Demetrius and the Gladiators

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.

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 Borg...

was about to rate it 3 for the tiger fight, but the end was too corny to handle

Richard Burton and Jean Simmons made sure they couldn't be involved in this sequel to "The Robe" (1953) but director Delmer Dawes did manage to bring in Susan Hayward and retain the maniacal services of arch-ham Jay Robinson to keep this sword and sandals story watchable. If you recall, "Demetrius" (Victor Mature) was the servant present at the crucifixion and who now holds the red robe used on th...