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In
ancient Rome, during the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, military
tribune Marcellus Gallio goes to the slave market to purchase a pair of
Macedonian twins. In the market, Marcellus witnesses the attempted
escape of an educated Greek, Demetrius, and helps the slave master capture
him.
While waiting for the market to open, the
womanizing, cynical Marcellus is delighted to be approached by Diana, a
former childhood playmate who, since being orphaned, has been Tiberius’
ward. Diana, now a self-assured young woman, reminds Marcellus of his
long-ago promise to marry her, and Marcellus jests about honoring his
pledge. Marcellus is less amused by Tiberius’ intention to marry Diana
to his nephew and heir, the corrupt Caligula, whom Marcellus detests.
When Caligula arrives, he is angered to see
Marcellus, and slyly expresses his ire by having his henchman, Tribune
Quintus, outbid Marcellus for the twins. Infuriated, Marcellus then
outbids Caligula for Demetrius. After Caligula storms off, Marcellus
has Demetrius’ chains removed and orders him to report to his steward,
Marcipor.
When he returns home, Marcellus is upbraided by
his father, Senator Gallio, who is trying to reinstate the Republic in Rome
and worries that Marcellus’ feud with Caligula is undermining his efforts.
Marcellus shrugs off his concerns, as well as those of his mother Cornelia
and sister Lucia, but Caligula’s power is soon felt when Marcellus receives
a notice that he is to leave immediately for the dangerous garrison at
Jerusalem, in Palestine.
Before Marcellus’ ship sails, Diana comes to
pledge her love and state that she will intercede on his behalf with
Tiberius. Much to his surprise, Marcellus returns her feelings and
asks her to wait for him.
While riding to Jerusalem, Marcellus is told by
Centurion Paulus that it is Passover, a Jewish holiday, and also that the
Jews are awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. They spot a group of
people surrounding a man riding a white donkey and, when Demetrius joins
them and exchanges gazes with the man, named Jesus, he is deeply moved and
believes that Jesus wants him to become his follower.
As time passes, Marcellus spends his days and
nights in drunken revelries, ignoring his duties. One day, however,
Paulus informs him that the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, has ordered
Jesus’ arrest. Because Jesus has so many followers, the arrest must be
made quietly, so Marcellus gives Paulus money with which to bribe someone to
betray him. Having overheard the conversation, Demetrius spends the
night searching Jerusalem, hoping to warn Jesus, but no one will believe him
because he is a Roman slave. Finally, Demetrius comes across one man
who painfully informs him that Jesus has already been betrayed by someone
too weak to believe in him. As the man walks away, his shoulders
slumped as if bearing a heavy burden, he tells Demetrius that his name is
Judas. After Jesus is sentenced to be crucified, Demetrius pleads with
Marcellus to speak on Jesus’ behalf, but Marcellus insists that Roman law
must be upheld without question.
Soon after, Pilate tells Marcellus that he has
been summoned to Capri. The troubled Pilate orders him to crucify
Jesus before he leaves, and Paulus taunts him about driving nails into a
man’s flesh. As Jesus is carrying his cross on the road to Cavalry,
Demetrius attempts to stop a soldier from beating Jesus when he falls.
Demetrius himself is knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he runs to
the site of the crucifixion and, grief-stricken, stares up at Jesus.
Demetrius is then ordered to bring Jesus’ robe of simple, homespun cloth to
the soldiers, who are playing dice behind the cross. After Marcellus
wins the robe, a great storm of thunder, lightning and dust begins, and
Marcellus approaches the cross. He is horrified to get some of Jesus’
blood on his hands, and becomes even more frightened when the dying man
whispers, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
In town, a rainstorm begins and Marcellus orders
Demetrius to cover him with the robe but, as soon as the cloth touches him,
Marcellus cries in agony that it is burning him. Taking back the robe,
Demetrius calls Marcellus a murderer and curses him, then runs away.
Soon after, on the boat journey to Capri,
Marcellus irritates the crew with his constant nightmares about nails being
driven into Jesus' hands. Upon his arrival, Marcellus warns Diana that
he has been driven mad by his experiences. When Marcellus appears
before Tiberius, the soothsayer Dodinius theorizes that Marcellus has been
bewitched by the robe, and that only by destroying it will he be freed.
Moved by his affection for Diana, Tiberius gives Marcellus an imperial
commission to find the robe, and so Marcellus returns to Palestine.
