Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

JohnHowardReid Producer: Gabriel Pascal. Executive producer: Howard Hughes. A Gabriel Pascal Production, produced and released by RKO Radio. Animals supplied by Sid Fogel. Lion (Jackie II) trained by Mel Koontz.Copyright 30 October 1952 by RKO Radio Pictures. New York opening at the Capitol: 14 January 1953. U.S. release: 9 January 1953. U.K. release: 8 March 1954 (sic). Australian release: 23 April 1953. Sydney opening at the Esquire. 98 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Ancient Rome. A henpecked tailor extracts a thorn from a lion's paw. This good deed later proves to be his salvation when he meets up with the lion again in the Colosseum.NOTES: Last of Gabriel Pascal's four films, all adaptations of Shaw plays. Originally, Harpo Marx was cast as Androcles, Rex Harrison as Caesar, Dana Andrews as the Captain and George Sanders as Lentulus. Pascal felt Harpo was "the perfect Androcles" and from all accounts, the rushes were absoluteky brilliant. But five weeks into shooting, mega-rich producer Howard Hughes saw Alan Young on some trashy TV show and insisted Young be substituted for Harpo. But Young was not free. His agent had signed contracts all over the place. So Hughes bought up all Young's contracts. By the time this was all settled and shooting was ready to get under way again, only Jean Simmons and Robert Newton were still available to continue in their original roles. All the footage that had been shot was scrapped and Pascal, now firmly under the thumb of Howard Hughes, started shooting again from square one. As a result of Hughes' antics and his decisive interference, Androcles and the Lion is only remembered today as one of Hollywood's costliest failures.COMMENT: Commences in sprightly fashion, but unfortunately, mingled with the excellent wit, satire and comedy is a banal little romance involving Jean Simmons and Victor Mature of all people who rattles off lines about his "dooty" as a soldier until we are blue in the face with boredom. But if Mature overacts, Robert Newton is even worse. Alan Young starts well, but he also plays his part too broadly, especially in the later, sentimental sequences. Fortunately, a brilliant performance by Maurice Evans as Caesar virtually saves the film, though Gene Lockhart and Reginald Gardiner also contribute some deftly-played scenes. Aside from the wit and the amusement offered by about half of the film's episodes, there is a little spectacle for those whose eyes like to dwell on Harry Horner's recreation of the architectural triumphs of ancient Rome. Also outstanding are Stradling's photography and Hollander's music score. On the other hand, Erskine's direction is strictly routine.

HotToastyRag I think Androcles and the Lion was supposed to be a comedy, but it was so awful, I couldn't be sure. In the midst of the 1950s biblical craze, Hollywood created a film about a group of slaves who are rounded up and sent to the gladiator pit to fight a lion, because they are Christians. Of course, the Roman bad guys are all portrayed as buffoons, since they are not Christians, and the overwhelming theme is "Christians are good, and everyone who isn't is a terrible bad guy who should learn his lesson". That theme isn't necessarily a bad one, especially since Hollywood made a ton of biblical films in the 1950s and 1960s, but the ridiculous feel of the film ruins it, not to mention the over-the-top moronic performance of Alan Young as the title character, Maurice Evans as Caesar, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart, Robert Newton, Jim Backus—the list goes on. Jean Simmons, a Christian slave, and Victor Mature, a Roman soldier who falls in love with her, aren't particularly over-the-top, but the few scenes they have together are hardly worth it. In reality, if he'd been found hiding and protecting a slave, and if she'd repeatedly sassed her captors, they both would have been killed.Alan Young loves animals, so when he comes across an injured lion in the middle of the road, he coos it with baby talk and takes the thorn out of his paw. It's pretty ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as the rest of the film.

