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Demetrius and the Gladiators

Play trailer Poster for Demetrius and the Gladiators 1954 1h 41m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this sequel to The Robe, the corrupt emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson) believes that the sacred robe of Christ has magical powers, and will stop at nothing to obtain it. When Demetrius (Victor Mature) refuses to help Caligula find the holy object, Caligula has him arrested and forces him to fight in the arena in battles to the death. As Demetrius faces trial after trial, his faith in Christ is pushed to its limits, as he sees no point in the endless suffering he is forced to endure.
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Demetrius and the Gladiators

Critics Reviews

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Edward Murrain New York Age 07/08/2021
CinemaScope as an entertainment media reaches a new dimension in Demetrius and the Gladiators... [it's] the finest action story yet filmed in the new process, and the realization of the promise shown by actor William Marshall. Go to Full Review
C.A. Lejeune Observer (UK) 06/23/2021
The film strikes me as tasteless, noisy, banal, brutal and in almost every way to be deplored. Go to Full Review
Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine 11/11/2019
Sex, sanctity and spectacle are shrewdly mingled in this whopping sequel... Go to Full Review
Alberto Abuín Espinof 08/23/2016
A viciously spectacular film. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 06/14/2015
B
It's hokum, but passes for good Hollywood entertainment. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/14/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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thiago s @Thiagostone Sep 29 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more The H @manunited 02/16/2024 was about to rate it 3 for the tiger fight, but the end was too corny to handle See more 06/14/2015 This sequel to The Robe brings more of what made these period pieces so great back in the day. Along with the likes of Cleopatra, Demetrius and the Gladiators sports fantastic set pieces, wonderful costumes and stories of Rome of old. While I think the portrayal of Emperor Caligula is much more subdued than any other I've ever seen, he is still clearly not a very nice emperor The gladiator games are where this film really gets interesting. While nothing like the tv show Spartacus, being more like the modern film Gladiator, it shows some truly entertaining arena combat. Not as flashy as modern films with action more akin to the stage, it is still a spectacle to behold. Demetrius and the Gladiators is a wonderful film and should delight any fans of older films and those who enjoy seeing the likes of Italy before it was called Italy. See more 01/18/2015 an excellent follow up to the movie The Robe See more 07/30/2014 As a sequel to the robe this naturally continues the themes of the early days of Christianity in the Roman world. It's a fair survival romp for Victor Mature with a mix of romance, danger and action. See more 06/25/2014 There's nothing quite like an old school Biblical classic from the 1950s to evoke those old feelings of nostalgia for childhood Sunday afternoons. Demetrius and the Gladiators fulfils that role completely as it has all the stereotypes required for such a movie. The film is a sequel to The Robe and picks up right from where that story leaves off. Starring Victor Mature as the eponymous Greek forced into the gladiatorial arena, it is a technicolor, bouffant haired, sword and sandal tale that's not really an epic. Truth be told, it's a rather shallow tale and Mature makes for an uncharismatic lead. The hoard of 50s beefcake actors struggle to look anything more than camp and rather sorry these days and this is especially true of Mature who seems to have his features re-chiselled into a slightly more improbable semblance of a relevant emotion each time he's not in frame. The rather tepid Susan Hayward makes for an unconvincing femme fatal as the scheming Messalina and Debra Paget's Lucia is woefully boring. The mood is lightened however by the fleeting presence of Michael Rennie as the disciple Peter (who wisely nips off to see to some business in Galilee for most of the movie) and the gloriously over the top Jay Robinson as the bonkers Caligula. He is marvellous in this role and it is easy to forget that he only played this part twice as his performance as the mad emperor is so ingrained in my mind. The voice, the cloak clutching and the swooshing around the columns makes him like some malevolent, golden sandalled imp out to bring mayhem and havoc to the Roman empire. He's a silent movie villain trapped in a technicolor age and brightens up an otherwise rather dull movie no end. See more Read all reviews
Demetrius and the Gladiators

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this sequel to The Robe, the corrupt emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson) believes that the sacred robe of Christ has magical powers, and will stop at nothing to obtain it. When Demetrius (Victor Mature) refuses to help Caligula find the holy object, Caligula has him arrested and forces him to fight in the arena in battles to the death. As Demetrius faces trial after trial, his faith in Christ is pushed to its limits, as he sees no point in the endless suffering he is forced to endure.
Director
Delmer Daves
Producer
Frank Ross
Screenwriter
Philip Dunne
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 16, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 41m
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