There, Marcellus, traveling as a Roman merchant in search of homespun cloth,
journeys through the countryside.
At
the village of Cana, Marcellus is surprised when village elder Justus shames
his compatriots into returning a portion of the overly generous sum with
which Marcellus bought their cloth. Marcellus is intrigued by Justus’
quiet authority and learns that he was a friend of Jesus, as were many in
the village. Justus describes some of the miracles performed by Jesus
and that evening, Marcellus meets Miriam, a crippled woman whose embittered
heart was transformed by Jesus. Marcellus angrily rejects the
villagers’ statement that Jesus arose from the dead, and confesses to Justus
that it was he who crucified Jesus. Justus reveals that he was already
aware of Marcellus’ identity, and informs him that they have all forgiven
him, just as Jesus has forgiven him.
Soon after, while trying to convince Marcellus
of Jesus’ love and power, Miriam tells him that one of his disciples, Simon,
known as Peter, "The Big Fisherman," has arrived, along with his Greek
companion. Marcellus confronts Demetrius, who attempts to persuade
Marcellus that his guilty conscience, rather than the robe, has caused his
madness. When Marcellus accidentally touches the robe, which had been
kept by Demetrius, he impulsively clutches it to him and, overcome, realizes
that he is no longer afraid.
Soon after, Marcellus meets Peter, and during a
gathering at the square, Justus begins to preach. Just then, a
battalion of Roman soldiers, led by Paulus, attacks, and Justus is felled by
an arrow. Marcellus commands them to stop, citing his imperial
commission, but Paulus informs him that Tiberius has died and that Caligula
is now emperor. Desperate to help his new friends, Marcellus accepts a
challenge from Paulus and bests him in a swordfight. The Romans
withdraw and, later when Peter invites Marcellus to join him and Demetrius
in spreading Jesus’ teachings, Marcellus pledges to serve Jesus.
Back in Rome, Diana appears before Caligula, who
reprimands her for living with the Gallios and not visiting him in the year
since Marcellus disappeared from Cana. Much to Diana’s horror,
Caligula informs her that Marcellus is now a Christian, which makes him a
traitor to the Roman empire. Diana refuses to believe him, and so
Caligula takes her to see Demetrius, who has been captured and is being
tortured in the palace dungeon.
After Diana flees and tells Marcipor about
Demetrius, she realizes that Marcipor is also a Christian and begs him to
take her to Marcellus. Marcipor then takes Diana to the catacombs in
which Marcellus and his fellow Christians are hiding, and the couple
joyfully reunites. Marcellus shows Diana the robe and tries to tell
her about Jesus’ teachings, but she remains skeptical. She is upset
that Marcellus insists upon rescuing Demetrius, but he assures her that he
owes his friend far more than just his life.
Marcellus and his companions succeed in rescuing
the badly injured Demetrius and take him to the Gallio home. There,
physician Marius can do nothing to help Demetrius and warns Marcellus that
he will soon die. Peter arrives, however, and through the strength of
his prayer is able to revive Demetrius. Although Gallio is glad that
Marcellus is alive, he is deeply hurt by his conversion to Christianity and
renounces him.
While Marcellus is taking Demetrius back to the
catacombs, they are pursued by a group of soldiers, and Marcellus confronts
them alone so that Demetrius can escape. After Marcellus is captured,
Diana visits him in his cell and pleads with him to deny Jesus in order to
save himself, but Marcellus tells her about the people of Cana, who never
denied Jesus, despite the grave danger of being his followers.
Marcellus is then put on trial for treason
before Caligula and the senators, and admits to being a Christian.
Caligula scoffs at Marcellus’ assertions that his king is the King of
Heaven, who believes in love, mercy and charity above all else.
Angered that Diana still prefers Marcellus to himself, Caligula has his
minions call out for Marcellus’ death, but Marcellus refuses to renounce his
allegiance to Jesus. Diana, moved by Marcellus’ passionate beliefs and
disgusted by Caligula’s tyranny, chooses to die with Marcellus. As
they walk together, Marcellus is acknowledged by his repentant father, and
Diana gives the robe to Marcipor for safekeeping. Serene in their
convictions, Marcellus and Diana then go hand-in-hand toward their fate.
