The Silver Chalice (film)

The Silver Chalice

Film poster
Directed by Victor Saville
Produced by Victor Saville
Screenplay by Lesser Samuels
Based on The Silver Chalice
by Thomas B. Costain
Starring
Music by Franz Waxman
Cinematography William V. Skall
Edited by George White
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • December 20, 1954 (1954-12-20)
Running time
 135 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $4.5 million (US)[1]
Box office $3.2 million (US)[2]

The Silver Chalice is a 1954 American historical epic film from Warner Bros., based on Thomas B. Costain's 1952 novel of the same name. The film, produced and directed by Victor Saville, marked the acting debut of Paul Newman.

Plot

A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself. He travels to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome to complete the task. Meanwhile, a nefarious interloper is trying to convince the crowds that he is the new Messiah by using nothing more than cheap parlor tricks.

Cast

It marked the film début of Paul Newman as an artist named Basil (né Ambrose), who was given the task of making a silver chalice to house the Holy Grail. It also featured Virginia Mayo as Helena, Pier Angeli as Deborra, Jack Palance as Simon Magus, the villain, Joseph Wiseman as Mijamin, Alexander Scourby as Saint Luke, Walter Hampden as Joseph of Arimathea, Lorne Greene as Peter, and an appearance by Natalie Wood, who plays Helena as a youth. Victor Saville was the director.

Cast as Listed in the Opening Credits:

Style

The film featured unusual semiabstract settings and decor, created by the stage designer Rolfe Gerard in a striking departure from the normal practice of the day for Hollywood biblical "epics." A notable musical score by Franz Waxman was nominated for an Academy Award.

Premiere

The film had its world premiere in the small town of Saranac Lake, New York, which won a competition selling Christmas Seals. Saville, Mayo, Angeli and Palance attended, and participated in, a parade around the time of the town's annual winter carnival. The premiere itself was hosted by television personality Art Linkletter.

Newman's view on the movie

Paul Newman was apparently not proud of his performance. When the film was broadcast on television in 1966, he took out an advertisement in a Hollywood trade paper apologizing for his performance, and requesting people not to watch the film. This backfired, and the broadcast received unusually high ratings.[3] The film is sometimes referred to as Paul Newman and the Holy Grail.[4] Newman called the film "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s", and once screened it for guests at his home, handing out pots, wooden spoons, and whistles and encouraging the audience to offer noisy critiques.

Critical reception

Writing in the first edition of his Film Guide in 1977, Leslie Halliwell described the film as "[p]o-faced biblical hokum ... with howlingly bad casting and direction ... [a] sea of boredom", assigning it 0 stars out of 4.[5]

Audio and video releases

The film was released on VHS and, in 2009, on DVD.

The elaborate musical score by Franz Waxman has been prized more than the nearly forgotten movie. Elmer Bernstein recorded a suite in 1975, and Film Score Monthly released the surviving portions of the soundtrack recording in 2007.

References

  1. ↑ 'http://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-silver-chalice/review/117773/
  2. ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
  3. ↑ Video on YouTube
  4. ↑ Susan Wloszczyna, "Paul Newman: A rare breed" (USA Today, byline 9/30/2008, accessed 2/23/2009.)
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie. Halliwell's Film Guide to 8,000 English Language Films, 1st edition. p. 829.
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