The Robe (1953)

Having declined in religiosity, I don't watch film adaptations of Christian legends/books as much as I used to. But a good swords-and-sandals epic doesn't require devout Christianity for entertainment. Heck, Quo Vadis? (1951) had a Jewish director. Perhaps the panned re-remake of Ben-Hur helped inspire me to try another one (along with the streaming deadline).

The protagonist is Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton), the tribune who oversees the crucifixion of Jesus, despite pleas from slave Demetrius (Victor Mature). As soon as Marcellus puts on Jesus' robe in the rain, he is beset with mental and physical symptoms. The illness remains in some measure long after Demetrius runs off with the robe. Marcellus hopes to find and destroy the robe for a cure, but his journey exposes him to more and more Christian love and piety, including that of Peter (Michael "Klaatu" Rennie). It's no spoiler to say that he converts -- leaving plenty of time for conflict with other Romans, including mutual crush Diana (Jean Simmons) and Emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson).

I am fairly impressed at the depiction of Marcellus, thanks not just to Burton's Oscar-nominated talent. Early on, he shows virtue and vice in about equal measure. For example, he knocks down an escaping auction slave but then bids a high price to effectively free him against Caligula's express wishes. His behavior at Calgary is mostly a matter of following orders and trusting the judgment of Pilate (Richard Boone), with a little peer pressure from inveterate crucifiers. If I didn't already have a good idea of his story, I'd put even money on him becoming a pure villain. His change of attitude faces a lot of internal resistance, making him angrier than usual but also more generous.

Unlike most biblical epics I could name, this one does not make utterly clear that the alleged miracles are real. Marcellus merely hears testimony that Jesus has risen and cured many people. No one says how Peter outdoes a doctor at healing. Even the "curse" of the robe is likely just guilt.

I take particular interest in the story of one woman who retained her disability after meeting Jesus but turned from cranky to cheery. Marcellus understandably asks why he'd leave her at that. Her answer: to demonstrate that even "cripples" can be generally happy. That's a good lesson to teach to this day, albeit with a caveat against the opposite misconception (some extremists actually disable themselves for "fulfillment").

So why does TR have a middling IMDb rating and a low Rotten Tomatoes rating? Well, it doesn't reach out a whole lot to the nonbelievers. It's on the slow side, with little on-screen development of the romance between Marcellus and Diana. The few moments of action leave something to be desired, and I have to question whether early Christians, even if soldiers, would free a prisoner by brute force. The movie seems to spend an unusually high percentage of time preaching.

Director Henry Koster must enjoy more popularity for funnier plots and smaller scopes like in The Bishop's Wife, Harvey, and The Inspector General. But I for one didn't mind this; only TBW appeals to me more. I can see why TR won a few prestigious awards (mostly for visual aspects) and was nominated for several others.