Notes
The film begins with voice-over narration by
Richard Burton, as “Marcellus Gallio,” describing the time period,
setting and dissipation of the Roman Empire. According to contemporary
news items, producer Frank Ross first purchased the screen rights to Lloyd
C. Douglas’ best-selling novel for $100,000 in 1942, before Douglas had even
completed writing it. A November 19, 1944 LAT article reported that
Ross included postcards in copies of Douglas’ novel, asking readers to
respond and tell him what parts of the book made the greatest impression, in
order to “keep faith” with the book’s legions of fans when interpreting it
for the screen. Douglas (1877 - 1951) was one of the most popular
novelists in the United States in the 1930s and several of his books, such
as
Magnificent Obsession, Green Light and White Manners, were
also turned into films. Although The Robe, both as a novel and
film, contains many fictional characters, characters such as "Peter, The Big
Fisherman" and "Miriam," and incidents such as Christ's robe being gambled
for by Roman soldiers are taken from passages in the New Testament of the
Bible or Christian religious tradition.
On September 10, 1944, NYT reported that when Ross
purchased the rights to The Robe, he entered into a joint financing and
distribution deal with RKO. The article noted that Mervyn LeRoy was to
direct the picture, which was to begin production early in 1945 and cost
approximately $4,000,000. NYT also stated that problems encountered during
pre-production included the large cast requirements and difficulties in
obtaining enough costumes due to wartime shortages of materials and dyes.
LAT also noted that at the point, Ross had been offered up to $1,000,000 by
various production companies for the rights to the book but declined to
sell.
By July 1945, MPH announced that Ross was hoping for a January 1946 start
date, with the picture to be released in the fall of 1947. The article noted
that writers Ernest Vadja and Albert Maltz had worked with Ross on the
screenplay, and were attempting to whittle it down from a six-hour running
time to three-and-a-half hours. It is unlikely that Vadja contributed to the
completed picture, but according to a April 3, 1997 DV news item, Maltz, who
was blacklisted in the 1950s, did contribute to the finished film, and the
credits were restored by the Writers Guild of America and corrected to
reflect that he and Philip Dunne co-wrote the screenplay, with the
adaptation written by Gina Kaus. (Upon restoring the film itself in 2003,
Twentieth Century-Fox digitally created a new onscreen title card listing Maltz as one of the writers.) The 1945
MPH item stated that the delay in
production had been caused by difficulties in writing the script and by
“wartime shortages and latterly by strike conditions affecting all
production impartially.” At that point, it was estimated that the picture
would cost $5,000,000 to produce and take six to eight months to shoot, with
another four to six months required for editing.
On April 29, 1948, HR ’s “Rambing Reporter” column announced that Victor
Fleming would direct the picture, with
Gregory Peck set to star, and on
June 8, 1948, HR noted that writer Maxwell Anderson had met with Ross on
“production preparations” for the film. (In a 1953 LAT article, Ross stated
that he paid for Anderson’s work on the screenplay himself, and also that
Herb Meadow had worked on the script.) On June 12, 1948, MPH announced that
Andrew Solt would be writing the screenplay with Anderson, and that the
picture might be shot on location in Italy. The extent of the contributions
of Anderson, Meadow and Solt to the completed film, if any, has not been
determined. By early July 1948, DV announced that RKO had cancelled plans to
produce the film because it would be too expensive. It was estimated that RKO had already spent more than $750,000 in pre-production costs, and that
Ross and Fleming were going to produce the picture independently if they
could not interest another studio in the project.
In August 1948, HR noted that Ross and Anderson were attempted to
rewrite the script to lower budget costs, thereby enabling RKO to shoot the
picture completely at the Cinecittà Studios in Italy, which would also lower
production expenses. At that point, it was reported that Floyd Odlum and N.
Peter Rathvon would be co-producing the picture with Ross, and that it would
begin filming in early 1949. In December 1948, HR stated that another hitch in
production had arisen due to the National Catholic Legion of Decency, which
proclaimed that it would give the film a “B” classification after it was
produced, and was urging church members not to read the book or see the film
when it was released. (After the film was released in 1953, the Legion gave
it an "A-1" classification.) HR also stated that RKO owner Howard Hughes was
insisting that Ross repay the money RKO had invested in the property before
he be allowed to take it to another studio for production.
