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.
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.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
In the opening scene in the Roman Forum there is a statue of the Roman poet, Antinuous, who was not born until 80 years or so after Christ's death. See more »
Quotes
Emperor Tiberius:
For your sake I interfered, when my wife wanted to give you to Caligula. For your sake I brought your tribune back from Palestine. For your sake, I now free you from him.
Diana:
Sire, I have no wish to be free.
Emperor Tiberius:
Have you gone mad too?
Diana:
He had everything then. He could have had me too. I wanted him, but I wasn't sure that I loved him. Now I am sure.
Emperor Tiberius:
I see it my duty to forbid you to see him again. As a child you were wise, but now you reason like a woman - foolishly.
See more »
Alternate Versions
When "The Robe" was given its UK television network premiere on Good Friday, March 28, 1975, the version used was the non-anamorphic standard screen version. All subsequent transmissions over the years since then have been of the CinemaScope version. See more »
This is a dignified portrayal about Ancient Rome from best-selling novel by Lloyd C Douglas adapted by Philip Dunne and Albert Matz's literate screenplay , it deals with dissolute Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) , a tribune in the time of Christ and son of a notorious senator (Torin Thacher) , as he's sent to Palestine . There he is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus . From his official duties , drunken Marcellus wins Jesus' homespun robe in a dice-game after the crucifixion . He is tormented by delusion and nightmares after the tragic deeds . Hoping to find out a manner to live with what he has done , and still not believing in Jesus, he goes back to Palestine to learn what he can do of the mysterious man he murdered . Later on , he returns Rome and frees the holy-robe-carrying slave named Demetrius (Beefcake Victor Mature) . After that , Caligula (Jay Robinson) takes him prisoner , but his sweetheart (Jean Simmons) takes time out to visit in a dungeon .
This religious mammoth epic focuses a moving Roman pageant dealing with a sponger tribune , following his stirring career , spiritual awakening and reaches an exciting peak at the ending . It has marvelous images , spectacular scenes , enjoyable performances as well as the adequate cast of thousands . Richard Burton and Jean Simmons are both good , though Burton sometimes is a little wooden . Michael Rennie as Peter and Jeff Morrow as Paulus give sensible acting , though brief , which adds more to the reality than anything else . The best acting comes , indeed , from Jay Robinson , the best portrayal of his career , who gives a hammy acting as nasty Caligula . Colorful cinematography by Leon Shamroy and being the first film to be shot in glamorous CinemaScope . Sensitive and lyric musical score by the classic Alfred Newman . The film deservedly won 1953 Academy Award for Art Direction , Set Decoration, Color and Costume Design.
The motion picture is brilliantly directed by Henry Koster , an expert on super-productions and epic biographies , such as he proved in ¨Desiree¨, ¨The Virgin Queen¨, ¨A man called Peter¨, The story of Ruth¨ , ¨The Naked Maja¨ and of course ¨The Robe¨. It's followed by a sequel (1954) titled ¨Demetrius and the gladiators¨ by Delmer Daves with Debra Paget , William Marshall, Richard Egan , Susan Hayward as the trampy empress Messalina and in which the Marcellus's slave , Victor Mature , makes again a surprisingly good acting and reprised diverse characters as Jay Robinson as Caligula and Michael Wilding as apostle Peter.
16 of 25 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This is a dignified portrayal about Ancient Rome from best-selling novel by Lloyd C Douglas adapted by Philip Dunne and Albert Matz's literate screenplay , it deals with dissolute Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) , a tribune in the time of Christ and son of a notorious senator (Torin Thacher) , as he's sent to Palestine . There he is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus . From his official duties , drunken Marcellus wins Jesus' homespun robe in a dice-game after the crucifixion . He is tormented by delusion and nightmares after the tragic deeds . Hoping to find out a manner to live with what he has done , and still not believing in Jesus, he goes back to Palestine to learn what he can do of the mysterious man he murdered . Later on , he returns Rome and frees the holy-robe-carrying slave named Demetrius (Beefcake Victor Mature) . After that , Caligula (Jay Robinson) takes him prisoner , but his sweetheart (Jean Simmons) takes time out to visit in a dungeon .
This religious mammoth epic focuses a moving Roman pageant dealing with a sponger tribune , following his stirring career , spiritual awakening and reaches an exciting peak at the ending . It has marvelous images , spectacular scenes , enjoyable performances as well as the adequate cast of thousands . Richard Burton and Jean Simmons are both good , though Burton sometimes is a little wooden . Michael Rennie as Peter and Jeff Morrow as Paulus give sensible acting , though brief , which adds more to the reality than anything else . The best acting comes , indeed , from Jay Robinson , the best portrayal of his career , who gives a hammy acting as nasty Caligula . Colorful cinematography by Leon Shamroy and being the first film to be shot in glamorous CinemaScope . Sensitive and lyric musical score by the classic Alfred Newman . The film deservedly won 1953 Academy Award for Art Direction , Set Decoration, Color and Costume Design.
The motion picture is brilliantly directed by Henry Koster , an expert on super-productions and epic biographies , such as he proved in ¨Desiree¨, ¨The Virgin Queen¨, ¨A man called Peter¨, The story of Ruth¨ , ¨The Naked Maja¨ and of course ¨The Robe¨. It's followed by a sequel (1954) titled ¨Demetrius and the gladiators¨ by Delmer Daves with Debra Paget , William Marshall, Richard Egan , Susan Hayward as the trampy empress Messalina and in which the Marcellus's slave , Victor Mature , makes again a surprisingly good acting and reprised diverse characters as Jay Robinson as Caligula and Michael Wilding as apostle Peter.