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(picking up from a(nother) prematurely published edit) " sections subsections of the "Background and production" section [I apologize. I cut my finger, so I am having more trouble with the keyboard than I expected...)
edited the "Plot" section; merged the "Poster" subsection into the paragraph about casting; got rid of the bullets in the "Soundtrack" subsection; rearranged the first paragraph of the "Critical reception" subsection somewhat; edits throughout for flow/clarity/grammar/etc.
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| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Henry Koster]]
| director = [[Henry Koster]]
| screenplay = {{unbulleted list|[[Gina Kaus]]|[[Albert Maltz]]|[[Philip Dunne (writer)|Philip Dunne]]}}
| screenplay = {{unbulleted list|[[Gina Kaus]] adaptation)|[[Albert Maltz]]|[[Philip Dunne (writer)|Philip Dunne]]}}
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Robe]]''|[[Lloyd C. Douglas]]}}
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Robe]]''|[[Lloyd C. Douglas]]}}
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Richard Burton]]|[[Jean Simmons]]|[[Victor Mature]]|[[Michael Rennie]]}}
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Richard Burton]]|[[Jean Simmons]]|[[Victor Mature]]|[[Michael Rennie]]}}
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'''''The Robe''''' is a 1953 American fictional [[Bible|Biblical]] [[epic film]] that tells the story of a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[military tribune]] who commands the unit that is responsible for the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]]. The film was released by [[20th Century Fox]] and was the first film released in the [[widescreen]] process [[CinemaScope]].<ref>[http://www.stanford.edu/~ichriss/ Chrissochoidis, Ilias] (ed.). [https://www.academia.edu/4728298/CinemaScope_Selected_Documents_from_the_Spyros_P._Skouras_Archive ''CinemaScope:] Selected Documents from the [http://www.stanford.edu/~ichriss/Skouras.htm Spyros P. Skouras] Archive''. Stanford, 2013.</ref> Like other early CinemaScope films, ''The Robe'' was shot with [[Henri Chrétien]]'s original Hypergonar [[anamorphic]] lenses.
'''''The Robe''''' is a 1953 American fictional [[Bible|Biblical]] [[epic film]] that tells the story of a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[military tribune]] who commands the unit that is responsible for the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]]. The film was released by [[20th Century Fox]] and was the first film released in the [[widescreen]] process [[CinemaScope]].<ref>[http://www.stanford.edu/~ichriss/ Chrissochoidis, Ilias] (ed.). [https://www.academia.edu/4728298/CinemaScope_Selected_Documents_from_the_Spyros_P._Skouras_Archive ''CinemaScope:] Selected Documents from the [http://www.stanford.edu/~ichriss/Skouras.htm Spyros P. Skouras] Archive''. Stanford, 2013.</ref> Like other early CinemaScope films, ''The Robe'' was shot with [[Henri Chrétien]]'s original Hypergonar [[anamorphic]] lenses.


The film was directed by [[Henry Koster]] and produced by [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]]. The screenplay was adapted from [[Lloyd C. Douglas]]'s [[The Robe|1942 novel]] by [[Gina Kaus]], [[Albert Maltz]], and [[Philip Dunne (writer)|Philip Dunne]] — although Maltz's place among the [[blacklist]]ed [[Hollywood 10]] led to his being denied his writing credit for many years. The score was composed by [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]], and the cinematography was by [[Leon Shamroy]].
The film was directed by [[Henry Koster]] and produced by [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]]. The screenplay was adapted from [[Lloyd C. Douglas]]'s [[The Robe|1942 novel]] by [[Gina Kaus]], [[Albert Maltz]], and [[Philip Dunne (writer)|Philip Dunne]]—although Maltz's place among the [[blacklist]]ed [[Hollywood 10]] led to his being denied his writing credit for many years. The score was composed by [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]], and the cinematography was by [[Leon Shamroy]]. The cast stars [[Richard Burton]], [[Jean Simmons]], [[Victor Mature]] and [[Michael Rennie]], and co-stars [[Jay Robinson]], [[Dean Jagger]], [[Torin Thatcher]], [[Richard Boone]], [[Betta St. John]], [[Jeff Morrow]], and [[Ernest Thesiger]], among many others.


The film stars [[Richard Burton]], [[Jean Simmons]], [[Victor Mature]] and [[Michael Rennie]], and co-stars [[Dean Jagger]], [[Jay Robinson]], [[Richard Boone]] and [[Jeff Morrow]]. The 1954 sequel, ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'', picks up exactly where ''The Robe'' ends.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Random Observations on Pictures and People| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/09/20/92741654.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|language=en|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref>
A sequel, 1954's ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'', picks up right where ''The Robe'' ends.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Random Observations on Pictures and People| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/09/20/92741654.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|language=en|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
Roman [[Military tribune|tribune]] Marcellus Gallio, on the way to a gladiator auction, helps catch runaway defiant Greek slave Demetrius. At the auction site he is reunited with childhood love Diana (now ward of Emperor Tiberius), who has been pledged in marriage to the regent [[Caligula]], with whom Marcellus has a longstanding feud. Marcellus outbids Caligula for Demetrius. Marcellus then sets him free, yet Demetrius remains honor bound to Marcellus and becomes his household servant. That evening, Caligula vengefully assigns Marcellus a military transfer to [[Jerusalem]]; before Marcellus leaves, he and Diana pledge their love and reaffirm their promise from youth to one day marry, as Diana will not allow her marriage to Caligula.
On the way to a slave auction, Marcellus Gallio, a Roman [[military tribune]] and [[Senate of the Roman Empire|senator]]'s son, helps recapture Demetrius, a defiant Greek slave. At the auction site, Marcellus is reunited with Diana, his childhood love, who is now a ward of Emperor [[Tiberius]] and has been pledged in marriage to the regent [[Caligula]]. Marcellus has a longstanding feud with Caligula, and he outbids Caligula for Demetrius, who does not attempt to escape again, as he feels honor-bound to Marcellus. Demetrius becomes Marcellus' personal servant.


That evening, Caligula vengefully transfers Marcellus to far-flung [[Jerusalem]]. Diana goes to the port to say she will appeal to Tiberius on Marcellus' behalf, and the pair pledge their love and reaffirm their youthful promise to marry one day.
⚫
Accompanied by Demetrius and centurion Paulus, Marcellus arrives in Jerusalem on the same day [[Jesus]], a man hailed as the Messiah, [[Palm Sunday|enters the city]]. Demetrius feels compelled to follow this man and later learns of [[Arrest of Jesus|the plot to arrest him]]; he attempts to warn Jesus but is told by [[Judas Iscariot|a distraught man]] that he has already been arrested. Demetrius implores Marcellus to intercede, but the [[Procurator (Roman)|procurator]] [[Pontius Pilate]] has already condemned Jesus to death and orders Marcellus to take charge of the crucifixion.