In December 1951, RKO filed for a foreclosure of its mortgage of $960,000,
according to a HR news item, which stated that the sum included costs of
three scripts, sixty miniatures, costumes and the building of sets. The
estate of Lloyd Douglas, who died in February 1951, also entered the suit,
claiming that it had the option to repurchase the rights to The Robe if Ross
did not produce it. In early April 1952, HR reported that after two weeks of
negotiations, it was anticipated that a settlement would be reached whereby RKO would retain the property, but on April
11, 1952, Ross counter-sued RKO for
one million dollars and the rights to The Robe. Ross claimed that Hughes
had made it clear that he was not interested in producing films with
religious themes and had made it impossible for him to make the picture “by
continued threats, intimidations and insistence upon alleged technical and
ambiguous provisions (of their contract).”
In May 1952, numerous contemporary news items announced that Darryl
F. Zanuck, the head of production at Twentieth Century-Fox, had negotiated
the purchase of the rights to The Robe. (In an August 1953 LAT article, Zanuck
revealed that he was interested in The Robe due to the high grosses from the
company’s 1951 production of the biblical story
David and Bathsheba.) Ross was still slated to produce the picture, in which
Tyrone
Power would star. According to a May 8, 1952 DV news item, the buyout from
RKO involved the payment of “an unspecified sum” to Hughes by both Ross and
Fox. A September 1953 DV news item reported that RKO would eventually receive
$950,000 from the profits of the film, and that in addition to a $40,000
up-front fee, Ross had a “20% participation in the picture’s profits.”
From 1952 to 1955 HR, DV, Har and
LAT news items, we learned the following:
Spencer Tracy,
Laurence Olivier,
Gary Cooper and
Robert Taylor
were at various times considered for the role of Marcellus. Many actors and
actresses were tested for various roles, including British actor John Buckmaster, who tested for the role of “Caligula,” and New York stage actor
Otis Garth. According to an August 1953 LAT article, “five hundred actors
tested for the film grew too old before their assignments began.” Laurence
Harvey was to have been loaned by Romulus Films for the production, but he
does not appear in the final picture. The following actors are included in
the cast by contemporary news items, but their appearance in the released
film has not been confirmed: John Downey, Harry Baum, George Cernak, Jerry
Lucas, Sally Yarnell, Eleanor Vogel, Jane Crowley, Larry Chance, Lee Graham,
Hernando Belmonte, Flo Vinson, Orie Robertson, Cleo Ridge, Snub Pollard,
Michael Tellegan, Mischka Egan, Harry Gillette, Wanda Perry, Eve Conrad,
Nestor Eristoff, Ted Doner, Edward Peil, Myna Cunard, Marguerite Campbell,
Fred Fisher, Harry Thompson, Robert Foulk, Edwana Spence, Stephen Popich and
Frances Grant.
According to an April 2, 1953 HR news item and a September
25, 1953 LAT review,
Fox assistant director Don Klune portrayed Christ, whose face is never seen
in the film. Modern sources state that Cameron Mitchell supplied Christ’s
voice, although his voice was not recognized in the viewed print. On March
17,
1953, an HCN columnist visited the set during the filming of the crucifixion
scene and was told by Ross that he specifically chose not to show Christ’s
face in the film because “everyone has his own idea of what Jesus looked
like.” Ross added that if his face were shown, the scene would have to be
cut for exhibition in England, “which permits no impersonation of Christ on
its screens.” The Robe marked the screen debuts of Jay Robinson and Jeff
Morrow. A modern source notes that Richard Talmadge served as a stuntman on
the picture.
Ross considered using the remaining colonnade from the 1915 World’s
Fair on San Francisco’s Treasure Island as the “background for Roman Temple
location shots,” and footage of the Big Sur coastline to represent the coast
of Capri. It is unlikely, however, that filming actually took place at
either location. On January 14, 1953, HR and LAT reported that construction on
the sets had begun the day before, and that nearly $500,000 would be spent
on thirty-one interior sets and ten exteriors. Eight of the studio’s fifteen
sound stages and sixty percent of its 360-acre backlot were scheduled to be
used for the production. On February 11, 1953, HR reported the completion of “what
is believed to be the largest panoramic background in movie history,” that
of the giant Jerusalem backdrop for the crucifixion set. The chase sequence
was shot on location at Calabasas, California.
