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Demetrius and the Gladiators

1954 · 101 min

A lavish, old-fashioned sword-and-sandal spectacle that mixes arena thrills with earnest religious struggle and melodramatic temptation.

Tagline
It begins where "The Robe" left off!
Overview
The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • campystrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • faith
  • power
  • betrayal
  • obsession
  • redemption
Places
  • big city
  • single country house
Era
period
Audience
teen
Form
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language none
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror3
Humour2
Realism5
Romance5
Tension6
Darkness6
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent
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  • YouTube
Buy
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  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
adventure, history, drama
Directed by
Delmer Daves
Written by
Philip Dunne
Starring
Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, Anne Bancroft, Jay Robinson, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Egan
Music
Franz Waxman
Cinematography
Milton Krasner
Runtime
101 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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