Demetrius And The Gladiators

Drama

Anne Bancroft	Paula
Richard Egan	Dardanius
Susan Hayward	Messalina
Barry Jones	Claudius
William Marshall	Glycon
Victor Mature	Demetrius
Debra Paget	Lucia
Michael Rennie	Peter
Jay Robinson	Caligula
Ernest Borgnine	Strabo

Director	Delmer Daves
Producer	Frank Ross; Philip Dunne
Writer	Philip Dunne; Lloyd C. Douglas

The centerpiece of this story is the robe of Jesus, fresh from a previous film where it had title privilege. In this tale called "Demetrius and the Gladiators," the increasingly deranged Caligula (Jay Robinson) wants the immortality the robe is said able to provide, and the Emperor demands it be returned to him. His sister Messalina (Susan Hayward) is not immune to the lure of the robe’s power and entices Demetrius (Victor Mature), a former gladiator who originally took it from Jesus, to fetch it again from Peter (Michael Rennie). When Demetrius thinks his devoutly Christian love (Debra Paget) is dead, he loses all faith and returns to the gladiatorial arena at the behest of Messalina. When Demetrius gives the robe to Caligula, he quickly learns there are no magical powers. As a result, the emperor orders Strabo (Ernest Borgnine) to kill Demetrius in the arena, but faith may restore all the cynics. The robe has indeed the power to heal those who believe in truth. This does not include Caligula.