Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

writers_reign Whatever the reverse of deja vu is you'll find it here inasmuch as three of the cast played similar roles in similar films within a year of two of this one. John Hoyt went on to play Decius Brutus in Mank's Julius Caesar whilst Jean Simmons played an almost identical role to the one here in The Robe in which Victor Mature also appeared. Other than that there is little remarkable in this fairly affable adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's satire on early Christianity written, as the majority of Shaw's work, for the theatre. Alan Young makes a decent fist of the eponymous Androcles and though he played a couple more leads his career faded within the decade. Jean Simmons made her US debut here and went on to enjoy several decades of success whilst most of Victor Mature's best work (Kiss Of Death, Easy Living, was behind him. Worth seeing but not worth buying the DVD.

happipuppi13 WHen I was a boy,I saw this fable played out in cartoon form and it was pretty simplistic. Androcles pulls a thorn out of the paw of an otherwise ferocious lion and the the lion becomes friendly only to him. This expanded version caught my interest being on the shelf at the local library. The cover picture makes it look like a kind of biblical picture one would find from the 1950s or maybe one of those artsy "Janus" films. It seems to be a little of both plus,in some scenes,something along the lines of a Sid Ceaser (No pun intended) "Your Show Of Shows" skit. There are some moments that are written funny but also some dialog that is accidentally unintended sexual innuendo. (Or was it?) The plot's simple enough. The roman emperor Julius Caeser is having Christian women thrown to the lions and the men doing battle as unwilling Gladiator's with his best fighters. Jean Simmons as Lavinia is the best performance overall in this film. She stays true to her character's beliefs and shows her to be a strong willed woman but a gentle devout Chritian at the same time. That's mighty fine acting line to balance on.Victor Mature as the Captain of the guard is great also. He wants to uphold the ideals that make up the bulk of his duty but because he can see that Lavinia is certainly no threat,his heart softens. Another good bit of acting. The chemistry between he and Simmons seemed very genuine to me. Alan Young as Androcles. I feel his role is meant to be a little comedic but also to be seen as a "simple" man. (Not stupid but just "unaffected" by the bad ways of the world. He's basically childlike.Robert Newton as Ferrovius. A giant of a man who struggles with trying to be a good Christian but controlling his almost evil like temper that makes him want to beat up or kill those who get in his way. Maurice Evans as Caesar? Quite possibly the funniest portrayal of the leader I've ever watched. I'm sure Evans was trying to play him as a male diva who thinks of himself as being one step below the God's he worships. Lastly a still fairly young Jim Backus as one off the roman guards. Those of us born long after this film came out,yes,it's funny to see "Mr. Howell" as a Roman soldier. He does a pretty good job too.The central idea presented here is that being true to either one's faith or one's self can bring about good things and make one able to deal with life's problems and the opinions of others.At the same time,what one believes can also be something that causes one to be blind or intolerant to what others believe. To the point of trying to destroy it. I agree it would have been a good idea to decide which kind of movie was going to be made with Shaw's story. While I do feel it works here on a good many levels. What takes away from it is the unfortunate choice of having Androcles "dance" with the lion in the Coleseum! We can tell it's not a real lion,which ruins the magic of the relationship we saw established earlier. Makes you wonder if the director was going for "a big laugh" or something. In any other movie about Julius Ceaser,the ending would have been completely ridiculous. Setting all the Christians free of persecution is something we know was only solved through bloodshed and the fall of the Roman empire itself. Since this film is only 1/2 serious,I wont slight it for that,even though I did roll my eyes when it happened.In the end,everyone lived happily ever after!! 5 stars here. Godd acting on the parts of Simmons and Mature and fairly well played parts on the part of the others. 5 off from 10 for the sillier notions here. Still,for simple entertainment,I'd still recommend it. (END)

Phil Holmer In reference to a previous comment, the Lion's name, Tommy, comes from the original text of Shaw's play at the end of Act II. Androcles also talks baby talk to the Lion while he is removing the thorn from his paw in the Prologue (or first scene) of the play. Also I think Victor Mature does a pretty good job as the Captain, although some might be put off by the clash of his accent and acting style with the rest of the mostly British cast. However, Mature's style is well suited to the no-nonsense, pragmatic officer trying desperately to save the patrician Lavinia from being sacrificed in the arena. He tells her to lie and recant her Christian beliefs if that is what it takes to save her life; then she can go home and believe whatever she wants. Mature's less polished acting style underscores his amoral pragmatism as well as his worldly desire for Lavinia. He is her temptation, her incentive the deny her faith. That she resists this demonstrates her dedication to her religion.

Albert Sanchez Moreno This 1952 film was the first film version of a George Bernard Shaw play produced after the playwright's death, and the compromises are already obvious.Shaw had had artistic control over three films produced from his plays-- the 1938 "Pygmalion", "Major Barbara" (1941) and "Caesar and Cleopatra" (1945), and his influence had clearly been felt, some would say for both good and bad. He had had absolute final say-so over the casting, and, after his experience with "Pygmalion", Shaw became somewhat more demanding and insisted that not a word be cut from both "Major Barbara" and "Caesar and Cleopatra", a decision that resulted in both of these excellent films being flops. "Androcles and the Lion" clocks in at less than two hours.The casting suffers without Shaw's influence. Because this is an RKO release directed by Chester Erskine, a not especially distinguished American director, the cast features two American actors in major roles, and the clash between their style of acting, and that of the British actors who HAVE had experience with Shaw, is apparent. Some other American actors can be seen in bit roles.In a blatant effort to court the average movie audience who wouldn't recognize a Shaw play if it hit them in the face, movie hunk Victor Mature (yes, the very same actor who appeared in "The Robe" and "Samson and Delilah") is cast in the somewhat demanding role of a Roman captain trying to understand the Christian martyrs. An actor like James Mason or Stewart Granger might have been perfect and would have had the necessary acting ability, but Mature, although apparently trying hard, comes close to wrecking the film and destroying its Shavian flavor. And he gets second billing!Alan Young, whom most people will remember as Wilbur from the "Mr.Ed" TV series, is also American, but is a far better actor than Mature, and although his style sometimes seems as if it straight out of a sitcom rather than a Shaw play, Young does quite a good job in the all-important lead role of Androcles. But was it the Hollywood adaptors, or is it REALLY Shaw who gave the lion the endearing name of "Tommy"? Or is that just another sop to the movie-going crowd who loves animals with cute names?The rest of the cast is just fine--Jean Simmons excellent, and not syrupy, as a devout woman willing to face martyrdom in the arena, Robert Newton, hilarious as a hulking strongman converted to Christianity who can barely be kept from singlehandedly demolishing his enemies, Noel Willman, Elsa Lanchester in the brief role of Androcles' wife, and, in his best screen performance, Maurice Evans (Dr. Zaius in the 1968 "Planet of the Apes") as the Roman emperor. They make this film exactly what it should be.