Demetrius and the Gladiators

"It begins where "The Robe" left off!"

1954 1h 41m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 96

AdventureHistoryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.

“It begins where "The Robe" left off!”

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Cast

Victor Mature
Demetrius
Susan Hayward
Messalina
Michael Rennie
Peter
Debra Paget
Lucia
Anne Bancroft
Paula
Jay Robinson
Caligula
Ernest Borgnine
Strabo
Richard Egan
Dardenius

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Delmer Daves
Writers: Philip Dunne
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $26M — a 13.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

72 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Demetrius Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Delmer Daves, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Fritch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Delmer Daves directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. Robert Fritch cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $26M — a 13.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
372 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Demetrius Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Delmer Daves, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Robert Fritch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Victor Mature and Susan Hayward and Michael Rennie carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "It begins where "The Robe" left off!".
11IMDB entry: tt0046899 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Only 96 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Franz Waxman
Editing: Robert Fritch
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,990,000
Box office: $26,000,000
Return: 1307% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

Part of

Demetrius Collection

The Robe and Demetrius and the Gladiators bring Demetrius's entire story to life. Although the names of both productions are not similar; the characters and events give continuity to the story. Both productions are well defined in their timeline.

Also by

Delmer Daves

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-07-21
★ 8/10
This was a solid and very satisfying sequel to 'The Robe' for me. I have both a soft spot for swords-and-sandals epics of days gone by, and a preferential fondness for films from cinema's studio glory days of the 20's to 60's--not to mention my enjoyment of earlier Daves' classics such as 'The Petrified Forest', 'Dark Passage' and 'Destination Tokyo'--so this was like a fine red wine for me.
John Chard2019-06-10
★ 7/10
This is a place where men are trained to kill each other like animals! Demetrius and the Gladiators is a sequel to The Robe. It's directed by Delmer Daves and stars Victor Mature as Demetrius, a Christian slave made to fight in the Roman arena as a gladiator (and ultimately entering into a bigger fight, that of faith), and Susan Hayward as Messalina. Filling out the support cast are Ernest Borgnine, William Marshall, Michael Rennie, and Jay Robinson as the maniacal emperor Caligula. The screenplay is from Philip Dunne (How Green Was My Valley/The Agony and the Ecstasy) and cinematography comes courtesy of Milton R. Krasner (Academy Award winner Best Color Cinematography for Three Coins in the Fountain 1955). Following straight on from The Robe, Demetrius and the Gladiators is a safe and enjoyable Biblical picture that doesn't outstay its welcome. Running at just over 100 minutes, the film is far from being epic in its telling. However, and without cramming in, it does contain all the necessary ingredients to make up a sweaty sword and sandals pie. Filmed in CinemaScope it has a persecuted hero, a bonkers villain, a sexy babe, huge sets, colourful costumes and fights, lots of fights. Thankfully the serious dialogue is mostly kept brief, as there a few things worse in this genre of film than bloated discourse on religious beliefs and political dalliances. Just get in there, let us know what is going on, and move on to the next chapter of the story. This is something that Daves' film does very well, it has an eagerness to entertain with dots of gusto and sexual swagger. The acting is mixed, Mature is solid without ever really convincing as the heroic figure of Demetrius, Hayward and Robinson are camping it up and thus entertain royally, while Borgnine and Rennie earn their respective pay. Very much like another Phillip Dunne screenplay genre piece, David And Bathsheba, this one is often overlooked or forgotten in discussion about the sword & sandals genre. That both films are not in the same league as the likes of Ben-Hur and Spartacus is a given, but both have much to offer the discerning cinephile. So this one is recommended Sunday afternoon fare with a flagon of claret and a roast ox dinner. 7/10
ARGMAN2024-02-16
★ 2/10
was about to rate it 3 for the tiger fight, but the end was too corny to handle