| The Robe | |
|---|---|
Original CinemaScope poster |
|
| Directed by | Henry Koster |
| Produced by | Frank Ross |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Editing by | Barbara McLean |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | September 16, 1953 |
| Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.1 million[1] |
| Box office | $36 million (United States)[2] |
The Robe is a 1953 American Biblical epic film that tells the story of a Roman military tribune who commands the unit that crucifies Jesus. The film was made by 20th Century Fox and is notable for being the first film released in the widescreen process CinemaScope.
It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was adapted by Gina Kaus, Albert Maltz, and Philip Dunne from the Lloyd C. Douglas novel of the same name. The music score was composed by Alfred Newman and the cinematography was by Leon Shamroy.
It stars Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature and Michael Rennie, with Dean Jagger, Jay Robinson, Richard Boone, and Jeff Morrow.
The Robe had one sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators.
The reason Lloyd Douglas wrote the novel The Robe was to answer the question: what happened to the Roman soldier who won Jesus' robe through a dice game?
Contents |
The action takes place in Ancient Rome, Judaea, Capri, and Galilee in a time period stretching from 32 A.D. to 38 A.D.[3]
Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton), son of an important Roman senator (Torin Thatcher) and himself a military tribune begins the film in a prologue that introduces the viewer to the might and scope of the Roman empire. He is notorious as a ladies’ man, but he is captivated by the reappearance of a childhood sweetheart Diana (Jean Simmons), ward of the Emperor Tiberius (Ernest Thesiger), in Caligula's pavilion. As Caligula is the grandnephew and heir to Tiberius, Diana is unofficially promised in marriage to him.
When Caligula comes to the marketplace with military fanfare to take part in the slave auction, Marcellus makes the mistake of bidding against him for a defiant Greek slave Demetrius (Victor Mature) - and winning. Caligula feels he had been made a fool of in front of Diana, while Marcellus feels that he had wronged Demetrius by stopping him earlier when he had escaped from his slaveholders. Angrily Caligula leaves with Diana and the rest of his military escort and issues orders for Marcellus to receive a military transfer to Jerusalem in Palestine.
Marcellus has Demetrius released, and he orders him to go on his own to the Gallio home. Marcellus is surprised to find Demetrius waiting for him when he gets home. Unofficially Marcellus had freed Demetrius, but Demetrius feels honor bound to compensate Marcellus by being his servant.
Demetrius accompanies Marcellus to Palestine, but before the galley sails, Diana comes to see Marcellus, pledging her love for him and her intention to intercede on his behalf with Tiberius. Marcellus declares his love for Diana and asks her to make the emperor promise not to give her in marriage to Caligula.
Marcellus rides into Jerusalem with the centurion Paulus (Jeff Morrow) on the same day as Jesus' triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. Jesus confronts Demetrius as he rides into Jerusalem, silently calling him with his eyes to be his follower. When Demetrius later finds out what the Romans have in store for Jesus, he tries to warn him about the intentions of the Romans to arrest him. However, Jesus has already been arrested, as Demetrius finds out from a chance meeting with Judas.
Jesus is arrested and condemned by Pontius Pilate (Richard Boone), the procurator, who sends for Marcellus to take charge of the detail of Roman soldiers assigned to crucify him. As Pilate finishes washing his hands, he tells Marcellus that he is being recalled to Italy by the emperor and tells Marcellus of the duty he must perform before he leaves. As Marcellus leaves, Pilate pines about the past night and asks for water so that he can wash his hands again.
Marcellus and the other soldiers play dice and Marcellus is having a lucky day. They cast lots for Jesus' robe and Marcellus wins Jesus' robe. Marcellus rests his hands on Jesus' cross and some of Jesus' blood spills onto his hand. As Marcellus steps back and wipes off his hand, he looks up at Jesus as Jesus says "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" and a terrible thunderstorm starts. As Marcellus and Demetrius are leaving, Marcellus compels Demetrius to throw it over him as the two of them are caught in the rain on the way back into Jerusalem. It is then that Marcellus begins to feel remorse for the crucifixion of Jesus. When the robe is on him he has a painful seizurve, and he orders Demetrius to take it off him. When Demetrius does so he has had enough: he curses Marcellus and the Roman Empire and runs away.
