The Robe

For this entire month, I will be looking at other religious epics that I have recently finished watching. Let’s kick things off with the 1953 classic, “The Robe.”

This is not hard to grasp. The adaptation that Gina Kaus made from the late Lloyd C. Douglas’ best-selling novel and the screenplay that Philip Dunne has made have emphasized physical action more than the drama of feelings and words. The power of Christ’s presence and spirit on a Roman tribune’s slave and, eventually, on the tribune is not done in clear view. It is just made as a guess on the events that follow. The consequence is that the inspiration of Christ’s spirit, which is the essential part of this story, is just through a process of elimination from the powerful music and the expressions in eyes.

Bosley Crowther stated in his review, “And when these eyes appear in faces that often loom upon the screen in close-ups of mammoth proportions, and when the music surges and swells from magnified multiple speakers that make up the system's stereophonic sound, the violent assault upon the senses dissipates spiritual intimacy.”

Likewise, the slow pace in many of the major scenes and the details of the story, which has the movie last more than two hours, makes to affect the heavy senses with a feeling of honest boredom.

Crowther mentioned, “However, the vastness of the images upon the sixty-eight by twenty-four-foot screen, the eye-filling vigor of the action and the beauty of some of the shots compensate with fascinations and excitements that keep the customer upright in his chair.” The performances by the actors are – from everything – remarkably done well.

Crowther noted, “Richard Burton, the young English actor who distinguished himself previously in Twentieth Century Fox "My Cousin Rachel," is stalwart, spirited and stern as the arrogant Roman tribune who has command of the crucifixion of Christ and who eventually becomes a passionate convert through an obsession about the Savior's robe.” Jean Simmons is likable and passionate as the Roman maid who loves this daring man, Victor Mature is well-build and mercurial as the early converted Greek slave.

Michael Rennie is serious and excellent as Simon Called Peter, who they call “the big fisherman.” Dean Jagger is full of faithfulness as a nice convert and Jay Robinson is twisted and harsh as Caligula. Sever other actors are in here in minor roles depending on the situations that Director Henry Koster had viewed.

It is necessary that Christ is look on as a wide-robed person on a faraway mountain and a tortured, blurry victim hung on the heavy Cross. In this regard the movie has pride and limitation.

All of this said, I know that the movie wasn’t well-received by critics, but I thought this was a powerful religious epic that everybody should see. Don’t listen to the bad reviews, just see it for yourselves to find out. Let me tell you, I think this is worth it.

Check in next week when I look at the sequel to this movie in “Religious Epic Month.”