User reviews

Okay, The Silver Chalice is not that terrible, but considering the talent it was a huge disappointment and saw the worst work and films of almost everybody involved(apart from Jack Palance, he was in the Gor films and that bizarre Treasure Island adaptation).

The Silver Chalice does have some good things. William V Skall's cinematography and Franz Waxman's score were nominated for Oscars and the nominations were deserving, the cinematography is beautiful and makes the most of the spectacle while the music positively sweeps, is lushly orchestrated in distinctive Waxman fashion and gives the film heart and pace. Jack Palance is enormously entertaining and maniacal as magician Simon, it's over the top- but you can say that that was in comparison to the rest of the performances- but in a deliciously gleeful way. Pier Angeli gives a heartfelt performance as well and Simon's flying off the sky scraping Tower of Babel is an unforgettable scene and close to being the highlight of the film.

Paul Newman on the other hand is very wooden and ill-at-ease in his role, it is his debut(one that is understandably one he'd rather forget) but he was an amazing talent in acting and that did not come through here. Virginia Mayo is alluring but looks completely and utterly lost and Natalie Wood is quite charming but her acting is bland compared to her usual performances. Joseph Wiseman and Lorne Greene are largely wasted(Greene at least though had his concluding narration that was mildly powerful). They are hindered by very sketchily written characters and as dreary and stilted a script as you can get where the one memorable line is Nero's "he didn't fly"(for me it is one of, perhaps THE worst script for a biblical film). Victor Saville's direction never comes to life and the story feels overlong, stodgy and over-stretched with scenes that are either stagy, superfluous or unintentionally funny(some also like the fighting over the gown and with the dancers that would be better belonging somewhere else). The costumes are the opposite of lavish, rather a hodge-podge with some not fitting at all with the setting, with Palance donning the weirdest costumes of his whole career(especially the last one, admittedly he does wear them well). The make-up goes well over-the-top, Mayo is caked in it and it cheapens her looks, it's that ridiculous, and while a few sets are amazing most are bizarrely stylised that it gives the film a cheap look.

In conclusion, The Silver Chalice is not a terrible film with the cinematography, score and Palance making it halfway watchable, but as a whole it, like Simon, didn't fly with everybody involved deserving far better than this. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Based on a best-seller by Thomas B. Costain, and directed by Victor Saville, "The Silver Chalice" was one of the studio's early CinemaScope films, and was really a variation on Fox's "The Robe," the first CinemaScope movie that had been a huge success in 1953... The action follows a group of Christians who are dedicated to preserving Christ's Holy Cup twenty years after the Last Supper...

Since Newman had the lead as a young Greek silversmith, sold into slavery, then chosen by the Christians to design a chalice for the Cup, becomes involved in battles and orgies, and must decide between the pagan world represented by a courtesan (Virginia Mayo) and the Christian world represented by his young, innocent wife (Pier Angeli). There is also a mad pagan magician (Jack Palance), who wants to destroy the chalice and establish his own religion, replacing Christ's miracles with black magic...

Newman was ideally cast as a Greek, because of his classic features, but he makes his film debut at particularly unfortunate time... 1954 was the year of "The Wild One" and "On the Waterfront," and Brando was at the height of his popularity...

I have to agree with the negative comments on this one. First of all, let's begin with the good points. It got two Oscar nominations--one for William Skall's color cinematography and the other for Franz Waxman's tasteful background score. Indeed, the only tasteful thing about the film is that score.

PAUL NEWMAN at least doesn't have to be ashamed of how he photographed in color because he makes a handsome film debut (physically) but was apparently given no directions from Victor Saville on how to play the role of a man who worked on the framework for The Silver Chalice. His is a bland performance at best and it is undercut even more when he has to share the screen with the terribly miscast VIRGINIA MAYO.

Mayo looks as though she just left the chorus line of The Goldwyn Girls and had the artists paint her eyebrows in what someone must have assumed would resemble women of antiquity. She saunters around in her veiled costumes as though she is about to break out into a burlesque queen's rendition of a bump and grind song number.

JACK PALANCE steals the show with his overwrought, maniacal performance as a magician who begins to believe in his own ballyhoo (or his own press clippings) and thinks he can actually fly without any contraptions aiding his flight. Oddly enough, his caricature of a role fits into the scheme of things, seeing as how the stylized sets and costumes suggest nothing more than comic strip vision.