The picture’s start date had been delayed several times, with Fox
reporting that it was having difficulties in casting of the female lead,
building the sets and deciding in what process the picture should be filmed. In January 1953, Fox announced that studio president Spyros Skouras had
negotiated the purchase of the rights to a “new French large-screen process
which projects a picture two and a half times the size of today’s normal
screen image and uses only one strip of 35mm.” At first called
Anamorphoscope, the process, eventually named CinemaScope, was invented by
Henri Chretien in 1927, and promised a three-dimensional effect due to its
wide field of vision. (Chretien's process came after the three-screen
process used for Abel Gance's 1927 film Napoléon.) According to a September
15,
1953 HR article, Chretien initially attempted to interest Hollywood movie
producers in his invention in 1928, but they were distracted by the advent
of sound. Chretien also revealed that J. Arthur Rank once held an option on
his lenses and that several other countries had expressed interest in the
process. Rank’s option lapsed, however, and on February 6, 1953, Fox reported in
HR that it had signed a ten-year exclusive contract to manufacture and
distribute all CinemaScope lenses in countries except France and its
colonies.
Fox decided to shoot The Robe in CinemaScope, with full tests in the
process beginning on February 28, 1953. An August 12, 1953 HR news item revealed that
Chretien was to receive one dollar for “each lens (made for CinemaScope)
throughout the world, plus a small annual fee for ten years. In addition, he
has been given a contract to produce 250,000 lenses.” The September
15, 1953 HR
news item also noted that as a part of his contract with Fox, Chretien’s
lab, which had been destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, would be
rebuilt by the studio.
Unlike other widescreen processes, such as Cinerama, to which it was
frequently compared, CinemaScope required only one camera and one projector. Using a special anamorphic lens mounted over the camera’s normal lens, CinemaScope was able to capture a wide-angle image that was “squeezed” onto
a regular strip of 35mm film stock. The image was then “unsqueezed” during
projection through the use of another special lens attached to the
projector, so that the resulting image was at a ratio of 2.55:1 instead of
the then-standard 1.33:1.
The film was projected onto a slightly concave “Miracle Mirror”
screen, which was much wider than an ordinary screen, although the exact
size depended on the theater in which it was installed. (The screen
installed in the Roxy Theatre in New York was 68 feet wide by 24 feet tall.
Contemporary news items variously reported the size of the screen at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles as either 63 feet wide by 23 feet
tall, or 65 feet by 29 feet.) The Miracle Mirror screens on which CinemaScope films were projected were specially designed “to reflect and
distribute the light evenly over the large surface required…thus making
every seat a good seat,” according to an August 20, 1953 ad placed by the studio
in HR. The screens, which had a metallic surface, were also capable of
being used for 3-D or standard format pictures. The only other screen
authorized by Fox for use with its CinemaScope productions was the Magniglow
Astrolite Screen, produced by the Radiant Manufacturing Corporation of
Chicago. Unlike 3-D films, CinemaScope productions did not require special
glasses for viewing.
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) met on
February 5, 1953 to explore possibilities in standardizing the widescreen
processes under experimentation, such as various 3-D methods, Cinerama and CinemaScope, in order to promote “savings for producers, distributors and
exhibitors,” as well as “the best technical quality for moviegoers.” In
order to solidify CinemaScope as the industry’s new standard, Fox offered it
to other studios rather than retaining it for its own exclusive use. The
first major demonstration of CinemaScope for exhibitors, other movie studios
and reviewers was held in Los Angeles on March 18, 1953, with footage of the
New York harbor, a sequence from The Robe, clips from
How to Marry a
Millionaire and a musical number from
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The demonstration was a success, with
HR publisher W. R.
Wilkerson declaring that CinemaScope, stereophonic sound and the new Eastman
color film stock were “the answer to every exhibitor’s prayer.” Approximately 1,000 exhibitors attended demonstrations of the new process in
Los Angeles on March 20-21, 1953, and many reportedly saw it as an
answer to the weakening of movie box-office receipts due to television.
More than 10,000 spectators were drawn to the first exhibition of CinemaScope held in New York in late April 1953. Demonstrations of the new
process continued to be held throughout the U.S. and Europe during 1953, and
on August 12, 1953, HR noted that several major studios were interested in or
had committed to CinemaScope, and that numerous films using the process were
in the planning stages. The lenses necessary to shoot the pictures had to be
licensed from Fox, and prices varied depending on the amount of equipment
required and the number of pictures for which it would be used. On October
24,
1953, Har reported that Warner Bros. had abandoned plans to continue
developing its own WarnerScope in favor of adopting CinemaScope “in an
effort to clarify and standardize for the exhibitors and the public a single
process, thus eliminating any possibility of confusion.” MGM also adopted CinemaScope. Paramount, one of the few studios not using CinemaScope,
promoted its own process, VistaVision, which employed a ratio of 1.85:1 and
was not an anamorphic process. Eventually other processes such as MetroScope
and SuperScope were tested in 1954.
