"I need no wings to fly"
The Silver Chalice
Warner Brothers 1954
142 minutes
Directed by: Victor Saville
Written by: Thomas B. Costain and Lesser Samuels
Starring: Paul Newman,
Virginia Mayo, Lorene Green, Jack Palance, Pier Angeli, and Natalie Wood
Based upon
the best selling novel by Thomas Costain, The Silver Chalice was Warner Brothers’ attempt to
cash in on the popularity of Sword & Sandal films kicked off by the success
of MGM’s 1951 box office hit, Quo Vadis.
However, almost from the opening frame it is clear that Warner Brothers
and their director, Victor Saville, had no idea what they were doing.
Made for
about half what Quo Vadis cost and without Peter Ustinov as Nero, The Silver
Chalice
nevertheless boasts a roster of talent that should have insured a good return
on WB’s investment. Many of the
actors were already well established (Natile Wood, Virginia Mayo, Jack Palance)
but the cast also included a couple of noteworthy debuts among them Lorne
Greene and Paul Newman. Yet even
these talented actors can do little to improve a script that is both too
earnest and too unfocused at the same time.
Loren Greene as
Peter and Paul Newman as Basil
There are
several competing subplots, but essentially the story concerns a Greek sculptor
(Paul Newman), sold into slavery, who is set free, both physically and
emotionally, by the commission given him, from Joseph of Arimathea, to create a
silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail.
This
commission takes Newman’s character, Basil, from Antioch to Jerusalem and then
on to Rome where he finds Peter (Lorne Greene) running a small tavern, and
Simon (Jack Palance) performing at Nero’s palace as the ancient world
equivalent of Penn & Teller.
Newman also enjoys romantic interludes with Helena (Virginia Mayo) and
Deborra (Pier Angeli). Beyond that
the story is imminently forgettable and easily interchangeable with any number
of other films dealing with Romans and Christians including The Robe and its sequel, Demetrius And
the Gladiators. Generally, the Romans are corrupt
pagans, and the Christians virtuous martyrs. Oh, and as the climax is set in Rome, there is the
obligatory riot by the Mob because, as Hollywood has taught us, that’s what the
Roman Mob does – it riots.
What makes
this film noteworthy are neither the story nor the acting, but the costumes and
sets, though not for their historical accuracy, but rather just the opposite.
Helena led away
by the Praetorians
While the
Roman legionaries and Praetorian Guards wear standard Hollywood Roman armor and
the Roman citizens wear non descript tunics, the costumes worn by Jack Palance
are straight out of a B-grade Science Fiction film and indeed the makeup poor
Virginia Mayo is saddled with makes her look like ZaaZaa Gabor from the 1950’s
Sci-Fi classic, The Queen Of Outer Space.
Jack Palance as
Simone the Magician and Virginia Mayo as Helena.
As for the
design on Simone’s costume, they might be snakes or perhaps …
Interestingly,
although the legionaries and Praetorians have round metal shields, wear red
tunics & capes, greaves, and carry spears, their helmets are not
outrageously bad (like those in Gladiator) and even more remarkable – some of the soldiers are
not wearing bracers! How the
costume designer got this right, and so much else wrong, is baffling
particularly given the outrageous nature of the other costumes. It is also worth noting that in this
film (like so many others) the legionaries seem to enjoy lounging about at
dinner while still wearing their armor!
That could not have been very comfortable, for actor or for soldier.
Better
still are the sets, which display a fine example of Abstract Minimalist
Art. Nero’s Palace looks like Las
Vegas, except even Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas displays more affinity for
ancient Rome that these sets do.
The sets are more reminiscent of the original Star Trek TV series, and
one expects Kirk and Spock to walk in at any moment and complain that someone
has violated the Prime Directive, which, come to think of it, actually seemed
to happen a lot on that series.
Simone and
Helena at Simone’s home in Rome.
Judging from
the wall décor is it any wonder that Simone was crazed?
This is not
to say the sets are either cheap or un-artistic. Far from it, and in fact the Art Director, Boris Levin and
the Set Decorator, Howard Bristol, both have several great films to their
credits including West Side Story, The Sound Of Music, The Andromeda Strain and Rope, to name a few.
Likewise,
the story of the film is more interesting than the story told by the
film.
The part of
Basil, the Greek Sculptor, was first offered to James Dean, but he passed on
the advice of his agent who thought the script poor. The part was then offered to Paul Newman who had lost out to
Dean for the starring role in East of Eden. That
film made Dean a star, while The Silver Chalice, nearly sank Newman’s career before
it had even set sail. One
contemporary critic said of Newman’s acting, he “delivers
his lines with the emotional fervor of a Putnam Division conductor announcing
local stops.”
In fact, when the film was first shown on television in 1961, Newman took out a
full-page ad in the Hollywood trade papers apologizing for his performance and
asking the public not to watch the broadcast. Predictably, the ad had the opposite effect and the film
enjoyed a robust TV audience share.
Paul Newman and
Pier Angeli – Newman’s protests
not
withstanding, his performance is not that bad.
Filming
another movie on the same lot, Dean actually came to watch Newman work and see
what he had passed up. It was on
the set of The Silver Chalice that Dean met the love of his life, Pier Angeli. Years later, upon Dean’s untimely
death, Newman would replace him in the boxing film Somebody Up There Likes
Me, working once
again with Pier Angeli. That film
reignited Newman’s career, and he remained a top star for the rest of his life.
“I need no
wings to fly!” Jack
Palance as Simone the Magician.
Beyond the
sets and the unintentional humor, there is little to recommend this film, other
than perhaps Jack Palance’s scenery chewing performance. Although he is playing the character as
crazed, Palance is clearly in control.
His talent is both obvious and remarkable. The director no doubt meant this as a serious performance,
but it is now a stand out example of High Camp at its best. In fact it now seems clear, given
recent performances by Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Nicholas Cage, that Jack
Palance had as great an influence on American actors as did Brando, Olivier, or
Wells.
Sometimes even the most earnest of intentions bring
about unintended results, so perhaps it is incorrect to say this film has no
merit. On the contrary, there is
enough ridiculousness here to recommend this film for a hot summer night when
there is nothing else on. So pop
some corn and enjoy.
Jacques
Aubuchon as Emperor Nero
These short
scenes from the Turner Classic Movies web site should give you a good feel for
the film and the remarkably strange sets:
The DVD is currently
available from Amazon.
(c)2011 David L Reinke
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