Marcellus now behaves like a madman haunted by nightmares of the crucifixion. What sets him off is any reference to being "out there" on Calvary. He cries out fitfully, "Were you out there?!" He does this in the presence of Tiberius himself when he reports to him on Capri. Fictionally Tiberius is portrayed as a benevolent elder statesman, who wants to help Marcellus, so, at the prompting of his soothsayer Dodinius (Francis Pierlot) and Marcellus's own enthusiasm, he gives him an imperial commission to find and destroy the robe while gathering a list of names of Jesus' followers. At Diana's request Tiberius leaves her free to marry Marcellus even though Tiberius believes him to be mad.
After leaving Capri Marcellus is next seen sometime later with a Syrian guide Abidor (Leon Askin) outside the village of Cana. He is posing as a cloth merchant going about buying up homespun cloth. To further his investigation Marcellus pays exorbitant prices for any kind of cloth, even rags. Justus, a weaver in Cana (Dean Jagger), reprimands his fellow Christians for accepting such unfair prices as being contrary to the teachings of Jesus and his fellow Christians give back the excess amounts voluntarily. Seeing Justus as a lead in his investigations Marcellus seeks to ingratiate himself with Justus by giving his young grandson Jonathan (Nicolas Koster), whose club foot had been healed by Jesus, one of his pack donkeys. Marcellus also wanders in on a public performance by the paralytic Miriam as she sings a song of Jesus' resurrection.
When Marcellus returns to his camp he is confronted by a greedy Abidor, who wants to turn in Justus and the others to Pilate, who has ordered the arrest of Jesus' followers. Abidor, who is obsessed with making money threatens to tell the people of Cana that Marcellus crucified Jesus, which drives Marcellus to beat Abidor and send him away violently.
The next day Marcellus is furious with Jonathan for giving his donkey to his physically challenged friend David because he did not yet understand the teachings of Jesus. Miriam, who is sitting nearby kindly confronts Marcellus, and urges him to see Peter (Michael Rennie), who has come to Cana with a Greek companion. Marcellus guesses that this is Demetrius and goes off to Shalum's Inn to confront him.
Marcellus finds Demetrius alone, and demands that he get the robe and destroy it. Demetrius gives the robe to Marcellus, who refuses to touch it, and Demetrius tells him that if he wants it destroyed, he will have to destroy it himself. Marcellus picks the robe up with his sword, and as he becomes frozen with fear, the robe slides down the sword onto him. He is terrified, but this time, as the robe touches him, he finds that the pain he has been carrying since the robe first touched him vanishes and that he is no longer afraid. He feels the true power of the robe and of the one who wore it. In that moment, Marcellus believes in Jesus Christ, is relieved from the madness of his guilt, and becomes a Christian.
The two men go outside and Justus calls the villagers together and begins to introduce Peter. Justus tells the gathered crowd that, on the night of Jesus' arrest, only Peter stood by Jesus. Peter tries to correct Justus but Justus tells Peter that his turn to speak will come and continues. Suddenly, Justus is pierced by an arrow and falls. The assembly turns to see Paulus and a large detachment of Roman soldiers, with the gloating Abidor lurking among them. Several other villagers are killed before Marcellus intervenes, ordering them to stop. Paulus informs him that his orders are no longer valid; Tiberias is dead and Caligula is emperor. Marcellus informs Paulus that an imperial commission is valid even after a Roman emperor dies. Paulus tells Marcellus to make him obey via a sword duel. Marcellus asks Paulus if he will keeps his word to withdraw the troops if Marcellus wins the duel. Paulus says that if Marcellus wins, the troops are his because Paulus will be dead. Marcellus accepts the challenge to a duel. After a prolonged struggle Marcellus prevails. Rather than killing Paulus, as is expected of him, Marcellus hurls his sword into a tree. He challenges Paulus to give the order to his soldiers to withdraw. Paulus, recognizing the mercy extended to him by Marcellus, salutes Marcellus and orders the soldiers to leave.
