The Silver Chalice (1954)

Note des utilisateurs:

4.5/10   

Réalisateur:

Victor Saville

Writers:

Thomas B. Costain (novel)
Lesser Samuels (writer)

Release Date:

20 décembre 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Romance

Accroche:

EVERY BREATHLESS MOMENT OF THOMAS B. COSTAIN'S BEST-SELLER! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself...

Plot Keywords:

Cup | Jerusalem | Artisan | Slave | Flying Attempt

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Avis des utilisateurs:

Jack Palance soars to new heights in this strange film!

Ensemble

Virginia Mayo	...	Helena
Pier Angeli	...	Deborra
Jack Palance	...	Simon The Magician
Paul Newman	...	Basil
Walter Hampden	...	Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph Wiseman	...	Mijamin
Alexander Scourby	...	Saint Luke
Lorne Greene	...	Saint Peter
David J. Stewart	...	Adam
Herbert Rudley	...	Linus
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Nero
E.G. Marshall	...	Ignatius
Michael Pate	...	Aaron Ben Joseph
Natalie Wood	...	Helena, as a child
Donald Randolph	...	Selech

Autre(s) titre(s):

Le calice d'argent (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]

Durée:

142 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Son:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) | Mono (RCA Sound System) (optical prints)

Classification:

UK:U (original rating) (cut) | Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (PCA #17065, Adult Audience) | Sweden:15

Company:

Victor Saville Productions

Anecdotes:

James Dean was offered the role of Basil, the sculptor, but he and his agent thought the script was poor. Paul Newman, who was a finalist for the role of Cal Trask in 'East of Eden (1955)' that eventually was played by Dean and made him a star, took the role, which Newman later regretted. While shooting "East of Eden," Dean went over to visit Newman on the set of "The Silver Chalice," where he met the love of his short life, Pier Angeli, Newman's co-star.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The bald eagle is not native to Italy.

Guillemet:

Saint Peter: [last lines, Peter is speaking about the Silver Chalice to Basi and Deborra,, and he utters his lines in the tone of a heroic speech] It will be restored, but for years and for hundreds of years, it will lie in darkness; where, I know not. When it is brought out into the light again there will be great cities, and mighty bridges and towers higher than the tower of Babel. It will be a world of evil and long bitter wars...

Movie Connections:

Featured in You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) (V)

Jack Palance soars to new heights in this strange film!

This movie is best viewed on videotape, so you can fast-forward through all the boring parts...which comprise roughly 99.3 percent of this fiendishly bad movie.

The budget must have been tiny, and it shows plainly in the cheesy sets and bargain-basement wardrobe, which, by comparison, make Ed Wood's works look lavish in comparison.

Jack Palance ("Simon the Magician") steals the scenes every time a camera is pointed his way. Palance's wonderfully over-the-top, psychotic rendering here is amazing and extremely clever. His giddy flight from the top of an immense tower is extraordinary, and is the only bit of the movie really worth watching.

"Nero", too, had a few memorable lines, but the rest of the cast is miserably wasted. The dialogue is bad enough to elicit gasps, giggles, and embarrassed cringing from everyone exposed to it.

No wonder Paul Newman gets nervous any time this masterpiece surfaces....

I am being generous by rating it a 4.5 out of 10, and that is because I really loved Jack Palance in this funny flop.