⚫
Accompanied by Demetrius and the [[centurion]] Paulus, Marcellus arrives in Jerusalem on the same day that [[Jesus]], who is being hailed as the Messiah, [[Palm Sunday|enters the city]]. Demetrius feels compelled to follow Jesus and later attempts to warn him of [[Arrest of Jesus|a plot against him]], but [[Judas Iscariot|a distraught man]] tells Demetrius that Jesus has already been arrested.
⚫
Shortly after the crucifixion, Marcellus wins Jesus's robe from Paulus in a dice game on [[Calvary]], but when he uses it to shield himself from rain, it causes him sudden, intense pain. Demetrius denounces Marcellus and the Roman Empire and leaves with the robe. Marcellus, now haunted by nightmares of the crucifixion, reports back to Tiberius at [[Capri]], where the emperor's soothsayer says that the robe is cursed and has begun to work its dark magic. Tiberius gives Marcellus an imperial commission to find and destroy the robe as well as the followers of Jesus. At Diana's request, Tiberius leaves her free to marry Marcellus, provided he successfully returns from his commission and cures himself of his madness.


⚫
[[Pontius Pilate]], the governor of [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]], informs Marcellus that he has been recalled by order of Tiberius, and gives Marcellus his last task, which is to handle the execution of three criminals—one of whom is Jesus. Marcellus wins Jesus' robe from Paulus in a dice game on [[Calvary]], but when he uses it to shield himself from rain, he feels a sudden, intense pain. Grabbing the robe, Demetrius denounces Marcellus and the Roman Empire and frees himself, leaving a mentally unstable Marcellus, who is haunted by nightmares of the crucifixion, to report to Tiberius at [[Capri]] alone. The emperor's soothsayer says the robe must be cursed, so Tiberius gives Marcellus an imperial commission to find and destroy the robe, as well as identify the followers of Jesus. At Diana's request, Tiberius leaves her free to marry Marcellus once he successfully completes his mission.
Marcellus travels to [[Cana]], whose inhabitants believe Jesus has risen from the dead. Marcellus learns from a weaver, Justus, that Demetrius has arrived at the village and confronts him at an inn, where he is unable to destroy the robe. Demetrius says the robe has no real power and it is Marcellus' guilt over killing an innocent man that has caused his troubles. Justus is killed by Paulus, who informs Marcellus that Caligula has succeeded Tiberius as emperor and his original orders are no longer valid. Marcellus defeats Paulus in a duel and is invited by the fisherman [[Simon Peter]] to join Demetrius and him as missionaries. After confessing his role in Jesus' death, Marcellus pledges his life to Jesus and their missionary journey takes them to Rome, where Caligula has proscribed them.


Marcellus eventually makes his way to [[Cana]], whose inhabitants experienced Jesus' miracles and believe he rose from the dead. Learning from Justus, a kind weaver, that Demetrius is in the town, Marcellus confronts his former slave at an inn. Demetrius says the robe has no real power, and it is Marcellus' guilt over killing Jesus that is causing his illness. When Marcellus tries to destroy the robe anyway, he is overcome, and finds himself healed.
In Rome, Caligula informs Diana that Marcellus has become a traitor to Rome by indulging his madness and proceeds to have Demetrius captured and tortured. The slave Marcipor helps reunite Marcellus and Diana, who attempt to rescue Demetrius, but he is mortally wounded through torture. Demetrius is brought to the house of Gallio where he is healed by Peter, and Marcellus' father disowns his son as an enemy of Rome. Caligula, learning that Demetrius was rescued, orders Marcellus to be brought before him to stand trial. Marcellus and Demetrius attempt to flee but Marcellus gives himself up so Demetrius can escape. Diana visits Marcellus in his holding cell and pleads with him to say what is necessary during his trial, but Marcellus will not deny Jesus.


Pilate having ordered the arrest of all of the Christian "fanatics", Paulus sneaks into Cana with his troops. After Justus is killed by surprise arrow, Marcellus manages to halt the attack, but Paulus informs him that Caligula has succeeded Tiberius as emperor, so Marcellus' commission is no longer valid. Paulus initially refuses Marcellus' order to leave the town, but he complies after Marcellus beats him in a duel. Jesus' [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostle]] [[Saint Peter|Peter]] invites Marcellus to join Demetrius and him as missionaries, and, after confessing his role in Jesus' death, Marcellus pledges his life to Jesus.
⚫
At his trial, Marcellus admits to being a follower of Jesus but denies that he and his friends are plotting against the state. Caligula condemns Marcellus to death unless he denounces his beliefs that Jesus is the son of God and rose from the dead, but Marcellus defies him. Diana stands with Marcellus and denounces Caligula, who condemns Diana to die alongside Marcellus. As they depart the audience hall for their execution, Marcellus is pitied by his forlorn father and Diana gives the robe to Marcipor. The two are led from the hall and prepare for an eternal life together in [[heaven]].

When Peter's missionary group comes to Rome, Demetrius is captured and tortured for information. Caligula asks Diana if she has heard from Marcellus, and, as she has not, tells her of Marcellus' involvement with the Christians. The Gallios' slave Marcipor, who is secretly a Christian, shows Diana where Marcellus is hiding, shortly before Marcellus leads a raid to rescue Demetrius. Demetrius is brought to the house of Senator Gallio, where Peter miraculously heals his grievous wounds. Marcellus and Demetrius attempt to flee the city, but horsemen dispatched by Caligula pick up their trail, and Marcellus gives himself up so Demetrius can escape.

⚫
At his trial, Marcellus admits to being a follower of Jesus, but denies that the Christians are plotting against Rome. He is condemned to death, unless he renews his tribune's oath of loyalty to the emperor and renounces his allegiance to Jesus; while he does the former, he refuses to do the latter. Diana stands with Marcellus and denounces Caligula, who declares that the couple will die together. As they depart the courtroom, Diana hands Jesus' robe to Marcipor, telling him to give it to Peter. Marcellus and Diana are lead away to begin an eternal life together in [[Heaven|the kingdom of their true king]].


==Cast==
==Cast==
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==Historical inaccuracies==
==Historical inaccuracies==
Despite the careful attention to Roman history and culture displayed in the film, some inaccuracies are included: in reality, Emperor Tiberius' wife, [[Julia the Elder|Julia]], who had been banished from Rome by her father [[Augustus]] years before Tiberius acceded to the imperial throne, was already dead.
Despite the careful attention to Roman history and culture displayed in the film, there are some inaccuracies. For example, in reality, Emperor Tiberius' wife, [[Julia the Elder|Julia]], who had been banished from Rome by her father [[Augustus]] years before Tiberius acceded to the imperial throne, was already dead at the time of Jesus' crucifixion.


Caligula did not systematically persecute Christians, as indicated in the movie (Roman soldiers killing Justus in Cana). The first persecution of Christians organized by the Roman government was under the emperor [[Nero]] in 64 AD after the [[Great Fire of Rome]] and took place entirely within the city of Rome.
Also, Caligula did not systematically persecute Christians, as depicted in the film. The first persecution of Christians organized by the Roman government was under the emperor [[Nero]] in 64 AD after the [[Great Fire of Rome]] and took place entirely within the city of Rome.


