VHS tape is, shudder!, "formatted.")