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.
Edited by	Roland Gross
Distributed by	RKO
Release dates	October 30, 1952 (1952-10-30) (Premiere-Los Angeles)[1] January 9, 1953 (1953-01-09) (US)[1]
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$1,250,000[2]

Androcles and the Lion is a 1952 RKO film produced by Gabriel Pascal from the George Bernard Shaw play of the same name. It was Pascal's last film, made two years after the death of Shaw, his long-standing friend and mentor, and two years before Pascal's own death.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Plot

The plot is a more or less careful rendition of George Bernard Shaw's script. Androcles, a fugitive Christian tailor, accompanied by his nagging wife, is on the run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who approaches him with a wounded paw. Androcles sees that the cause is a large thorn embedded in its paw, which he draws out while talking baby language to the lion. His wife had fled, and Androcles is next seen in a procession of Christian prisoners on their way to the Colosseum in Rome. They are joined by the fierce convert Ferrovius who subsequently provides much of the comic entertainment in his struggle to keep his nature in check. Love interest is also introduced by the growing attraction of the Captain to the noble-born convert Lavinia. Eventually the party is sent into the arena to be slaughtered by gladiators, but Ferrovius kills all of them and accepts a commission offered him in the Praetorian Guards. To appease the crowd, one Christian is needed to be savaged by the lions and Androcles volunteers in order to uphold 'the honour of the tailors'. It turns out that the lion is the one that Androcles has helped, and the two waltz round the arena to the acclaim of the people. The Emperor dashes behind the scenes to get a closer look and has to be rescued from the lion by Androcles. He then orders an end to the persecution of Christians and allows Androcles and his new 'pet' to depart in peace.

Cast

• Jean Simmons as Lavinia
• Victor Mature as the Captain
• Alan Young as Androcles
• Robert Newton as Ferrovius
• Maurice Evans as Caesar
• Elsa Lanchester as Megaera
• Reginald Gardiner as Lentulus
• Gene Lockhart the Menagerie Keeper
• Alan Mowbray as the Editor of Gladiators
• Noel Willman as Spintho
• John Hoyt as Cato
• Jim Backus as the Centurion
• Lowell Gilmore as Metellus
• Woody Strode as the Lion
• Sylvia Lewis as the Chief of the Vestal Virgins

Note that the opening sequence of the film places it during the time of Emperor Antoninus Pius, but the character is only addressed as "Caesar" during the film.

Production

George Sanders was meant to play Caesar but was unable to get out of another commitment.^[9] Jose Ferrer was mentioned for the part of Androcles.^[10]

Under Pascal's contract with George Bernard Shaw, the film had to include at least 75% of Shaw's original dialogue in the screenplay. This was not a problem for this particular play since the play was short; indeed, material had to be added.^[11]

Victor Mature had a contract with RKO to make one film a year. However this film, while released by RKO, was produced by GB Productions.^[12]

Filming began 13 August 1951.^[2]

Howard Hughes, who had seen Young on TV, hired him for the lead. When it opened in American cinemas nobody laughed, so Hughes withdrew the movie and shot two weeks of new sequences. Alan Young recalled "He put in girls with gauze and a real lion, and it became a blood-and-guts film," in 1987.^[13]

References

External links

• Androcles and the Lion at the Internet Movie Database