==Background and production==
==Background and production==
Frank Ross acquired the rights to the novel in 1942, before it was completed for $100,000.<ref name=AFI>{{AFI film|50996}}</ref><ref name=Ross>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Ross' 20%; RKO's 950G|date=September 16, 1953|page=1|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n144/mode/1up|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>
In 1942, producer [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]] acquired the rights to Douglas' novel—before it was completed—for $100,000.<ref name=AFI>{{AFI film|50996}}</ref><ref name=Ross>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Ross' 20%; RKO's 950G|date=September 16, 1953|page=1|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n144/mode/1up|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref> Development of the film began at [[RKO]] in the 1940s, with [[Mervyn LeRoy]] set to direct,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 24, 1944|title=Religion: Celluloid Revival|magazine=TIME|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778109,00.html?promoid=googlep|url-status=dead|access-date=May 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305231051/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778109,00.html?promoid=googlep|archive-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref> but the rights were eventually sold to [[20th Century Studios|Twentieth Century-Fox]] for $300,000, plus $650,000 from future profits;<ref name=Ross/> Ross received $40,000, plus 20% of the profits.<ref name=Ross/>


⚫
[[Jeff Chandler]] was originally announced for the role of Demetrius.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jeff Chandler Likely for Demetrius; 'Highest Mountain' New Purchase |author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date= August 1, 1952|page=B7}}</ref> [[Victor Mature]] signed in December 1952<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mature About to Sign as Demetrius in 'Robe|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=December 19, 1952|work=Los Angeles Times|page=B8}}</ref> to make both ''The Robe'' and [[Demetrius and the Gladiators|a sequel about Demetrius]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Victor Mature to Do 'Story of Demetrius'|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=January 10, 1953|work=Los Angeles Times|page=14}}</ref> [[John R. Buckmaster|John Buckmaster]] tested for the role of Caligula.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Art of Dali Will Spur Three-D; Buckmaster Flying In for Caligula|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=February 5, 1953|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A9}}</ref> [[Jean Peters]] was originally cast as Diana, but she became pregnant, and was replaced by [[Jean Simmons]]. Interestingly, the film's poster, which had already been designed, was not changed, and, therefore, shows the wrong "Jean" between the likenesses of Burton and Mature.<ref name= poster>[http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcs3.htm The Robe poster at the Wide Screen Museum]</ref>
''The Robe'' was originally announced for filming by [[RKO]] in the 1940s and was set to be directed by [[Mervyn LeRoy]],<ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 24, 1944|title=Religion: Celluloid Revival|magazine=TIME|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778109,00.html?promoid=googlep|url-status=dead|access-date=May 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305231051/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778109,00.html?promoid=googlep|archive-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref> but the rights were eventually sold to Twentieth Century Fox. Ross received $40,000 plus 20% of the profits.<ref name=Ross/> RKO received $300,000 plus $650,000 from future profits.<ref name=Ross/>


⚫
Filming finished on April 30, 1953, two weeks ahead of schedule.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 1, 1953|title=FOX COMPLETES 'ROBE': $4,600,000 Film in CinemaScope Was 10 Years in Making|page=16|work=The ew York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/05/01/archives/fox-completes-robe-4600000-film-in-cinemascope-was-10-years-in.html}}</ref> Since many theaters were not equipped to screen films shot in the new [[CinemaScope]] process, each scene of ''The Robe'' was shot both with and without CinemaScope's [[Anamorphic format|anamorphic lenses]], resulting in there being two versions of the film: a "scope" version, and a "flat" version. Setups and some dialogue differ between the versions, as the takes for each process were filmed back-to-back, rather than simultaneously.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 27, 2009|title=The Robe: The Birth of Cinemascope|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/movies/29kehr.html |last1=Kehr |first1=Dave }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The Robe: Alternate Versions|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046247/alternateversions/}}</ref> For decades, the flat version of the film was the one typically shown on television, as its 1.33:1 [[aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] would fill the then-standard television screens. [[American Movie Classics]] may have been the first channel to broadcast the scope version of the film. Recent DVDs and Blu-ray discs of the film present it in the 2.55:1 widescreen format, and also feature the original multitrack stereophonic soundtrack.
⚫
[[Jeff Chandler]] was originally announced for the role of Demetrius.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jeff Chandler Likely for Demetrius; 'Highest Mountain' New Purchase |author=Schallert, Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|date= August 1, 1952|page=B7}}</ref> Victor Mature signed in December 1952<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mature About to Sign as Demetrius in 'Robe|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=December 19, 1952|work=Los Angeles Times|page=B8}}</ref> to make both ''The Robe'' and a sequel about Demetrius.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Victor Mature to Do 'Story of Demetrius'|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=January 10, 1953|work=Los Angeles Times|page=14}}</ref> [[John R. Buckmaster|John Buckmaster]] tested for the role of Caligula.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Art of Dali Will Spur Three-D; Buckmaster Flying In for Caligula|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=February 5, 1953|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A9}}</ref>


The film was advertised as "The modern miracle you see without glasses!", a dig at the [[3D film]]s of the day.
Filming finished on April 30, 1953, two weeks ahead of schedule.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 1, 1953|title=FOX COMPLETES 'ROBE': $4,600,000 Film in CinemaScope Was 10 Years in Making|page=16|work=The ew York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/05/01/archives/fox-completes-robe-4600000-film-in-cinemascope-was-10-years-in.html}}</ref>

⚫
The film was advertised as "the modern miracle you see without glasses", a dig at the [[3D movie]]s of the day. Since many theaters of the day were not equipped to show a [[CinemaScope]] film, two versions of ''The Robe'' were made: one in the standard screen ratio of the day, the other in the widescreen process. Setups and some dialogue differ between the versions.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 27, 2009|title=The Robe: The Birth of Cinemascope|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/movies/29kehr.html |last1=Kehr |first1=Dave }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The Robe: Alternate Versions|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046247/alternateversions/}}</ref> The film was usually shown on television using the standard 1.33:1 [[aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] version that fills a standard television screen rather than the CinemaScope version. [[American Movie Classics]] may have been the first to offer telecasts of the widescreen version. Recent DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of the film, however, present the film in the original widescreen format, as well as the multitrack stereophonic soundtrack.

===Poster===
The elaborate poster for the film has one glaring flaw. The woman's face is ''not'' [[Jean Simmons]]. Originally, [[Jean Peters]] had been cast as Diana, but became pregnant. Simmons was hired to replace her. But the poster was not changed, and shows the wrong Jean.<ref name= poster>[http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcs3.htm The Robe poster at the Wide Screen Museum]</ref>


===Preservation===
===Preservation===
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==Release==
==Release==
The film was due to open at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York City but the Hall would not drop its stageshow for the film's planned run and so the film premiered at the [[Roxy Theatre (New York City)|Roxy Theatre]] in New York City on September 16, 1953.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Radio City Music Hall Wouldn't Drop Stageshow So It Lost Out On 'Robe'|date=September 2, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n2/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=February 24, 2024|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> It opened to the public at the Roxy the following day.
''The Robe'' was due to open at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York City, but the Hall would not drop its stage show for the film's planned run, so the film premiered, instead, at the [[Roxy Theatre (New York City)|Roxy Theatre]] in New York City on September 16, 1953.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Radio City Music Hall Wouldn't Drop Stageshow So It Lost Out On 'Robe'|date=September 2, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n2/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=February 24, 2024|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> It opened to the public at the Roxy the following day.


