The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (story) and
Melville Baker (story) ...

Release Date:

18 October 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Plot:

In the doomed Roman city, a gentle blacksmith becomes a corrupt gladiator, while his son leans toward Christianity.

Plot Keywords:

Slave | Pompeii | Greed | Greek | Gaul

Cast

Preston Foster	...	Marcus
Alan Hale	...	Burbix
Basil Rathbone	...	Pontius Pilate
John Wood	...	Flavius, as a Man
Louis Calhern	...	Prefect (Allus Martius)
David Holt	...	Flavius, as a Boy
Dorothy Wilson	...	Clodia
Wyrley Birch	...	Leaster
Gloria Shea	...	Julia
Frank Conroy	...	Gaius Tanno
William V. Mong	...	Cleon, the Slave Dealer
Murray Kinnell	...	Simon, Judean Peasant
Henry Kolker	...	Warder
Edward Van Sloan	...	Calvus
Zeffie Tilbury	...	The Wise Woman

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #1263)

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Despite all the spectacle, the movie was a box-office flop, and required several re-releases (on a double bill with King Kong (1933)) to earn back its cost.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The central subplot of the meeting with Jesus is improbable, as Pompeii was destroyed 46 years after his death. Given these dates, Flavius would have been in his mid to late 50's, clearly not the youth in his 20's as portrayed in the film.

Quotes:

Gaius Tanno: You remind me of an acrobat in the arena walking on a rope stretched high in the air.
Marcus: Walking on a rope?
Gaius Tanno: Yes, a rope no wider than my thumb.
Marcus: [laughing] I'm not walking on a rope.
Gaius Tanno: Oh, yes, you are. Every poor man is. You think you're balanced nicely, but only money can make you safe. Some little unexpected thing, and you're down... smashed!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in An Opera of Violence (2003) (V)

Fabulous film w/deep,rich undertones of conscience

I first saw this film when I was a child and the impact it had on me has never faded no matter how many times I watch it, nor at what age. Every time I find some nuance I had not noticed before...it really is an unsung masterpiece. Try to see it with eyes unjaded by years of excess on the movie screen...for its time it had great special effects..a wonderful script, interesting casting...none so much as Basil Rathbone as Pontius Pilate..I have never seen better! Basil imbues Pilate with a sense of duty and conscience that fills the screen with its irony and pain at his dilemma. Marvelous! Preston Foster is often forced and hammy...but it did not distract from the enjoyment of the movie..in fact it was "a style" of acting in the thirties that many leads presented..actors like Fredrick March, etc had the same style...a leftover from the silent age when actors, in order to convey their sentiment used their body more to propel their feelings to the screen. An exaggeration of movement that lasted for a number of years until the realization hit that on the big screen with sound actors could be more subtle with their gestures. The story is , in content wonderful...holds my attention even after all these years of viewing. It is a fascinating story...a progression from a happy, hard working man with everything he could ever want, who loses it all in a very few days for lack of money. Bitter and lost, after having lost not only those he loved but losing his principles too to try to save them, he decides the only thing worth having is money..because it is the only thing that PROTECTS you. In the backround to all of this is the story of the Christ...not meant to be in the foreground but a backdrop to everything that happens to this man struggling with the heavy burden of his reality and his decisions. This is a beautiful film worthy of repeated viewing for its amazing messages...and there are many. This is a thinking man's film, a philosopher's film, a spiritualist's film, and a film for every man and woman searching for answers to the question "why?" What it ultimately leaves you with is HOPE. This is a KEEPER.