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Movie Info
In this biblical epic, a drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton), wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like his slave, Demetrius (Victor Mature), but when Demetrius escapes with the robe, Marcellus experiences disturbing visions and feels guilty for his actions. Convinced that destroying the robe will cure him, Marcellus sets out to find Demetrius -- and discovers his Christian faith along the way.
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Genre: History, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Henry Koster
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Producer: Frank Ross
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Writer: Lloyd C. Douglas, Gina Kaus, Albert Maltz, Philip Dunne
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Fox
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Production Co: 20th Century Fox
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Sound Mix: Mono
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Robe
Critic Reviews for The Robe
Audience Reviews for The Robe
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Richard Burton lends his gravitas to this "we're talking about Christianity and so we're very serious" vehicle as tried-and-true son of Rome who falls for a Christian woman and comes to be converted himself. Slow moving and lead-footed, finally a torturously boring exercise in film watching, however sumptuous the appointments.
kevin w Super Reviewer -
A stunning visual spectacle that should be remembered only for being the first CinemaScope movie ever released, since the direction is clunky, the plot overlong and terribly contrived (the character's conversion is never convincing) and the dialogue so full of highs and lows.
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Behold, people, a film so epic in scale that it introduced CinemaScope, which would be awesome, you know, if this film actually won Best Cinematography, probably because the Academy Awards didn't think that such a process fit for a film like this. I can't believe that, because when I think of an exciting, sweeping epic, I think of it being about some kind of a robe. I joke, but this biblical epic is just about the dude who has Jesus crucified, and Mel Gibson managed to get out the full story of Jesus' torture under the two-hour mark that this film passed by a quarter of an hour. This may be much, much older than "The Passion of the Christ", but this is still that to the extreme, even when it comes to demonizing the Jews, because the Roman military tribune who had his men bump off Christ was hanging out with everyone's favorite Jewish demon. Man, I shouldn't even think about cracking that kind of cheesy, Gene or Jean Simmons joke, because this "Jean" Simmons was beautiful, kind of in an Elizabeth Taylor fashion, which I suppose means that Richard Burton had a particular, solid taste well before he score Cleopatra. Speaking of Burton, forget the Jews, because this film really looks bad for atheists, as I can see some Bible thumper saying that the most inaccurate thing in this (Snicker, snicker) Biblical drama is Burton's character feeling guilty about killing Christ. I'm not even slightly close to being a Christian in Alabama, so maybe I'm not the person you should be listening to, but I thought that this movie was good, although it stands to be tighter, or at least fresher. One has to question just how formulaic this epic Roman drama is, because the formula was still fresh by the time this film came along, establishing certain tropes that would be shamelessly slammed into by future epics of this type time and again, and yet, outside of what would go on to become conventions, this film does most of what you'd expect, with a predictable narrative, storytelling style, dialogue, and, for that matter, portrayal of Ancient Rome. This film, like others of its nature and era, gets a little bit carried away with its contrived, simplified portrayal of Ancient Rome, with sophisticated, but near-cheesily overblown dialogue, and character types. I don't know how thin these characters are, as they are rich historical figures and are very often very well-portrayed, but there is something lacking about the expository aspects of Philip Dunne's, Gina Kaus' and Albert Maltz's script, which pays little mind to secondary characters, and isn't even all that layered with the leads, who, to a lesser extent, join most all other characters in supplementing a sense of melodrama. The film even gets manipulative with its portrayal of history and historical figures, so it should come as no surprise that nearly all dramatic elements of this epic, while generally well-portrayed through solid direction and acting, are riddled with cloying histrionics, which are at their worst during the flat romantic segments headed by Richard Burton and the lovely Jean Simmons, but found to some extreme throughout the final product, trying too hard to salvage a resonance that would be better off if the writing conformed to the subtlety of Henry Koster's direction. Well, Koster's direction is far from consistently subtle, or at least graceful in its subtlety, for there are times in which thoughtfulness leads to a blandness that is among the last things a film this problematically written needs, but cannot avoid, due to limp touches to the - you guessed it - writing, which I was expecting to be tighter in this ambitious epic of only about 135 minutes. Momentum is sound more often than not, but when it drags, it limps, and not just under the weight of questionable pacing, for one's investment faces other challenges through all of the conventions and cheesiness which threaten the final product. It does come down to the script, which is so flawed, and fitting for a lesser film, one that isn't rewarding inspired in most every other department, including the musical one. The awards made some questionable decisions when it came to recognizing this film, and among the most questionable, in my opinion, was a lack of recognition for the score by the great Alfred Newman, who hit some conventions and contrivances, but did what he did best by breaking down a lot of barriers for epic scoring sensibilities at the time to come up with refreshing and stellar compositions whose symphonic beauty is remarkable by its own right, and important in the selling of the sweep of this film. More important in that department is the debut of a CinemaScope visual style, which cinematographer Leon Shamroy anchors through often hauntingly precise coloration and lighting, in addition to a tight scope which is intimate and grand enough to immerse you into George Davis' and Lyle R. Wheeler's Oscar-winning art direction, which is immersive enough by its own right, utilizing Paul S. Fox's and Walter M. Scott's impeccable set decoration and Charles LeMaire's and Emile Santiago's costume designs to restore the look of Ancient Rome - from its high society to simple villages - lavishly. When it comes to aesthetic and production value, this film is a triumph, almost a masterpiece, at least for its time, remaining, to this day, a marvel whose style and technical proficiency compliment entertainment value and immerse you into a distinguished world and story. It may not be especially unique, even in concept, and its scripted interpretation may be a mess of contrivances and fat around the edges, but this story is a thoroughly intriguing one, which juggles epic sweep with rich intimacy as a study on the man behind Christ's crucifixion's coming to embrace the sacred man he killed through a guilt which drives him into dangerous circumstances, thus, there is a rewarding potential that would have been lost if it wasn't for Henry Koster. Koster's efforts are themselves contrived and superficial in a lot of places, and when they're not, their subtlety is somewhat blanding, although that reflects a delicacy that isn't in the overblown script, and is focused enough to orchestrate style into frequent entertainment value, and to draw biting dramatic tension and resonance through taste and a celebration of onscreen talent. Now, a lot of the performances don't help a sense of melodrama, for a number of supporting performances fall flat, but the leads nevertheless deliver as best they can, whether it be Victor Mature as a struggling, but wise slave who holds passion and fury over the demise of a great man, or leading man Richard Burton as a militant man of admiration, love, and guilt, which Burton sells through an impassioned and layered performance. By no means can I promise that everyone will embrace this film, as its script is so problematic, and its strengths aren't particularly upstanding, but their subtle impact goes a long way in overcoming shortcomings through quality aesthetic and dramatic value which make this a worthy epic. All in all, the film is plenty conventional, even in a portrayal of Ancient Rome that is about as thin as a lot of the characterization, and as contrived as the melodramatics which slow down the impact of momentum almost as much as dull and draggy spells, thus making for a script whose shortcomings are challenged well enough by a powerful score, immersively beautiful visual style, solid direction, and strong lead acting for Henry Koster's "The Robe" to stand as an adequately rewarding and very intriguing study on the impact Christ had even on those who brought about his demise. 3/5 - Good
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The often forgotten Biblical tale, The Robe is a "sequel" to the Passion and Richard Burton proves that he can easily out-Heston Heston in the story of a redeemed man.
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