===First telecast===
===First telecast===
[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] paid a record $2 million for the television rights, sponsored by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], for four screenings in the United States.<ref name=tv>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=July 28, 1967|page=1|title='Bounty' Nicks Ford $2.3 Mil; A TV Record}}</ref> The film was first telecast on [[Easter]] weekend on Sunday 26, March 1967, at the relatively early hour of 7:00 P.M., [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]], to allow for family viewing. In a highly unusual move, the film was shown with only one commercial break&nbsp;– a luxury not even granted to the then-annual telecasts of ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 24, 1967|title=Television: Mar. 24, 1967|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836861,00.html|url-status=dead|access-date=May 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305232919/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836861,00.html|archive-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref> The film received a [[Nielsen rating]] of 31.0 and an audience share of 53%,<ref name=rating>{{cite magazine|title=Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 24, 1990|page=160}}</ref> with the second largest TV audience for a film, behind ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'', with 60 million viewers.<ref name=tv/>
[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] paid a record $2 million to screen the film on television in the United States four times.<ref name=tv>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=July 28, 1967|page=1|title='Bounty' Nicks Ford $2.3 Mil; A TV Record}}</ref> Sponsored by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], ''The Robe'' was first telecast on Sunday, March 26, 1967 ([[Easter]]), at the relatively early hour of 7:00 P.M., [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]], to allow for family viewing. It was shown with only one commercial break, a luxury not even granted to the then-annual telecasts of ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' (1939),<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 24, 1967|title=Television: Mar. 24, 1967|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836861,00.html|url-status=dead|access-date=May 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305232919/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836861,00.html|archive-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref> and received a [[Nielsen rating]] of 31.0 and an audience share of 53%,<ref name=rating>{{cite magazine|title=Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 24, 1990|page=160}}</ref> which translated to 60 million viewers, the second largest TV audience for a film, behind ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957).<ref name=tv/>


===Home media===
===Home media===
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===Soundtrack===
===Soundtrack===
* When the original soundtrack album was issued on LP by [[Decca Records]], it used a remix for only monaural sound rather than the stereo sound that was originally recorded. {{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
When the film's original soundtrack album was issued on LP by [[Decca Records]], it featured a monaural remix of the score, rather than the stereo sound that was originally recorded.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} [[MCA Records|MCA]], which acquired the rights to the American Decca recordings, later issued an electronic stereo version of the mono tape.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} In 2003, [[Varèse Sarabande]] released a two-CD set of the film's original stereophonic score on its club label.

* [[MCA Records|MCA]], which acquired the rights to the American Decca recordings, issued an electronic stereo version of the mono tape. {{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
* [[RCA Victor]] included a suite from the film, recorded in [[Dolby surround sound]], in its album ''Captain from Castile'', which honored longtime Fox musical director [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]] (composer of ''The Robe'''s musical score.)
[[RCA Victor]] included a suite from the film—recorded in Dolby surround sound—on its 1973 album ''Captain from Castile'', which honored the film's composer, longtime Fox musical director [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]]. [[Charles Gerhardt (conductor)|Charles Gerhardt]] conducted London's National Philharmonic Chorus for the recording.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
* [[Charles Gerhardt (conductor)|Charles Gerhardt]] conducted London's National Philharmonic Chorus. {{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
* In 2003, [[Varèse Sarabande]] released a two-CD set of the original stereophonic recording on its club label.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}


==Reception==
==Reception==
===Box office===
===Box office===
''The Robe'' set a record one-day gross (for a single theatre) of $36,000 at the Roxy.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=Record $36,000 Gross for 'Robe' Opening|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n384/mode/1up|date=September 18, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> It set a one-week record gross (for a single theatre)<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=World Record Set by 'Robe' In 1st Week|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n398/mode/1up|date=September 22, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> of $264,427.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=See $225,000 for 2nd 'Robe' Week|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n418/mode/1up|date=September 25, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> In its second week, it expanded to Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia and grossed $490,000, placing it at [[List of 1953 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]], setting box office records at each location, including more than doubling the previous record at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] in LA, with a gross of $80,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=September 30, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n282/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Picture Grosses|date=September 30, 1953|page=10|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n289/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> It gradually expanded to 44 locations by the end of October and remained number one for nine straight weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title='Robe' in 44 Locations in October|date=September 30, 1953|page=4|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n283/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=October 28, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety192-1953-10/page/n254/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> In its fourth week of release, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported it had a weekly gross of $1,026,000 from 16 cities that it sampled, a record gross for a week.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=October 14, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety192-1953-10/page/n82/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>
''The Robe'' set a record one-day gross (for a single theatre) of $36,000 at the Roxy,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=Record $36,000 Gross for 'Robe' Opening|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n384/mode/1up|date=September 18, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> on its way to a record one-week gross (for a single theatre)<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=World Record Set by 'Robe' In 1st Week|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n398/mode/1up|date=September 22, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> of $264,427.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Daily]]|title=See $225,000 for 2nd 'Robe' Week|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai74unse#page/n418/mode/1up|date=September 25, 1953|page=1|access-date=September 22, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> In its second week of release, it expanded to Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia and grossed $490,000, placing it at [[List of 1953 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]], setting box office records at each location; it more than doubled the previous record at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] in LA, with a gross of $80,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=September 30, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n282/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Picture Grosses|date=September 30, 1953|page=10|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n289/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> The film gradually expanded to 44 locations by the end of October, and it remained number one at the box office for nine straight weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title='Robe' in 44 Locations in October|date=September 30, 1953|page=4|url=https://archive.org/details/variety191-1953-09/page/n283/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=October 28, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety192-1953-10/page/n254/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> Its fourth week of release, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that the film had a weekly gross of $1,026,000 from 16 cities that it sampled, a record gross for a week.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=October 14, 1953|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety192-1953-10/page/n82/mode/1up|access-date=May 13, 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>


It earned an estimated $17.5 million in [[theatrical rental]]s in the United States and Canada during its initial theatrical release.<ref>{{cite news|title=All Time Domestic Champs|work=Variety|date= January 6, 1960 |page= 34}}</ref> Its worldwide rentals were estimated at $32 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=20th's Global C'Scope Jackpot|work=[[Daily Variety]]|date= November 9, 1955 |page= 1}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=20th Counts C'Scope Blessing|date=November 9, 1955|page=5|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety200-1955-11#page/n88/mode/1up|access-date=April 24, 2019}}</ref>
The film earned an estimated $17.5 million in [[theatrical rental]]s in the United States and Canada during its initial theatrical release.<ref>{{cite news|title=All Time Domestic Champs|work=Variety|date= January 6, 1960 |page= 34}}</ref> Its worldwide rentals were estimated at $32 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=20th's Global C'Scope Jackpot|work=[[Daily Variety]]|date= November 9, 1955 |page= 1}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=20th Counts C'Scope Blessing|date=November 9, 1955|page=5|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety200-1955-11#page/n88/mode/1up|access-date=April 24, 2019}}</ref>