In a modern interview, Koster described how frustrating using
CinemaScope was during production of The Robe, as the lenses had to be
focused separately, and frequently were not in focus at the same time,
necessitating retakes. Eventually a system to mechanically and automatically
focus the lenses was perfected. Additional problems that had to be
surmounted to accommodate CinemaScope were drastic changes in lighting,
placement of actors within a scene and the type of film stock used. According to an August 1953
Var article, The Robe and a few subsequent Fox CinemaScope productions were shot on a type of Eastman negative stock that
proved unsatisfactory. Later films used a new Eastman “tungsten balanced
stock,” which was easier to light during production and to use to print
multiple positive copies. News items noted that, even though The Robe’s
onscreen credits state “Color by Technicolor,” the Technicolor plant only
processed the Eastman Color film, and that technically, the color was by
Eastman.
Stereophonic sound, which had been experimented with as early as
1916, was used in conjunction with CinemaScope. Prior to the mainstream use
of stereophonic sound, primarily with CinemaScope, theaters were normally
equipped with only one or two speakers to project sound. (A notable
exception to the usual sound system was the Fantasound system developed by
the Walt Disney Co. for its release of Fantasia . Fantasound also featured a
series of speakers placed around the theater for maximum exploitation of
dialogue, music and sound effects.).
For Fox’s stereophonic sound, at least three microphones were used to
record sound during production instead of one, and the resulting four tracks
(one was a control track) were placed on the single strip of standard 35mm
film on which the picture itself was printed. (The Cinerama sound
system employed six to seven tracks.) A May 1953 NYT article described how the four
tracks were fit onto the one strip of film: “In order to accommodate the
quartet of sound tracks on the standard 35mm film (Fox engineers) narrowed
the film sprocket holes. Two tracks are placed on each side of the film.
Other changes required are a slight reduction in the width of the teeth of
the projector’s sprockets and the addition of a multiple driven sound head
between the upper film magazine and the head of the projector.”
The special sound heads that had to be installed on projection
equipment were magnetic, but according to an August 1953 advertisement for the
system, after the sound heads were installed, they would eliminate errors in
synchronizing sound and film and could be used with regularly formatted
films. The May 1953 NYT article noted that the sound heads were being
manufactured by RCA., General Precision and Altec and Westrec companies. While the picture was playing in a theater, several strategically placed
speakers allowed sound to emanate from the area of the screen where the
action took place, or even off-screen if appropriate.
In order to protect its huge investment and to insure its further
use, Fox offered loans to many exhibitors throughout the United States and
the world to install the necessary projection and sound equipment. On April
17,
1953, HR noted that at that time, more than 1,500 theaters had already
placed orders for the equipment, and that it would cost between $8,000 to
$22,000 to refurbish theaters for CinemaScope and stereophonic sound,
depending on the size of the establishment. By mid-July 1953, Fox had
invested $10,000,000 “in the development of CinemaScope and in advances to
manufacturers throughout the United States and Europe to insure speedy
delivery of CinemaScope lenses, Miracle Mirror screens and stereophonic
sound.” The studio also underwrote the retooling of manufacturing plants in
an attempt to insure a steady production of lenses, screens and sound
equipment.
By the end of production on The Robe, various sources estimated its
cost at $4,500,000. Several large New York theaters, including the Astor, Rivoli and Roxy, bid to see which would be allowed to exhibit the picture in
New York City, with the Roxy winning. The gala New York premiere was held on
September 16, 1953 and received much acclaim. On September 23, 1953,
LAT reported that the
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was celebrating the film’s West Coast premiere
at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre the following day by declaring a four-day
festival. To publicize the picture,
Jean Simmons imprinted her handprints and
footprints in the famed Grauman’s forecourt, and a special plaque
commemorating The Robe as the first CinemaScope picture was placed next to
her signature in the cement. In order to secure the picture’s only Southern
California run during 1953, Grauman's had extensive refurbishments of not
only its equipment but also seats and lobby area.
After the first week of the film’s record-breaking run at the Roxy,
Var estimated that Fox would recoup up to 25% of its investment in the
picture solely from its exhibition in New York. According to a November
18, 1953 Var, article, Fox received seventy percent of the Roxy’s box-office, an
unusually large percentage for that time. Har noted that The Robe was “sold
seventy-thirty (in the studio’s favor) with a guarantee of 10% of the gross
as profit to each exhibitor.” On January 10, 1954, NYT reported that by December
31,
1953, the film had already grossed $16,500,000 domestically in only 400
theaters, which represented about a quarter of the U.S. theaters then
equipped for CinemaScope.
