It's that time of the year! Now playing on a TV near you, big, spectacular biblical epics, the likes of which will never be made again.
Up first is The Robe, the fictional story of a Roman Tribune who was responsible for conducting the Crucifixion of Jesus. At the Cross he gambles for Jesus's robe and wins. But upon touching it he is filled with searing pain and mental anguish. He believes the robe is cursed, but learns, when he is converted to Christianity, that it was his own guilt that was causing him to suffer. Richard Burton is Marcellus, the "reborn" Tribune who goes from a drunken and dissolute man to a believer in Christ who willingly sacrifices himself for his beliefs. Burton gives his usual over the top, ham handed, wooden performance. On the other hand matinee idol Victor Mature is excellent, in his one great role, as the slave Demetrius who rebels against Marcellus in search of Christ.
The Robe also stars Jean Simmons, Micheal Rennie as Peter and Jay Robinson as the raving emperor Caligula. While a little dated in the acting style and having the artificial look of a studio film (later films such as Ben-Hur, The King Of Kings and The Greatest Story Ever Told were filmed on location) The Robe is still a moving religious portrait and dramatic entertainment in it's own right.
The Robe was the first movie ever to be made in a widescreen process. 20th Century Fox trademarked the name CinemaScope for a screen process that made the image almost twice the size as standard film. This was in answer to the encroaching competition of television. The studios needed to find a way to get people out of the homes and back into theatres. You will notice the poster offers "The modern miracle you see without glasses" referring to the early attempts at 3-D movies.
The Robe was followed by a sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators with mature, Robinson and Rennie reprising their roles.
At the Movie House *** stars
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