===Critical reception===
===Critical reception===
Critical reaction of the film and CinemaScope following the premiere in New York was generally favourable.<ref name=NYCrix>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=New York Critics Generally; Favorable; 'The Robe' Into 100 Spots Next Month|date=September 23, 1953|page=4|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n211/mode/1up|access-date=October 7, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> Frank Quinn of the ''[[New York Daily Mirror]]'' called it: "a new realistic and phenomenal concept of the art of motion picture production."<ref name=NYCrix/> Kate Cameron at the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' gave it eight stars (four for the film and four for CinemaScope) and claimed that "any picture projected on a flat screen...is going to seem dull" after ''The Robe''.<ref name=NYCrix/> The only criticism came from [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name=NYCrix/> who wrote: "The human drama of this story of Christian conversion occurs amid sumptuous and scenic surroundings and are mighty impressive to see. But the mightiness of surroundings—the spectacle of settings and costumes—is meaningful only in relation to the story that is being told. And the story in this instance is not spectacular, so that the amplitude of its surroundings does not enhance its scope."<ref>Crowther, Bosley (September 27, 1953). "Now Cinemascope! A Look at 'The Robe' and the New System in Which It Is Put On". ''[[The New York Times]]''. Section 2, p. 1.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "It is a 'big' picture in every sense of the word. One magnificent scene after another, under the anamorphic technique, unveils the splendor that was Rome and the turbulence that was Jerusalem at the time of Christ on Calvary."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Film Reviews: The Robe|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 23, 1953|page=6|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n213/mode/1up|access-date=October 7, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>
Critical reaction of the film and CinemaScope following the premiere in New York was generally favourable.<ref name=NYCrix>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=New York Critics Generally; Favorable; 'The Robe' Into 100 Spots Next Month|date=September 23, 1953|page=4|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n211/mode/1up|access-date=October 7, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> In his review of the film, Frank Quinn of the ''[[New York Daily Mirror]]'' called CinemaScope "a new realistic and phenomenal concept of the art of motion picture production."<ref name=NYCrix/> Kate Cameron of the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' claimed, in an eight-star review (four stars for the film and four for CinemaScope), that "any picture projected on a flat screen...is going to seem dull" after ''The Robe''.<ref name=NYCrix/> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "It is a 'big' picture in every sense of the word. One magnificent scene after another, under the anamorphic technique, unveils the splendor that was Rome and the turbulence that was Jerusalem at the time of Christ on Calvary."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Film Reviews: The Robe|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 23, 1953|page=6|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n213/mode/1up|access-date=October 7, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' was more critical, writing: "The human drama of this story of Christian conversion occurs amid sumptuous and scenic surroundings and are mighty impressive to see. But the mightiness of surroundings—the spectacle of settings and costumes—is meaningful only in relation to the story that is being told. And the story in this instance is not spectacular, so that the amplitude of its surroundings does not enhance its scope."<ref>Crowther, Bosley (September 27, 1953). "Now Cinemascope! A Look at 'The Robe' and the New System in Which It Is Put On". ''[[The New York Times]]''. Section 2, p. 1.</ref>


Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' stated that the film was in "a class that is unique, deeply spiritual and even awe-inspiring."<ref>Schallert, Edwin (September 25, 1953). "'[https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=48492905&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM4NjIwMTk5MSwiaWF0IjoxNTkzMTAyNTc3LCJleHAiOjE1OTMxODg5Nzd9.c9kPyENx4dCFGPKel_z3eECUZBoX-g_8taM04O6zWgw The Robe' Hailed as Epochal Film]". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part 2, p. 1.</ref> [[Richard L. Coe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote: "Partly through the writing, partly through the variety of acting styles, this reverence does not stir the emotions. It is very hard to take seriously a film which presents so petulantly obvious a performance as Jay Robinson's sophomoric Caligula or a script which early observes: 'You have made me the laughing stock of Rome.' These and matters like them are not aspects of fine motion picture making."<ref>Coe, Richard L. (October 2, 1953). "'The Robe' Reveals Cinema Scope". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. 55.</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' declared: "Excellent! Even if it had been produced in the conventional 2-D form, Lloyd C. Douglas' powerful novel of the birth of Christianity in the days of ancient Rome would have made a great picture, but having been produced in the revolutionary CinemaScope process, it emerges as not only a superior dramatic achievement but also as a spectacle that will electrify audiences with its overpowering scope and magnitude."<ref>"'The Robe' with Richard Burton, Victor mature and Jean Simmons". ''[[Harrison's Reports]]''. September 19, 1953. 152.</ref> ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called it "a routine addition to the numerous Hollywood Biblical films", presenting "a characteristically distorted and simplified view of Imperial Rome, with a ranting Caligula, a doddering Tiberius, and the customary scenes of 'spectacle' in the palace, the market-place and the torture chamber. The performances lack enthusiasm, and Richard Burton in particular seems ill at ease as the morose Marcellus."<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 1954 |title=The Robe |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=21 |issue=240 |page=5 }}</ref> [[Basil Wright]] wrote in ''[[Sight & Sound]]'': "As a film on a religious subject, Henry Koster's ''The Robe'' has rather fewer lapses in taste than most of its predecessors. If the actual speaking of Christ's cry from the Cross is a major error, it is not multiplied. In general, the subject is treated with reasonable reverence and is a deal better than ''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]'', which was a perfect illustration of Aristotle's remark about the ludicrous being merely a sub-division of the ugly."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=Basil |date=January–March 1954 |title=The Robe |journal=[[Sight & Sound]] |volume=23 |issue=3 |page=143 }}</ref>
Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' stated that the film was in "a class that is unique, deeply spiritual and even awe-inspiring",<ref>Schallert, Edwin (September 25, 1953). "'[https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=48492905&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM4NjIwMTk5MSwiaWF0IjoxNTkzMTAyNTc3LCJleHAiOjE1OTMxODg5Nzd9.c9kPyENx4dCFGPKel_z3eECUZBoX-g_8taM04O6zWgw The Robe' Hailed as Epochal Film]". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part 2, p. 1.</ref> though [[Richard L. Coe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that, "Partly through the writing, partly through the variety of acting styles, this reverence does not stir the emotions. It is very hard to take seriously a film which presents so petulantly obvious a performance as Jay Robinson's sophomoric Caligula or a script which early observes: 'You have made me the laughing stock of Rome.' These and matters like them are not aspects of fine motion picture making."<ref>Coe, Richard L. (October 2, 1953). "'The Robe' Reveals Cinema Scope". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. 55.</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' called the film "Excellent!", continuing that "Even if it had been produced in the conventional 2-D form, Lloyd C. Douglas' powerful novel of the birth of Christianity in the days of ancient Rome would have made a great picture, but having been produced in the revolutionary CinemaScope process, it emerges as not only a superior dramatic achievement but also as a spectacle that will electrify audiences with its overpowering scope and magnitude."<ref>"'The Robe' with Richard Burton, Victor mature and Jean Simmons". ''[[Harrison's Reports]]''. September 19, 1953. 152.</ref> ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called the film "a routine addition to the numerous Hollywood Biblical films", which presents "a characteristically distorted and simplified view of Imperial Rome, with a ranting Caligula, a doddering Tiberius, and the customary scenes of 'spectacle' in the palace, the market-place and the torture chamber. The performances lack enthusiasm, and Richard Burton in particular seems ill at ease as the morose Marcellus."<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 1954 |title=The Robe |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=21 |issue=240 |page=5 }}</ref> [[Basil Wright]] wrote in ''[[Sight & Sound]]'': "As a film on a religious subject, Henry Koster's ''The Robe'' has rather fewer lapses in taste than most of its predecessors. If the actual speaking of Christ's cry from the Cross is a major error, it is not multiplied. In general, the subject is treated with reasonable reverence and is a deal better than ''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]'', which was a perfect illustration of Aristotle's remark about the ludicrous being merely a sub-division of the ugly."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=Basil |date=January–March 1954 |title=The Robe |journal=[[Sight & Sound]] |volume=23 |issue=3 |page=143 }}</ref>