Har reported in late December 1953 that in another effort to support the
new process, Fox would provide exhibitors with “a complete CinemaScope
program which, in addition to the main feature, will include short subjects
made in that process, as well as a special newsreel clip to be inserted at
the end of the newsreel.” The program would be designed so that the audience
would "be made to feel that it is getting something extra special,” and help
to attract the public back to regular movie-going. Fox’s first CinemaScope
short was a sixteen-minute travelogue filmed in Italy and entitled Vesuvius
Express. It played in conjunction with the December 1953 Fox release Beneath the
12-Mile Reef.
Critical reaction to CinemaScope was mixed at first, with many
critics commenting on the focus problems that were soon eliminated due to
better film stock and lenses. The New Yorker critic complained: “(CinemaScope) works out fine horizontally, but the peculiar shape of the
screen occasionally gives the impression that you’re viewing the action
through a mail slot. Another disadvantage is that the actors in close-ups
look as if they belonged on Mount Rushmore.” HCN, however, termed
CinemaScope “a motion picture achievement of which the entire industry can
be extremely proud.” The Robe itself also garnered mixed reviews, although
the acting was generally lauded.
In February 1953, Fox promoted its investment in the new process by
announcing that all of its future productions would be made in CinemaScope,
with the exception of films already in production or advanced planning
stages. (Not all of Fox’s future releases were in CinemaScope, however; due
to the costliness of the large productions, Fox continued to make “B”
pictures and also release smaller films made by other companies to fill out
its release roster.) September and October 1953 HR news items reported that numerous
Fox studio personnel were laid off or took vacations during an 8-week
hiatus, during which projects for CinemaScope were developed and the
necessary equipment was prepared.
According to HR news items, The Robe was also shot in regular 35mm,
but only so that it could be reduced to 16mm for release to churches and
schools. During its general theatrical release, The Robe was available only
in CinemaScope. By early August 1955, the film was released to special
theaters, such as those at veteran’s hospitals and on military bases, in
16mm, with special lenses to project it in an approximation of Cinemascope,
according to a DV article noting how lucrative the 16mm market was. At that
time, the worldwide gross of the picture was approximately $25,000,000.
Fox’s demand that theaters install CinemaScope projection lenses and
screens and stereophonic sound in order to play The Robe and subsequent CinemaScope pictures resulted in many protests from exhibitors, both in the
United States and abroad. In early October 1953, Skouras assured exhibitors that
they would be allowed to exhibit Fox CinemaScope pictures using equipment
other than Miracle Mirror or Astrolite screens, or approved projection
lenses, if they matched the performance of the equipment endorsed by the
studio. In November 1953, the studio asserted that it had no intention of
releasing its CinemaScope pictures with standard sound tracks, however,
necessitating the use of stereophonic sound projection and exhibition
equipment.
Theater owners were suspicious and angry about the requirements, with
one theater owner union representative stating that as of November 1953, only
Miracle Mirror screens, which were manufactured by Fox, and Astrolites,
which were “being produced with capital advanced by that company and in the
marketing of which it is financially interested,” had been approved, and
that it would be too expensive for the average exhibitor to arrange for an
alternative. In mid-December 1953, Skouras announced that “exhibitors who operate
medium-sized and small theatres will be permitted in the future to install
screens of whatever make or type they desire” in the presentation of Fox CinemaScope pictures, according to the December
19, 1953 issue of Har. Larger,
first-run houses would still be required to use Miracle Mirror or Astrolite
screens, however, in order to receive bookings from Fox. The requirement for
stereophonic sound equipment continued to be a hotly contested issue, with
many protests from regular and drive-in theater organizations. Some
exhibitors even began boycotting Fox releases in order to attract attention
to their demands.
In early May 1954, Fox finally relented and announced that it would
give exhibitors the option of playing its CinemaScope films with four-track
magnetic stereophonic sound, one-track magnetic sound or standard one-track
optical sound. According to Har , Fox planned to make The Robe available in
the optional sound tracks on June 19, 1954. In addition, in mid-May 1954, Fox
announced its decision to begin releasing standard format versions of its CinemaScope pictures to exhibitors not equipped for the new process.
