Androcles and the Lion (film)
| Androcles and the Lion | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Chester Erskine Nicholas Ray (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Gabriel Pascal |
| Written by | George Bernard Shaw Ken Englund Chester Erskine |
| Starring | Jean Simmons Victor Mature Alan Young |
| Music by | Friedrich Hollaender |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling Sr. |
| Editing by | Roland Gross |
| Distributed by | RKO |
| Release date(s) | 1952 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Androcles and the Lion is a 1952 RKO film produced by Gabriel Pascal from the George Bernard Shaw play.
This was Pascal's last film, made two years after the death of Shaw, his long-standing friend and mentor, and two years before his own death.
[edit] Plot
Androcles is a fugitive Christian tailor who is on the run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who, instead of attacking the weak and starving slave, approaches him with a wounded paw, which he holds out to Androcles as if to beg his assistance. Androcles sees that the source of the lion's agony is a large thorn embedded in the paw; the slave courageously pulls it out. The lion is greatly relieved but Androcles is arrested and joins a procession of Christian prisoners on their way to the Colosseum in Rome. Eventually he is placed in the arena and the lion is released upon him. It turns out to be none other than the lion which Androcles had helped, and the two embrace each other and begin dancing in front of thousands of aghast people and an astonished Roman Emperor. The Emperor orders an end to the persecution of Christians and allows Androcles and his lion friend "Tommy" to depart in peace.
[edit] Cast
- Jean Simmons - Lavinia
- Victor Mature - Captain
- Alan Young - Androcles
- Robert Newton - Ferrovius
- Maurice Evans - Caesar
- Elsa Lanchester - Megaera
- Reginald Gardiner - Lentulus
- Gene Lockhart - Menagerie Keeper
- Alan Mowbray - Editor of Gladiators
- Noel Willman - Spintho
- John Hoyt - Cato
- Jim Backus - Centurion
- Woody Strode - The Lion
- Sylvia Lewis - Chief of the Vestal Virgins
[edit] External links
|
|||||
