Hitchcoc I last saw this film as a child some 50 odd years ago. I remember after all these years, watching Alan Young, Mr. Ed's owner, waltzing with a lion in the Coliseum in Rome. I also remember knowing that the Romans did not treat the Christians very well in this setting. Shame on you George Bernard Shaw. Mr. Young, who apparently just turned 96 years old, a character actor of some merit, plays an insipid man who, in a most dingle-jolly way, is taken with a group of Christian prisoners to provide entertainment. He is docile and so trusting with those big eyes. Even a man who lives in a kind of la la situation would recognize that pain and death were just around the corner. He tries to inspire the others who are all giddy with their heads in the clouds. They somehow have learned Hymns that were written at least 700 years later. I guess this is supposed to be a comedy. The Roman soldiers are a bunch of silly Teddy bears, sort of like Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes. A laugh fest in a German prison camp. It also has Victor Mature, one of the most one dimensional actors of all time. Why the pretty young Christian girl played by Jean Simmons would want anything to do with someone so boring, I don't know. There is a fine line between comedy and tragedy. Making the Romans straight men who would never have fawned over those who were anathema to them was insulting. Watching the emperor chased by the lion was the final touch in a marvelously forgettable film.

happipuppi13 WHen I was a boy,I saw this fable played out in cartoon form and it was pretty simplistic. Androcles pulls a thorn out of the paw of an otherwise ferocious lion and the the lion becomes friendly only to him. This expanded version caught my interest being on the shelf at the local library. The cover picture makes it look like a kind of biblical picture one would find from the 1950s or maybe one of those artsy "Janus" films. It seems to be a little of both plus,in some scenes,something along the lines of a Sid Ceaser (No pun intended) "Your Show Of Shows" skit. There are some moments that are written funny but also some dialog that is accidentally unintended sexual innuendo. (Or was it?) The plot's simple enough. The roman emperor Julius Caeser is having Christian women thrown to the lions and the men doing battle as unwilling Gladiator's with his best fighters. Jean Simmons as Lavinia is the best performance overall in this film. She stays true to her character's beliefs and shows her to be a strong willed woman but a gentle devout Chritian at the same time. That's mighty fine acting line to balance on.Victor Mature as the Captain of the guard is great also. He wants to uphold the ideals that make up the bulk of his duty but because he can see that Lavinia is certainly no threat,his heart softens. Another good bit of acting. The chemistry between he and Simmons seemed very genuine to me. Alan Young as Androcles. I feel his role is meant to be a little comedic but also to be seen as a "simple" man. (Not stupid but just "unaffected" by the bad ways of the world. He's basically childlike.Robert Newton as Ferrovius. A giant of a man who struggles with trying to be a good Christian but controlling his almost evil like temper that makes him want to beat up or kill those who get in his way. Maurice Evans as Caesar? Quite possibly the funniest portrayal of the leader I've ever watched. I'm sure Evans was trying to play him as a male diva who thinks of himself as being one step below the God's he worships. Lastly a still fairly young Jim Backus as one off the roman guards. Those of us born long after this film came out,yes,it's funny to see "Mr. Howell" as a Roman soldier. He does a pretty good job too.The central idea presented here is that being true to either one's faith or one's self can bring about good things and make one able to deal with life's problems and the opinions of others.At the same time,what one believes can also be something that causes one to be blind or intolerant to what others believe. To the point of trying to destroy it. I agree it would have been a good idea to decide which kind of movie was going to be made with Shaw's story. While I do feel it works here on a good many levels. What takes away from it is the unfortunate choice of having Androcles "dance" with the lion in the Coleseum! We can tell it's not a real lion,which ruins the magic of the relationship we saw established earlier. Makes you wonder if the director was going for "a big laugh" or something. In any other movie about Julius Ceaser,the ending would have been completely ridiculous. Setting all the Christians free of persecution is something we know was only solved through bloodshed and the fall of the Roman empire itself. Since this film is only 1/2 serious,I wont slight it for that,even though I did roll my eyes when it happened.In the end,everyone lived happily ever after!! 5 stars here. Godd acting on the parts of Simmons and Mature and fairly well played parts on the part of the others. 5 off from 10 for the sillier notions here. Still,for simple entertainment,I'd still recommend it. (END)

John Esche G.B.S. declared in the lengthly "Preface" to this play, written years after its 1913 premiere (the "Preface is actually longer than the play itself), that he had written it in pique at the one J.M. Barry play he had ever thoroughly disliked - PETER PAN! The sentiment certainly sets a bench mark for measuring what Shaw may have accomplished in his charming, witty examination of a "Greek wizard" Christian (Androcles) who finds animals of all stripes and species more lovable and easy to get along with than his long (and vocally) suffering wife and neighbors.It also may explain why Hollywood missed with this neatly produced filming despite a number of inspired casting choices (Maurice Evans as Caesar, Elsa Lanchaster as Androcles' wife & Robert Newton as the warrior/Christian, Ferrovius) and deft directorial touches.In trying to focus on the "family friendly" (deadly words in the Hollywood lexicon) aspects of Shaw's charming satire, the film gives a bad case of the "cutsies" to the central role (it would have been interesting to see this Alan Young performance before he became so identified with his role, Wilbur, in TV's iconic MR. ED) and soft pedals or ignores most of the legitimately humorous byplay among his fellow Christians who wish martyrdom to wildly varying degrees and the infighting of the professional gladiators who echo (in somewhat more bloodthirsty fashion) the outrageous practicality of Captain Bluntschli in Shaw's early ARMS AND THE MAN.Having made the decision to play the lion *as* a lion (before or after Harpo Marx departed the production?), the delicious hold on adult satire Shaw infused his play with was probably a lost cause, but what remains remains a very pleasant diversion worth a Saturday afternoon. For lovers of good Shaw however, it's more than a little watered down - perhaps most surprising of all, more watered down that the later equally enjoyable musical version Richard Rodgers and Peter Stone did for TV with Noel Coward as Caesar and Norman Wisdom as Androcles!

dropzone2001 I remember this movie fondly as a very young child. The reviewer may have seen this film many years later, but at the time, it was a believable and wonderful film to watch. I was moved to tears (believe it or not) by the plot and the main character (Alan Young) who later took the role he was most famous for opposite that stupid horse on Mr. Ed. The film, however, is the thing I remember and will always hold close to my heart. It's really too bad that the nice bubbles we hold close get burst so easily by people how have no clue they are even doing such a disservice. It's OK though. It's why I don't read or listen to reviews and I will continue to avoid them in the future.