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Androcles and the Lion

"SPECTACLE, ROMANCE, COMEDY!...as only Shaw could write it and the screen show it!"

1952-12-01 Comedy 1hr 38m

George Bernard Shaw’s breezy, delightful dramatization of this classic fable—about a Christian slave who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw and is spared from death in the Colosseum as a result of his kind act—was written as a meditation on modern Christian values. Pascal’s final Shaw production is played broadly, with comic character actor Alan Young as the titular naïf. He’s ably supported by Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, and Elsa Lanchester.

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Androcles and the Lion
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Storyline

George Bernard Shaw’s breezy, delightful dramatization of this classic fable—about a Christian slave who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw and is spared from death in the Colosseum as a result of his kind act—was written as a meditation on modern Christian values. Pascal’s final Shaw production is played broadly, with comic character actor Alan Young as the titular naïf. He’s ably supported by Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, and Elsa Lanchester.

  • Released
    1952-12-01
  • Revenue
    n/a
  • Budget
    n/a
  • Runtime
    1hr 38m
  • Genre
    Comedy
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    6
  • Production
    RKO Radio Pictures

Crew

Chester Erskine
Director
Gabriel Pascal
Producer
Keywords:
arena colosseum lion based on play or musical ancient rome 2nd century

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Cast

Victor Mature

Victor Mature
Captain
Jean Simmons

Jean Simmons
Lavinina
Alan Young

Alan Young
Androcles
Robert Newton

Robert Newton
Ferrovius
Maurice Evans

Maurice Evans
Caesar
Elsa Lanchester

Elsa Lanchester
Megaera
Reginald Gardiner

Reginald Gardiner
Lentulus
Gene Lockhart

Gene Lockhart
Menagerie Keeper
Alan Mowbray

Alan Mowbray
Editor of Gladiators
Noel Willman

Noel Willman
Spintho
John Hoyt

John Hoyt
Cato
Jim Backus

Jim Backus
Centurion
Lowell Gilmore

Lowell Gilmore
Metellus
Woody Strode

Woody Strode
The Lion
Strother Martin

Strother Martin
Soldier (uncredited)
Millard Sherwood

Millard Sherwood
Christian (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Androcles and the Lion
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2023-08-10

I think Charles Erskine has done pretty well with this entertaining adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw comedy. Escaping from his overbear... read more

I think Charles Erskine has done pretty well with this entertaining adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw comedy. Escaping from his overbearing wife "Magaera" (Elsa Lanchester), "Androcles" (Alan Young) discovers a lion in the wilderness with a thorn in it's paw. Despite being petrified, he removes the offending pain and the lion escapes. Shortly afterwards, he finds himself a prisoner of the Romans under the command of Victor Mature. He is rounding up Christians for the Emperor's grand circus and has already recruited "Lavinia" (Jean Simmons) and will soon add the ferocious "Ferrovius" (Robert Newton) as they journey to Rome. En route we learn a little about the strength of their respective faiths - to Jesus and to the Emperor, and by the time we get to the sharp end, it's clear that loyalties are becoming a little blurred on the latter side. I think this is GBS writing at his best. The comedy is fairly continuous, though not always laugh out loud, and the effort from Newton is as good as he delivers anywhere in a career of strong, characterful, acting. Hats off also to Young who does well here serving to hold together a cast of experienced talent delivering quite a thought-provoking and certainly enjoyable hundred minutes of historical light-heartedness set to a positively jolly score from Frederick Hollander. This is good fun, and well worth a watch to see what can be done with a strong story delivered by a cast who know what they are doing.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by CinemaSerf

I think Charles Erskine has done pretty well with this entertaining adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw comedy. Escaping from his overbearing wife "Magaera" (Elsa Lanchester), "Androcles" (Alan Young) discovers a lion in the wilderness wi...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2023-08-10

I think Charles Erskine has done pretty well with this entertaining adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw comedy. Escaping from his overbearing wife "Magaera" (Elsa Lanchester), "Androcles" (Alan Youn...

read more