Based on 21 reviews, the film holds a score of 38% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robe |title=The Robe |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=January 14, 2022 }}</ref>
On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 38% of 21 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robe |title=The Robe |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=January 14, 2022 }}</ref>


===Awards and honors===
===Awards and honors===
'''[[26th Academy Awards]]:'''
'''[[26th Academy Awards]]:'''
;Wins<ref>[http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1389345219128 "Oscars.org – The Robe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140110232254/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1389345219128 |date=January 10, 2014 }}. [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]. Retrieved January 10, 2014.</ref>
;Wins<ref>[http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1389345219128 "Oscars.org – The Robe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140110232254/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1389345219128 |date=January 10, 2014 }}. [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]. Retrieved January 10, 2014.</ref>
* [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction (Color)]]: ''Art Direction:'' [[Lyle R. Wheeler]], [[George Davis (art director)|George Davis]]; ''Set Decoration:'' [[Walter M. Scott]], [[Paul S. Fox]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction (Color)]] – Art Direction: [[Lyle R. Wheeler]], [[George Davis (art director)|George Davis]]; Set Decoration: [[Walter M. Scott]], [[Paul S. Fox]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design (Color)]]: [[Charles LeMaire]], [[Emile Santiago]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design (Color)]] – [[Charles LeMaire]], [[Emile Santiago]]
;Nominations
;Nominations
* [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Motion Picture]]: [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]], Producer
* [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Motion Picture]] – Producer: [[Frank Ross (producer)|Frank Ross]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]: Richard Burton
* [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] – Richard Burton
* [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography (Color)]]: [[Leon Shamroy]]
* [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography (Color)]] – [[Leon Shamroy]]


'''[[11th Golden Globe Awards]]:'''
'''[[11th Golden Globe Awards]]:'''
Line 148: Line 145:


==Sequel==
==Sequel==
The film's successful and highly praised sequel, ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'' (1954), featured [[Victor Mature]] in the title role. ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'' begins with Caligula's challenge to Marcellus and Diana as they climb the stairs to their execution. Filming was completed before ''The Robe'' was released.<ref name=":0" />
The film's successful and highly praised sequel, ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'' (1954), featured [[Victor Mature]] in the title role; [[Michael Rennie]], [[Jay Robinson]], and David Leonard also reprise their roles from ''The Robe''. Filming of the sequel was completed before ''The Robe'' was released, and it begins with Caligula's challenge to Marcellus and Diana as they climb the stairs to their execution at the end of this film.<ref name=":0" />


==Popular culture references==
==Popular culture references==
In the first episode "Openings" of ''[[The Queen's Gambit (miniseries)|The Queen's Gambit]]'' miniseries, the film is playing for the staff and wards of the Mathuen orphanage, and the final chorus of Alleluia provides a [[Diegesis#In_film|diegetic]] source of music while Beth breaks into the dispensary and overdoses.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nguyen|first=Hanh|date=October 23, 2020|title="The Queen's Gambit" is the sexiest and most thrilling TV show about chess you'll ever watch|work=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/10/23/the-queens-gambit-netflix-anya-taylor-joy-william-horberg/|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref>
In the first episode of the 2020 miniseries ''[[The Queen's Gambit (miniseries)|The Queen's Gambit]]'', ''The Robe'' is playing for the staff and wards of the Mathuen orphanage, and the film's final chorus of "Alleluia" provides a [[Diegesis#In_film|diegetic]] source of music while Beth breaks into the dispensary and overdoses.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nguyen|first=Hanh|date=October 23, 2020|title="The Queen's Gambit" is the sexiest and most thrilling TV show about chess you'll ever watch|work=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/10/23/the-queens-gambit-netflix-anya-taylor-joy-william-horberg/|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 12:24, 31 March 2024

The Robe
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry Koster
Screenplay by
Based onThe Robe
by Lloyd C. Douglas
Produced byFrank Ross
Starring
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byBarbara McLean
Music byAlfred Newman
Color processTechnicolor
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • September 16, 1953 (1953-09-16) (Premiere)
  • September 17, 1953 (1953-09-17) (New York City opening)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.1 million[1] – $4.6 million[2]
Box office$36 million (United States)[3]

The Robe is a 1953 American fictional Biblical epic film that tells the story of a Roman military tribune who commands the unit that is responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus. The film was released by 20th Century Fox and was the first film released in the widescreen process CinemaScope.[4] Like other early CinemaScope films, The Robe was shot with Henri Chrétien's original Hypergonar anamorphic lenses.

The film was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was adapted from Lloyd C. Douglas's 1942 novel by Gina Kaus, Albert Maltz, and Philip Dunne—although Maltz's place among the blacklisted Hollywood 10 led to his being denied his writing credit for many years. The score was composed by Alfred Newman, and the cinematography was by Leon Shamroy. The cast stars Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature and Michael Rennie, and co-stars Jay Robinson, Dean Jagger, Torin Thatcher, Richard Boone, Betta St. John, Jeff Morrow, and Ernest Thesiger, among many others.

A sequel, 1954's Demetrius and the Gladiators, picks up right where The Robe ends.[5]

Plot

On the way to a slave auction, Marcellus Gallio, a Roman military tribune and senator's son, helps recapture Demetrius, a defiant Greek slave. At the auction site, Marcellus is reunited with Diana, his childhood love, who is now a ward of Emperor Tiberius and has been pledged in marriage to the regent Caligula. Marcellus has a longstanding feud with Caligula, and he outbids Caligula for Demetrius, who does not attempt to escape again, as he feels honor-bound to Marcellus. Demetrius becomes Marcellus' personal servant.

That evening, Caligula vengefully transfers Marcellus to far-flung Jerusalem. Diana goes to the port to say she will appeal to Tiberius on Marcellus' behalf, and the pair pledge their love and reaffirm their youthful promise to marry one day.

Accompanied by Demetrius and the centurion Paulus, Marcellus arrives in Jerusalem on the same day that Jesus, who is being hailed as the Messiah, enters the city. Demetrius feels compelled to follow Jesus and later attempts to warn him of a plot against him, but a distraught man tells Demetrius that Jesus has already been arrested.

Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judaea, informs Marcellus that he has been recalled by order of Tiberius, and gives Marcellus his last task, which is to handle the execution of three criminals—one of whom is Jesus. Marcellus wins Jesus' robe from Paulus in a dice game on Calvary, but when he uses it to shield himself from rain, he feels a sudden, intense pain. Grabbing the robe, Demetrius denounces Marcellus and the Roman Empire and frees himself, leaving a mentally unstable Marcellus, who is haunted by nightmares of the crucifixion, to report to Tiberius at Capri alone. The emperor's soothsayer says the robe must be cursed, so Tiberius gives Marcellus an imperial commission to find and destroy the robe, as well as identify the followers of Jesus. At Diana's request, Tiberius leaves her free to marry Marcellus once he successfully completes his mission.

