Androcles and the Lion (1952 film)

Last updated

Androcles and the Lion
Androcles lion.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Chester Erskine
Nicholas Ray (uncredited)
Screenplay byChester Erskine
Ken Englund
Based on Androcles and the Lion
by George Bernard Shaw
Produced by Gabriel Pascal
Starring Jean Simmons
Victor Mature
Alan Young
Robert Newton
Maurice Evans
Cinematography Harry Stradling Sr.
Edited by Roland Gross
Music by Friedrich Hollaender
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • 30 October 1952 (1952-10-30)(Premiere-Los Angeles) [1]
  • 9 January 1953 (1953-01-09)(US) [1]
Running time
98 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,250,000 [2]

Androcles and the Lion is a 1952 RKO film produced by Gabriel Pascal from the 1912 George Bernard Shaw play of the same name. It was Pascal's last film, made two years after the death of Shaw, his long-standing friend and mentor, and two years before Pascal's own death. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Plot

Androcles, a gentle Christian tailor, is on the run from his Roman persecutors, accompanied by his nagging wife Megaera. While they are hiding in the forest, a Barbary lion approaches them. Megaera swoons, but tender-hearted Androcles sees that a large thorn is deeply embedded in the lion's paw; he draws it out while soothing the beast with baby-talk. While Androcles and the lion—whom he names Tommy—are becoming best buddies, his wife escapes, and when soldiers come upon Androcles and Tommy wrestling playfully, he is accused of sorcery.

Androcles is next seen in a procession of Christian prisoners on their way to the Colosseum in Rome. They are joined by the fierce recent Christian convert Ferrovius, who subsequently provides much of the comic relief in his struggle to keep his bellicose nature in check. Love interest is provided by the growing attraction between the Roman Captain and the nobly born Christian convert Lavinia.

Eventually the party is sent into the arena to be slaughtered, but when Ferrovius demonstrates his powers of conversion—and kills all of the gladiators—Antoninus Caesar declares that all his subjects should become Christians and offers him a commission in the Praetorian Guards. Ferrovius accepts. To appease the crowd, it is necessary to choose one Christian to be savaged by a lion, and Androcles volunteers "to uphold the honour of the tailors". It turns out that the lion is the one that Androcles helped in the forest, and the two waltz round the arena to the delight of the audience. The Emperor dashes behind the scenes to get a closer look and has to be rescued from the lion by Androcles. He then orders an end to the persecution of Christians and allows Androcles and his new 'pet' to depart in peace.

Cast

Note that the opening sequence of the film places it during the time of Emperor Antoninus Pius, but the character is only addressed as "Caesar" during the film, as that was the formal way of addressing Roman Emperors.

Production

Harpo Marx was originally signed to play Androcles, and after the first five weeks of shooting, Pascal was thrilled with the results, but Howard Hughes, who had seen Young on TV, hired him for the lead, and Harpo was replaced. [9] George Sanders was meant to play Caesar but was unable to get out of another commitment. [10] José Ferrer was mentioned for the part of Androcles. [11]

Under Pascal's contract with George Bernard Shaw, the film had to include at least 75% of Shaw's original dialogue in the screenplay. This was not a problem for this particular play since the play was short; indeed, material had to be added. [12]

Victor Mature had a contract with RKO to make one film a year, but this film, while released by RKO, was produced by GB Productions. [13]

Filming began 13 August 1951. [2]

When it opened in American cinemas nobody laughed, so Hughes withdrew the film and shot two weeks of new sequences. In 1987, Alan Young recalled: "He put in girls with gauze and a real lion, and it became a blood-and-guts film." [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commodus</span> Roman emperor from 177 to 192

Commodus was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. For the first three years of his reign he was co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius. Commodus' sole rule, starting with the death of Aurelius in 180, is commonly thought to mark the end of a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire.

<i>Androcles and the Lion</i> (play) 1912 work by George Bernard Shaw

Androcles and the Lion is a 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's retelling of the tale of Androcles, a slave who is saved by the requiting mercy of a lion. In the play, Shaw portrays Androcles to be one of the many Christians being led to the Colosseum for torture. Characters in the play exemplify several themes and takes on both modern and supposed early Christianity, including the cultural clash between Jesus' teachings and traditional Roman values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Mature</span> American actor (1913–1999)

Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androcles</span> Main character of a common folktale

Androcles is the main character of a common folk tale about a man befriending a lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Newton</span> English actor (1905–1956)

Robert Guy Newton was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for his hard-living life, he was cited as a role model by the actor Oliver Reed and the Who's drummer Keith Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Evans (actor)</span> English actor

Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor, noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. His best-known screen roles include Dr. Zaius in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes and Maurice on Bewitched.