Peter invites Marcellus to join him and Demetrius as missionaries. Marcellus hesitates, and when Peter tells him that he denied Jesus three times on the night he was arrested, Marcellus confesses his role in Jesus' death. Peter points out to him that Jesus forgave him from the cross in the dramatic words showcased before, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34a). Marcellus then pledges his life to Jesus and agrees to go with them. Their missionary journey takes them through Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, and then to Rome, but they must proceed "undercover" with their base in the catacombs because the Emperor Caligula has proscribed them.
In Rome, Caligula summons Diana from her retreat at the Gallio home to tell her that Marcellus has become a traitor to Rome by being a Christian. He takes her to the guard room where a captured Demetrius is being tortured. Diana runs out of the palace to Marcipor (David Leonard), the Gallio family slave, who is a secret Christian. Diana guesses that Marcipor is a Christian and has seen Marcellus, and she gets him to take her to Marcellus.
Marcellus and Diana are reunited, and Marcellus tells her the story of the robe and his own conversion but Diana only thinks the story of Jesus, justice, and love is a nice story but that the world doesn't work that way. Diana gives Marcellus information on where Demetrius is in the imperial palace, and Marcellus and his fellow Christians manage to rescue him. They are almost too late as Demetrius is near death, but Peter comes to the Gallio home where Demetrius has been taken and heals him. Caligula scolds his Roman soldiers for letting the prisoner get away and issues orders to bring Marcellus to him alive to stand trial by the end of the day or they will all be sent to the galleys.
A physician friend of Senator Gallio, Marius (Thomas Browne Henry), who had been called in to help Demetrius, tries to heal Demetrius but cannot. Marius states that science has limits. Marcellus prays to God and Peter then knocks on the door and ask to be alone with Demetrius. Peter lays his hand on Demetrius and heals him. Marius, a proud man, is resentful of Peter's ability to heal Demetrius and leaves with the purpose of betraying Marcellus to Caligula. Marcellus tells his father, Senator Gallio, that he wants to return and tell his father more about Christianity; however, his father says this will be the last time they see each other because he feels his son has betrayed Rome by becoming a Christian and, therefore, he no longer has a son. Marcellus promises Diana that he will send for her tomorrow and kisses Diana as he leaves.
Marcellus flees with Demetrius but, when they are pursued by soldiers, Marcellus gives himself up so that Demetrius can escape. He is captured and put on trial. Diana visit Marcellus in prison on the night before his trial and requests he not defy Caligula. Marcellus tells Diana of Miriam, the crippled girl who found herself fortunate to be lame; of the poor, young boy Jonathan, to whom Marcellus gave the fine donkey and he then selflessly gave it away to another boy without a second thought; and how other Christians do not deny Christ to save their skin. Diana wants to believe does not feel she can if Marcellus dies. If he dies now, Diana tells him that she feels his death would be for nothing and that she needs Marcellus.
Caligula makes Diana sit next to him for Marcellus' trial. He then tells the crowd of Senators and Roman nobles that there is a secret party of seditionists called "Christians" and how their actions are comparable to the traitor Spartacus. He then tells them that one of their own, Marcellus, has joined these "conspirators" and thus is being tried by all of them for treason. Marcellus informs the crowd that it is true that he is a Christian; however, he denies the charge that Christians are plotting against the state. When Caligula says that Christians believe Jesus is a king, Marcellus tells everyone that Jesus is a king but that His Kingdom is not of this world and Jesus seeks to reign in the hearts and mind in the name of justice and charity. Caligula asks about the robe that Marcellus is holding and Marcellus tries to show Caligula his opportunity to accept Christ. Marcellus tries to hand the robe to Caligula but Caligula refuses to touch it as he considers it to be "bewitched". He orders one of his soldiers to take the robe and destroy it, but Diana asks to keep it instead.