mark.waltz The great playwright George Bernard Shaw takes a step up to the pulpit to preach the desires of the early Christians to either worship their savior (and just one God) or be willing to be put to death in this light comedy which will touch the soul (of those it doesn't offend) as did another movie from this era with the same co-stars in search of "The Robe".Fleeing from the Romans to the hills, milquetoast Alan Young and his harpy wife Elsa Lanchaster stop to rest when they are confronted by a male lion. The simpleton Androcles senses that the lion is in too much pain to eat them and finds a thorn in the lion's paw. He struggles to remove it (with comical overtones) and the lion is emotionally touched by this good deed. But Androcles is captured (whatever happens to his wife is never explained) and on the journey back to Rome to be fed to their own lions, he meets former sinners Jean Simmons and Robert Newton, as well as soldiers Alan Mowbray, Jim Backus and Victor Mature. He joins his fellow Christians in singing modern Christian hymns, ironically not written until centuries after this story took place.The inclusion of "Onward Christian Soldiers" adds a satirical edge to this screen adaption of Shaw's play, as does the presence of Backus as one of the soldiers who looks extremely un-Roman. A huge cast of familiar faces pop up in a variety of smaller roles, with Maurice Evans as a very regal Cesar and Gene Reynolds as a pompous Roman longing to see at least one Christian being devoured.Obviously painted backdrops give a theatrical feeling to the Rome setting and several encounters with lions are phony, filmed in a truly comical manner. A few gladiator battles show the violence and gore that the Christians must have had to deal with, and Newton's battle with several of them is extremely gripping as his character is torn over his past obsession with his bad temper which often lead to violence and his new devotion to Jesus.The love match between the beautiful Simmons and the masculine Mature is a reminder of their participation in "The Robe" the following year, as well as several other films made during this time. Some viewers may be taken aback by the preachiness of the script, but it is made palatable by the passionate way it is delivered with a sense of the writer's own devotion echoing its way into both your ears and your heart, indicating that his own spirituality was mixed with his sometimes sardonic humor over the human condition.

duke1029 In a lengthy letter to the editor in the October 1960 issue of "Films in Review," a very young Robert Osborne supplies some erudition on the casting of "Androcles and the Lion." According to the film historian, shooting began with Harpo Marx in the title role and continued under the direction of Chester Erskine for five weeks. Osborne states that the film's producer and Shaw impresario Gabriel Pascal thought him "the perfect Androcles," and maintains that the rushes were thought to be "brilliant." However, RKO studio boss Howard Hughes had recently seen Alan Young on a TV show, and impetuously insisted that the part be recast. That meant all the footage involving Harpo had to be reshot.Unfortunately because of the delay two other principle cast members were lost to other commitments: Rex Harrison as Caeser and Dana Andrews as the Roman captain. Footage with them was scrapped and is presumed lost. They were replaced with Maurice Evans and Victor Mature. The two other stars, Robert Newton and Jean Simmons, making her American film debut, were able to stay.Although IMDb trivia claims that Harpo was only considered for the role, Mr. Osborne's reputation, gravitas, and record of film scholarship gives this anecdote credibility. It certainly is typical of the idiosyncratic and fickle Hughes that he would have these kind of caprices. Just one year earlier after John Farrow had completed "His Kind of Woman," the unpredictable billionaire brought in Richard Fleischer to shoot some additional scenes. Incredibly Fleischer ended up reshooting virtually the entire film when Hughes suddenly decided he now wanted Raymond Burr as the villain and had a large expensive set built in the studio tank for a superfluous sight gag involving Vincent Price that lasted only a few seconds on screen.Although it's unlikely that any of this footage will surface, if indeed it exists, but one can always hope.P.S. Victor Mature had a refreshingly off-beat sense of humor, and unlike other egotistical stars of the period, never took himself too seriously. According to co-star Jim Backus, he and Mature decided to go to a local café for lunch rather than suffer through a meal at the RKO cafeteria. The waitress was surprised to see the two men in ancient Roman military uniforms and was shocked and amused to hear the actors ask for the usual "servicemen's discount."