The Silver Chalice (1954)

Director:

Victor Saville

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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:

Artisan | Sculptor | Orgy | Wife | Marriage Of Convenience

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

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

Runtime:

142 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (PCA #17065, Adult Audience) | Sweden:15

Company:

Victor Saville Productions

Trivia:

The film debuts of Paul Newman and veteran character actor Robert Middleton.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Saint Peter: In such a world, the little cup will look very lonely.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic (1993) (V)

A bizarre religious epic!

As soon as he arrived at Warners, Paul Newman was hurried into a bizarre religious epic, "The Silver Chalice." Based on a recent best-seller by Thomas B. Costain, and directed by Victor Saville, it was one of the studio's early CinemaScope films, and was really a variation on Fox's "The Robe, " the first CinemaScope movie that had been a huge success in 1953…

The action follows a group of Christians who are dedicated to preserving Christ's Holy Cup twenty years after the Last Supper… The religious theme becomes an excuse for adventure, romance and typical Hollywood pseudo-piety, with absurd dialog, ludicrous costumes, and oddly stylized stage sets that made the film unintentionally avant-garde… All of this prompted one critic to remark, "There are moments of which the Marx Brothers would be proud, especially Groucho."

Since Newman had the lead, he was spared the necessity of working his way up through supporting roles, but it was a mixed blessing… A young Greek silversmith, he is sold into slavery, is chosen by the Christians to design a chalice for the Cup, becomes involved in battles and orgies, and must choose between the pagan world represented by a courtesan (Virginia Mayo) and the Christian world represented by his young, innocent wife (Pier Angeli). There is also a mad pagan magician (Jack Palance), who wants to destroy the chalice and establish his own religion, replacing Christ's miracles with black magic… In the climax, Palance tries to prove he's god by attempting to fly!

Newman (who bears an astonishing resemblance to Marlon Brando) was ideally cast as a Greek, because of his classic features, but he makes his film debut at particularly unfortunate time… 1954 was the year of "The Wild One" and "On the Waterfront," and Brando was at the height of his popularity; his fervent admirers were wary of the many imitators—the moody, rebellious, Actors Studio types who were infiltrating Hollywood…

"The Silver Chalice" almost destroyed Newman's film career at its beginning, and today he views it as "the worst film to be made in the entirety of the fifties," and a considerable embarrassment…