- Film Review
- Reviewed By Adrian Turner
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3 out of 5
Best known as the first film to be released in CinemaScope, The Robe is a plodding, pious epic, with Richard Burton as the Roman officer who wins Christ's robe in a game of dice during the Crucifixion. The torn and bloody garment works its magic and, before long, Burton and Jean Simmons are hauled before the crazed Roman emperor Caligula. Based on a doorstop bestseller by Lloyd C Douglas, it's awkwardly directed by Henry Koster and scripted as if by a committee anxious not to offend any race or creed. On the plus side, Burton is incredibly handsome in Roman garb and Jay Robinson makes an unforgettably melodramatic Caligula. Victor Mature took it seriously enough to be called on for the sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators.
Plot Summary
Religious drama starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons. Marcellus Gallio, a young Roman officer ordered to carry out Christ's crucifixion, wins Jesus's robe in a dice game. In the ensuing days, the garment seems to exert a strange influence and soon the emperor Caligula hears of its magical powers and wishes to possess it for himself.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Marcellus Gallio
- Richard Burton
- Diana
- Jean Simmons
- Demetrius
- Victor Mature
- Peter
- Michael Rennie
- Caligula
- Jay Robinson
- Justus
- Dean Jagger
- Senator Gallio
- Torin Thatcher
- Pilate
- Richard Boone
- Miriam
- Betta St John
- Emperor Tiberius
- Ernest Thesiger
- Christ
- Cameron Mitchell
Crew
- Director
- Henry Koster
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