Marcellus informs Caligula that, if Rome turns to the ways of justice and charity, then Rome will be saved; however, if Rome stayed on its present course, then it would be destroyed. To the crowd, this sounds treasonous and Caligula condemns Marcellus to death by the wish of the members of the audience based on what they've heard. Caligula, in an effort to show mercy to Marcellus, tells him to renew his allegiance to Rome and renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. Marcellus kneels to Caligula to renew his pledge to Rome, a pledge he states that he has never broken, but then stands and states that he cannot renounce his belief in Jesus. Marcellus tells Caligula that Jesus is his King and Caligula's King and that Jesus is the Son of God. Diana then accepts Christ seeks to join Marcellus, but Caligula tells her that there are no charges against her. She then accepts Christ and says that she wants to go with her husband to His Kingdom. She then says she will provide a reason for her to be charged with the same crime as Marcellus, the man she considers to be her husband, and then proceeds to tell the audience how evil an emperor Caligula is. Caligula screams out as she states her condemnation of Caligula's rules and then condemns Diana to die alongside Marcellus.
As Diana and Marcellus are marched out of the emperor's court, Diana hands the robe to Marcipor. Diana and Marcellus pause to smile at each other as they peacefully walk out of the courtroom to meet their earthly fate. A chorus of "Hallelujah" plays and clouds are in the background behind Diana and Marcellus as the film ends.
Despite the careful attention to Roman history and culture displayed in the film, there are some inaccuracies: 1) the emperor Tiberius was not grand and decent but notoriously dissolute and cruel,[4] and his wife Julia, who had been banished from Rome by her father Augustus years before Tiberius acceded to the imperial throne, was already dead; and 2) Christianity was not so well known in the time of Tiberius and Caligula, and it was not until Nero that Christianity was proscribed by the Roman empire. There is also no record for Pontius Pilate ordering the arrest of Christians.
The Robe was originally announced for filming by RKO in the 1940s, and was set to be directed by Mervyn LeRoy,[5] but the rights were eventually sold to Twentieth Century Fox.
The film was advertised as "the modern miracle you see without glasses", a dig at the 3D movies of the day. Since many theaters of the day were not equipped to show a CinemaScope film, two versions of The Robe were made: one in the standard screen ratio of the day, the other in the widescreen process. Setups and some dialogue differ between the versions.
The film was usually shown on television using the standard 1.33:1 aspect ratio version that fills a standard television screen rather than the CinemaScope version. American Movie Classics may have been the first to offer telecasts of the widescreen version. Recent DVDs and Blu-Ray discs of the film, however, present the film in the original widescreen format, as well as the multitrack stereophonic soundtrack. The 2009 DVD and Blu-Ray releases contain a special feature that compares selected scenes between the Cinemascope version and the standard version.
When the original soundtrack album was issued on LP by Decca Records, it used a remix for only monaural sound rather than the stereo sound that was originally recorded. MCA, which acquired the rights to the American Decca recordings, issued an electronic stereo version of the mono tape. RCA Victor included a suite from the film, recorded in Dolby surround sound, in its album Captain from Castile, which honored longtime Fox musical director Alfred Newman (composer of the The Robe's musical score); Charles Gerhardt conducted London's National Philharmonic Chorus. In 2003, Varèse Sarabande released a two-CD set of the original stereophonic recording on their club label. The 2009 DVD and Blu-Ray releases contain isolated stereophonic score tracks.
The film had one sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), which featured Victor Mature in the title-role, making The Robe the only Biblical epic with a sequel.
The film was first telecast by ABC-TV on Easter weekend in 1967, at the relatively early hour of 7:00 P.M., E.S.T, to allow for family viewing. In a highly unusual move, the film was shown with only one commercial break – a luxury not even granted to the then-annual telecasts of The Wizard of Oz.[7]