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==Production==
==Production==
[[George Sanders]] was meant to play Caesar but was unable to get out of another commitment.<Ref>FILM EMPLOYMENT REPORPED ON RISE: February Figure of 13,700 Is Above '5O Monthly Average and Higher Than in '49 By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 Apr 1951: 34</ref>
[[George Sanders]] was meant to play Caesar but was unable to get out of another commitment.<Ref>FILM EMPLOYMENT REPORPED ON RISE: February Figure of 13,700 Is Above '5O Monthly Average and Higher Than in '49 By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 Apr 1951: 34</ref>

Filming began 13 August 1951.<ref name="new">HOLLYWOOD SURVEY: HEROINE
By THOMAS M. PRYOR. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 15 July 1951: X3.</ref>


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.<ref>http://my.xfinity.com/articles/entertainment/20160520/US--Obit-Alan.Young/?cid=featuredent_media_mred</ref>
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.<ref>http://my.xfinity.com/articles/entertainment/20160520/US--Obit-Alan.Young/?cid=featuredent_media_mred</ref>

==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 14:40, 5 July 2016

Androcles and the Lion
DVD cover
Directed byChester Erskine
Nicholas Ray (uncredited)
Written byGeorge Bernard Shaw
Ken Englund
Chester Erskine
Produced byGabriel Pascal
StarringJean Simmons
Victor Mature
Alan Young
CinematographyHarry Stradling Sr.
Edited byRoland Gross
Music byFriedrich Hollaender
Distributed byRKO
Release dates
  • October 30, 1952 (1952-10-30) (Premiere-Los Angeles)[1]
  • January 9, 1953 (1953-01-09) (US)[1]
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

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

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.[8]

Filming began 13 August 1951.[9]

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.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Androcles and the Lion: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Androcles and the Lion(1952)". imdb.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Androcles and the Lion (1952)". criterion.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Movie Review - Androcles and the Lion". nytimes.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Androcles and the Lion (1952) - Critics' Reviews". moviesmsn.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Shaw Society Double Bill Screening: Androcles and the Lion (1952) ..." cinemamuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  7. ^ Williams, Richard. "Androcles and the Lion". silversirens.com.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  8. ^ FILM EMPLOYMENT REPORPED ON RISE: February Figure of 13,700 Is Above '5O Monthly Average and Higher Than in '49 By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 Apr 1951: 34
  9. ^ HOLLYWOOD SURVEY: HEROINE By THOMAS M. PRYOR. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 15 July 1951: X3.
  10. ^ http://my.xfinity.com/articles/entertainment/20160520/US--Obit-Alan.Young/?cid=featuredent_media_mred
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