Marcellus eventually makes his way to Cana, whose inhabitants experienced Jesus' miracles and believe he rose from the dead. Learning from Justus, a kind weaver, that Demetrius is in the town, Marcellus confronts his former slave at an inn. Demetrius says the robe has no real power, and it is Marcellus' guilt over killing Jesus that is causing his illness. When Marcellus tries to destroy the robe anyway, he is overcome, and finds himself healed.

Pilate having ordered the arrest of all of the Christian "fanatics", Paulus sneaks into Cana with his troops. After Justus is killed by surprise arrow, Marcellus manages to halt the attack, but Paulus informs him that Caligula has succeeded Tiberius as emperor, so Marcellus' commission is no longer valid. Paulus initially refuses Marcellus' order to leave the town, but he complies after Marcellus beats him in a duel. Jesus' apostle Peter invites Marcellus to join Demetrius and him as missionaries, and, after confessing his role in Jesus' death, Marcellus pledges his life to Jesus.

When Peter's missionary group comes to Rome, Demetrius is captured and tortured for information. Caligula asks Diana if she has heard from Marcellus, and, as she has not, tells her of Marcellus' involvement with the Christians. The Gallios' slave Marcipor, who is secretly a Christian, shows Diana where Marcellus is hiding, shortly before Marcellus leads a raid to rescue Demetrius. Demetrius is brought to the house of Senator Gallio, where Peter miraculously heals his grievous wounds. Marcellus and Demetrius attempt to flee the city, but horsemen dispatched by Caligula pick up their trail, and Marcellus gives himself up so Demetrius can escape.

At his trial, Marcellus admits to being a follower of Jesus, but denies that the Christians are plotting against Rome. He is condemned to death, unless he renews his tribune's oath of loyalty to the emperor and renounces his allegiance to Jesus; while he does the former, he refuses to do the latter. Diana stands with Marcellus and denounces Caligula, who declares that the couple will die together. As they depart the courtroom, Diana hands Jesus' robe to Marcipor, telling him to give it to Peter. Marcellus and Diana are lead away to begin an eternal life together in the kingdom of their true king.

Cast

Historical inaccuracies

Despite the careful attention to Roman history and culture displayed in the film, there are some inaccuracies. For example, in reality, Emperor Tiberius' wife, Julia, who had been banished from Rome by her father Augustus years before Tiberius acceded to the imperial throne, was already dead at the time of Jesus' crucifixion.

Also, Caligula did not systematically persecute Christians, as depicted in the film. The first persecution of Christians organized by the Roman government was under the emperor Nero in 64 AD after the Great Fire of Rome and took place entirely within the city of Rome.

Background and production

In 1942, producer Frank Ross acquired the rights to Douglas' novel—before it was completed—for $100,000.[7][8] Development of the film began at RKO in the 1940s, with Mervyn LeRoy set to direct,[9] but the rights were eventually sold to Twentieth Century-Fox for $300,000, plus $650,000 from future profits;[8] Ross received $40,000, plus 20% of the profits.[8]

Jeff Chandler was originally announced for the role of Demetrius.[10] Victor Mature signed in December 1952[11] to make both The Robe and a sequel about Demetrius.[12] John Buckmaster tested for the role of Caligula.[13] Jean Peters was originally cast as Diana, but she became pregnant, and was replaced by Jean Simmons. Interestingly, the film's poster, which had already been designed, was not changed, and, therefore, shows the wrong "Jean" between the likenesses of Burton and Mature.[14]

Filming finished on April 30, 1953, two weeks ahead of schedule.[15] Since many theaters were not equipped to screen films shot in the new CinemaScope process, each scene of The Robe was shot both with and without CinemaScope's anamorphic lenses, resulting in there being two versions of the film: a "scope" version, and a "flat" version. Setups and some dialogue differ between the versions, as the takes for each process were filmed back-to-back, rather than simultaneously.[16][17] For decades, the flat version of the film was the one typically shown on television, as its 1.33:1 aspect ratio would fill the then-standard television screens. American Movie Classics may have been the first channel to broadcast the scope version of the film. Recent DVDs and Blu-ray discs of the film present it in the 2.55:1 widescreen format, and also feature the original multitrack stereophonic soundtrack.

The film was advertised as "The modern miracle you see without glasses!", a dig at the 3D films of the day.

Preservation

The Academy Film Archive preserved The Robe in 2008.[18]

Release

The Robe was due to open at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, but the Hall would not drop its stage show for the film's planned run, so the film premiered, instead, at the Roxy Theatre in New York City on September 16, 1953.[19] It opened to the public at the Roxy the following day.

First telecast

ABC paid a record $2 million to screen the film on television in the United States four times.[20] Sponsored by Ford, The Robe was first telecast on Sunday, March 26, 1967 (Easter), at the relatively early hour of 7:00 P.M., EST, to allow for family viewing. It was shown with only one commercial break, a luxury not even granted to the then-annual telecasts of The Wizard of Oz (1939),[21] and received a Nielsen rating of 31.0 and an audience share of 53%,[22] which translated to 60 million viewers, the second largest TV audience for a film, behind The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).[20]

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 16, 2001.[23] It was released on Blu-ray on March 17, 2009.[24]

Soundtrack

When the film's original soundtrack album was issued on LP by Decca Records, it featured a monaural remix of the score, rather than the stereo sound that was originally recorded.[citation needed] MCA, which acquired the rights to the American Decca recordings, later issued an electronic stereo version of the mono tape.[citation needed] In 2003, Varèse Sarabande released a two-CD set of the film's original stereophonic score on its club label.

RCA Victor included a suite from the film—recorded in Dolby surround sound—on its 1973 album Captain from Castile, which honored the film's composer, longtime Fox musical director Alfred Newman. Charles Gerhardt conducted London's National Philharmonic Chorus for the recording.[citation needed]

Reception

Box office

The Robe set a record one-day gross (for a single theatre) of $36,000 at the Roxy,[25] on its way to a record one-week gross (for a single theatre)[26] of $264,427.[27] In its second week of release, it expanded to Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia and grossed $490,000, placing it at number one at the US box office, setting box office records at each location; it more than doubled the previous record at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in LA, with a gross of $80,000.[28][29] The film gradually expanded to 44 locations by the end of October, and it remained number one at the box office for nine straight weeks.[30][31] Its fourth week of release, Variety reported that the film had a weekly gross of $1,026,000 from 16 cities that it sampled, a record gross for a week.[32]

The film earned an estimated $17.5 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada during its initial theatrical release.[33] Its worldwide rentals were estimated at $32 million.[34][35]

Critical reception

Critical reaction of the film and CinemaScope following the premiere in New York was generally favourable.[36] In his review of the film, Frank Quinn of the New York Daily Mirror called CinemaScope "a new realistic and phenomenal concept of the art of motion picture production."[36] Kate Cameron of the New York Daily News claimed, in an eight-star review (four stars for the film and four for CinemaScope), that "any picture projected on a flat screen...is going to seem dull" after The Robe.[36] Variety wrote: "It is a 'big' picture in every sense of the word. One magnificent scene after another, under the anamorphic technique, unveils the splendor that was Rome and the turbulence that was Jerusalem at the time of Christ on Calvary."[37] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times was more critical, writing: "The human drama of this story of Christian conversion occurs amid sumptuous and scenic surroundings and are mighty impressive to see. But the mightiness of surroundings—the spectacle of settings and costumes—is meaningful only in relation to the story that is being told. And the story in this instance is not spectacular, so that the amplitude of its surroundings does not enhance its scope."[38]

Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times stated that the film was in "a class that is unique, deeply spiritual and even awe-inspiring",[39] though Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote that, "Partly through the writing, partly through the variety of acting styles, this reverence does not stir the emotions. It is very hard to take seriously a film which presents so petulantly obvious a performance as Jay Robinson's sophomoric Caligula or a script which early observes: 'You have made me the laughing stock of Rome.' These and matters like them are not aspects of fine motion picture making."[40] Harrison's Reports called the film "Excellent!", continuing that "Even if it had been produced in the conventional 2-D form, Lloyd C. Douglas' powerful novel of the birth of Christianity in the days of ancient Rome would have made a great picture, but having been produced in the revolutionary CinemaScope process, it emerges as not only a superior dramatic achievement but also as a spectacle that will electrify audiences with its overpowering scope and magnitude."[41] The Monthly Film Bulletin called the film "a routine addition to the numerous Hollywood Biblical films", which presents "a characteristically distorted and simplified view of Imperial Rome, with a ranting Caligula, a doddering Tiberius, and the customary scenes of 'spectacle' in the palace, the market-place and the torture chamber. The performances lack enthusiasm, and Richard Burton in particular seems ill at ease as the morose Marcellus."[42] Basil Wright wrote in Sight & Sound: "As a film on a religious subject, Henry Koster's The Robe has rather fewer lapses in taste than most of its predecessors. If the actual speaking of Christ's cry from the Cross is a major error, it is not multiplied. In general, the subject is treated with reasonable reverence and is a deal better than Quo Vadis, which was a perfect illustration of Aristotle's remark about the ludicrous being merely a sub-division of the ugly."[43]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 38% of 21 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.[44]

Awards and honors

26th Academy Awards:

Wins[45]
Nominations

11th Golden Globe Awards:

Wins

Sequel

The film's successful and highly praised sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), featured Victor Mature in the title role; Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, and David Leonard also reprise their roles from The Robe. Filming of the sequel was completed before The Robe was released, and it begins with Caligula's challenge to Marcellus and Diana as they climb the stairs to their execution at the end of this film.[5]

In the first episode of the 2020 miniseries The Queen's Gambit, The Robe is playing for the staff and wards of the Mathuen orphanage, and the film's final chorus of "Alleluia" provides a diegetic source of music while Beth breaks into the dispensary and overdoses.[46]

See also

References

  1. ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p248
  2. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (May 1, 1953). "Film Group to Aid State Department: Industry Council Pledges Its Cooperation to De Mille for Overseas Information Work". The New York Times. p. 17.
  3. ^ The Robe. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  4. ^ Chrissochoidis, Ilias (ed.). CinemaScope: Selected Documents from the Spyros P. Skouras Archive. Stanford, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Random Observations on Pictures and People". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Miller, Malcolm (October 30, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. p. 24. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  7. ^ The Robe at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  8. ^ a b c "Ross' 20%; RKO's 950G". Variety. September 16, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Religion: Celluloid Revival". TIME. April 24, 1944. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  10. ^ Schallert, Edwin (August 1, 1952). "Jeff Chandler Likely for Demetrius; 'Highest Mountain' New Purchase". Los Angeles Times. p. B7.
  11. ^ Hopper, Hedda (December 19, 1952). "Mature About to Sign as Demetrius in 'Robe". Los Angeles Times. p. B8.
  12. ^ Hopper, Hedda (January 10, 1953). "Victor Mature to Do 'Story of Demetrius'". Los Angeles Times. p. 14.
  13. ^ Schallert, Edwin (February 5, 1953). "Art of Dali Will Spur Three-D; Buckmaster Flying In for Caligula". Los Angeles Times. p. A9.
  14. ^ The Robe poster at the Wide Screen Museum
  15. ^ "FOX COMPLETES 'ROBE': $4,600,000 Film in CinemaScope Was 10 Years in Making". The ew York Times. May 1, 1953. p. 16.
  16. ^ Kehr, Dave (March 27, 2009). "The Robe: The Birth of Cinemascope". The New York Times.
  17. ^ "The Robe: Alternate Versions".
  18. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  19. ^ "Radio City Music Hall Wouldn't Drop Stageshow So It Lost Out On 'Robe'". Variety. September 2, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved February 24, 2024 – via Archive.org.
  20. ^ a b "'Bounty' Nicks Ford $2.3 Mil; A TV Record". Daily Variety. July 28, 1967. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Television: Mar. 24, 1967". Time. March 24, 1967. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  22. ^ "Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961". Variety. January 24, 1990. p. 160.
  23. ^ "Announcements". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  24. ^ "The Robe [Blu-ray]". smile.amazon.com. March 17, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  25. ^ "Record $36,000 Gross for 'Robe' Opening". Motion Picture Daily. September 18, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  26. ^ "World Record Set by 'Robe' In 1st Week". Motion Picture Daily. September 22, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  27. ^ "See $225,000 for 2nd 'Robe' Week". Motion Picture Daily. September 25, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  28. ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. September 30, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  29. ^ "Picture Grosses". Variety. September 30, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  30. ^ "'Robe' in 44 Locations in October". Variety. September 30, 1953. p. 4. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  31. ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. October 28, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  32. ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. October 14, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  33. ^ "All Time Domestic Champs". Variety. January 6, 1960. p. 34.
  34. ^ "20th's Global C'Scope Jackpot". Daily Variety. November 9, 1955. p. 1.
  35. ^ "20th Counts C'Scope Blessing". Variety. November 9, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  36. ^ a b c "New York Critics Generally; Favorable; 'The Robe' Into 100 Spots Next Month". Variety. September 23, 1953. p. 4. Retrieved October 7, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  37. ^ "Film Reviews: The Robe". Variety. September 23, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved October 7, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  38. ^ Crowther, Bosley (September 27, 1953). "Now Cinemascope! A Look at 'The Robe' and the New System in Which It Is Put On". The New York Times. Section 2, p. 1.
  39. ^ Schallert, Edwin (September 25, 1953). "'The Robe' Hailed as Epochal Film". Los Angeles Times. Part 2, p. 1.
  40. ^ Coe, Richard L. (October 2, 1953). "'The Robe' Reveals Cinema Scope". The Washington Post. 55.
  41. ^ "'The Robe' with Richard Burton, Victor mature and Jean Simmons". Harrison's Reports. September 19, 1953. 152.
  42. ^ "The Robe". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 21 (240): 5. January 1954.
  43. ^ Wright, Basil (January–March 1954). "The Robe". Sight & Sound. 23 (3): 143.
  44. ^ "The Robe". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  45. ^ "Oscars.org – The Robe" Archived January 10, 2014, at archive.today. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  46. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (October 23, 2020). ""The Queen's Gambit" is the sexiest and most thrilling TV show about chess you'll ever watch". Salon. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
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