In order to distance itself from recriminations about its connection
with selling Cinemascope equipment, Fox decided in early April 1953 to
withdraw from marketing of CinemaScope lenses, according to Har, and the
market would then be taken over completely by Baush & Lomb and other lens
manufacturers, such as Bell & Howell. Fox and its partners in CinemaScope
continued to improve the photography process, and in June 1954, it was
announced that Bausch & Lomb had recently perfected new lenses that would
allow for more precise focusing and greater depth of field. A June 28, 1954
HR
article praised the innovations and asserted that they would help create
improvements in acting and writing, as scenes could be written longer and
acted in their entirety without as many cuts.
In late May 1955, HR noted that the government of South Africa had
banned the importation of CinemaScope equipment on the basis that “the
government is prepared to permit expenditures for the upkeep on theatre
motion picture equipment but will not permit improvement in theatre
equipment at a cost of much money.” According to a January 19, 1955 DV item,
The Robe had been banned in Israel on religious grounds, but the ban was
reversed after the personal intervention of Skouras. On October 26, 1958,
NYT
reported that when the picture was screened in Israel, scenes were cut that
“showed the glories of Christ at the expense of Judaism.”
In November 1954, Louis H. Lowe, the developer of a kinescope process that
he called CinemaScope sued Fox and the TV station for which he had worked,
seeking an accounting of the profits from the use of the word. Lowe claimed
that the television station had sold the trademark for the word CinemaScope
to Fox for $50,000 and demanded a share of the profits, as well as a share
of Fox’s profits from the use of the word. The outcome of the suit has not
been confirmed. On September 1, 1955, Ross filed suit against Fox, seeking damages
of $470,000. Ross claimed that more than $600,000 of the film’s profits had
been improperly accounted for and reduced his own percentage of the profits. The disposition of the suit has not been determined.
One of the largest problems Fox encountered in regard to CinemaScope
was the exhibition of its pictures in Great Britian. Prior to the new
process, Fox had largely exhibited through the chain of theaters belonging
to the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. Even though Rank began equipping its
theaters with CinemaScope projection lenses and screens, it objected to
Fox’s requirement for full stereophonic sound, as well as Fox’s demand for
longer playing times for its films. Eventually Fox withdrew all of its
product from Rank. Fox then established a network of theaters among smaller,
independent exhibitors, helping them to equip their establishments to show
the new films. The rift was not resolved until early 1958, when Rank agreed
to give Fox pictures more extensive playing time rather than changing
programs on a weekly basis. A February 1958 HR column noted that Fox would
continue to support the independent theaters it had earlier built up, by
allowing them to exhibit half of its output, while half of its productions
would go into Rank theaters.
The Robe received Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set
Decoration (Color) and Best Costume Design (Color), and was nominated for
Best Picture and Best Cinematography (Color).
Richard Burton was nominated
for Best Actor. The studio received an honorary Academy Award “in
recognition of their imagination, showmanship and foresight in introducing
the revolutionary process known as CinemaScope.” Chretien, Sponable, Sol
Halprin, Lorin Grignon, Herbert Cragg and Carl Faulkner received a technical
award for “creating, developing and engineering the equipment, processes and
techniques known as CinemaScope.” In addition to receiving a Golden Globe
for Best Motion Picture-Drama, the film received a Christopher Award, given
by Catholic organizations, as one of the best films of 1953.
Jean Simmons
was named Best Actress of 1953 by the National Board of Review for her work
in The Robe, The Actress, and Young Bess.
Immediately after production finished on The
Robe,
Victor Mature
began work on its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators. Jay
Robinson reprised his role as "Caligula" and Michael Rennie again played
“Peter.” Directed by Delmer Daves, the film employed many of the same sets,
costumes and crew. The sequence from The Robe in which “Demetrius” witnesses
the crucifixion of Christ and the ending in which “Diana” and Marcellus walk
out of the palace are shown in Demetrius and the Gladiators.
The Robe was
re-released theatrically in February 1963, and in 1966, ABC paid $2,000,000 for
the right to broadcast it twice on television. According to DV and
Var news
items, when The Robe was broadcast in March 1967, it was the top-rated show of
the week.
Music includes: "The Resurrection," music
by Alfred Newman, lyrics by Philip Dunne, adapted from The Bible; and "Hymn for
the Dead," music by Alfred Newman, lyrics from the Book of Lamentations. |
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