<i>Caesar and Cleopatra</i> (film) 1945 film by Gabriel Pascal

Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains. Some scenes were directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, who took no formal credit. The picture was adapted from the play Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by George Bernard Shaw, produced by Independent Producers and Pascal Film Productions and distributed by Eagle-Lion Distributors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Holt</span> American actor (1919–1973)

Charles John "Tim" Holt III was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures.

<i>Demetrius and the Gladiators</i> 1954 film by Delmer Daves

Demetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 American biblical drama film and a sequel to The Robe. The picture was made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was written by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C. Douglas in The Robe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Powers</span> American actor (1890–1955)

Thomas McCreery Powers was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude. He succeeded Orson Welles in the role of Brutus in the Mercury Theatre's debut production, Caesar. In films, he was a star of Vitagraph Pictures and later became best known for his role as the victim of scheming wife Barbara Stanwyck and crooked insurance salesman Fred MacMurray in the film noir classic Double Indemnity (1944).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Pascal</span> Hungarian film producer

Gabriel Pascal was a Hungarian film producer and director whose best-known films were made in the United Kingdom.

Norman Krasna was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's Princess O'Rourke, which he also directed.

<i>Blackbeard the Pirate</i> 1952 film by Raoul Walsh

Blackbeard the Pirate is a 1952 Technicolor adventure film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Robert Newton, Linda Darnell, William Bendix, Keith Andes, and Torin Thatcher. The film was made by RKO Radio Pictures and produced by Edmund Grainger from a screenplay by Alan Le May based on the story by DeVallon Scott.

<i>The Robe</i> (film) 1953 film by Henry Koster

The Robe is a 1953 American fictional Biblical epic film that tells the story of a Roman military tribune who commands the unit that is responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus. The film was released by 20th Century Fox and was the first film released in the widescreen process CinemaScope. Like other early CinemaScope films, The Robe was shot with Henri Chrétien's original Hypergonar anamorphic lenses.

<i>Anne of the Indies</i> 1951 film by Jacques Tourneur

Anne of the Indies is a 1951 Technicolor adventure film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by George Jessel.

<i>The Last Days of Pompeii</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack

The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) is an RKO Radio Pictures film starring Preston Foster and directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, creators of the original King Kong. Although inspired by the novel of the same name by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the film has nothing to do with the book. Indeed, a Foreword appearing after the film's opening credits states, "Although...the characters and plot have no relation to those in the novel by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, acknowledgement is made of his description of Pompeii which has inspired the physical setting of this picture." This story of Marcus, a man whose life is touched at various points by Christ and his followers, is impossible, because of the dates. Flavius is a small boy when Jesus heals him and a young man when Vesuvius erupts in 79 AD—46 years later. According to TCM, few critics complained about it at the time.

<i>Damnatio ad bestias</i> Roman execution method

Damnatio ad bestias was a form of Roman capital punishment where the condemned person was killed by wild animals, usually lions or other big cats. This form of execution, which first appeared during the Roman Republic around the 2nd century BC, had been part of a wider class of blood sports called Bestiarii.

<i>At Swords Point</i> 1952 film by Lewis Allen

At Sword's Point, also known as Sons of the Three Musketeers, is a 1952 American historical action adventure film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Cornel Wilde and Maureen O'Hara. It was shot in Technicolor by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was completed in 1949, but was not released until 1952.

Androcles and the Lion is a 1967 American TV special. It is a musical adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play Androcles and the Lion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Androcles and the Lion: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 THOMAS M. PRYOR (15 July 1951). "HOLLYWOOD SURVEY: HEROINE". New York Times. p. X3.
  3. ↑ "Androcles and the Lion(1952)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Androcles and the Lion (1952)". criterion.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Movie Review – Androcles and the Lion". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Androcles and the Lion (1952) – Critics' Reviews". moviesmsn.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Shaw Society Double Bill Screening: Androcles and the Lion (1952) ..." cinemamuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Williams, Richard. "Androcles and the Lion". silversirens.com.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  9. ↑ McClelland, Doug (1972). The unkindest cuts: the scissors and the cinema. NY: A. S. Barnes. pp. 114–15. ISBN   978-0498078255.
  10. ↑ THOMAS F. BRADY (5 April 1951). "FILM EMPLOYMENT REPORPED ON RISE: February Figure of 13,700 Is Above '5O Monthly Average and Higher Than in '49". New York Times. p. 34.
  11. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (21 February 1951). "Drama: John Wayne to Direct 'Alamo' in Fall; Gable Gets Sherman as Guide". Los Angeles Times. p. B11.
  12. ↑ Richard Dyer MacCann. (4 December 1951). "New Material Is Added For Feature Film: Hollywood Letter". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 4.
  13. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (5 January 1952). "New Boy Wonder Quips Career Along; ZsaZsa Gabor in 'Moulin Rouge'". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
  14. ↑ "Alan Young, star of 1960s sitcom 'Mr. Ed', dies at 96 | Comcast". Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.