Adding to lack of credibility is the casting of NATALIE WOOD as the young Helena who turns into Mayo as an adult. Now that would take the work of a major magician. LORNE GREENE, in his film debut, and E.G. MARSHALL struggle with poorly defined roles in the supporting cast.

Summing up: Dismal. The only question is, what inspired Franz Waxman to write such a pleasing background score?

Watching this movie is an interesting experience. It is indeed a real stinker, probably one of the worst big-budget epics made during that decade. It has one of the worst scripts ever utilized for a motion picture, with many laughable lines, terrible miscasting and horrible acting. Newman was right to be embarrassed by this film, but Virginia Mayo and Jack Palance should have been equally embarrassed. And Herbert Rudley tops them all as far as bad acting.

Yet.... it is beautifully designed, beautifully photographed, is beautifully composed for CinemaScope (the original stereophonic soundtrack is here as well), and boasts one of the greatest music scores ever written. Plus the fact that it was directed by a major talent whose other films are worth knowing: Victor Saville. That such a talented man could be responsible for this major disaster is indeed very disturbing. Sadly, it virtually ended his career.

This is worth a rental to see at least once to satisfy your curiosity. Turn up your speakers so you can bathe in the music at least.

Well I've waiting for years to see this movie, and finally I have. I made it my Christmas treat. Well okay maybe "treat" is stretching it. I don't know if it was one of the worst films of the fifties. But it's probably Paul Newman's worst performance in movies. Then again, the dialogue he was given was pretty dismal. As for Jack Palance, He not only chews the scenery, he spits it back at you. The movie definitely livened up when he was on screen. Virginia mayo looks like a hooker. Hmmm. Was she supposed to be a hooker? She's only 5 years older than Newman, but looks about 20. Still there were some decent performances noticeably from Joseph Wiseman, and Pier Angeli. It also kept my interest.

I started watching "The Silver Chalice" without having read any reviews. It did not take long for this highly stylized presentation to annoy me. I think I lasted about 30 minutes.

First, it employs minimalist sets which, in themselves, are sometimes beautiful but, when combined with the stylized delivery of dialogue are distracting.

The dialogue is stilted and silly. And the actors were obviously directed to deliver it in a somewhat emotionless way.

Don't feel too bad for Natalie Wood, who would soon have "Rebel Without a Cause" to counteract the effect of "The Silver Chalice".

And Paul Newman, in his film debut, would soon have "Somebody Up There Likes Me". How sad that he passed up "East of Eden" for this drivel.

This film is hokey and almost without any merit. I did find Jack Palance's performance (what little I saw) to be realistic enough to enjoy. But he could not provide enough magic to bring this boring film to life.

Whoever saw through this B-movie and cast Paul Newman in his next role in Somebody Up There Likes Me deserves a medal. The Silver Chalice was Newman's first film role, after only a few television credits. He knew how stinky the movie was, so I don't feel bad in criticizing it.

In an attempt to copy the success of The Robe, another biblical epic was made. Only, instead of casting people who could actually pull off a period piece (Richard Burton and Jean Simmons), this film starred Paul Newman and Virginia Mayo. The film plays off like a bad community theater dress rehearsal, and don't even get me started on Mayo's crazy eye makeup! Save yourselves. Even if you like biblical movies, the 1950s produced so many others you can watch besides this one. Watch Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Robe, or Quo Vadis. Just don't watch The Silver Chalice. I'm sorry, but with the crummy script, make-up, and acting, no one wants to sit through two and a half hours about a man trying to sculpt a chalice with the faces of Jesus and his disciples on it, and a bunch of bad guys trying to steal it.

The Silver Chalice is a difficult film to rate. On one hand, it's too long and too talky, with a jarring mismatch of old and new acting styles. On the other hand, its production design is just bizarre. It's as if the studio said, "We can't afford any elaborate sets for this, so just hire some graphic artists to whip up some matte paintings inspired by ... Giorgio di Chirico!"

Honestly, this has to be seen to be believed. At times, the cast seem to be stuck in a cartoon world, like Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Except for the actual sand dunes that provide the setting for one outdoor episode, none of the sets are realistic. Instead, they all look like things designed for the big ballet in an Astaire or Kelly MGM musical.

In other respects, the film alternates between boring and campy. Jack Palance seems to be enjoying himself as a flamboyantly evil magician. Virginia Mayo is saddled with over-the-top mantrap eye makeup. Alexander Scourby finds his niche as Mr. Bible. Paul Newman struggles to make his sincere portrayal register amid all the craziness.

It's unique.

"The Bible" anthology orator Alexander Scourby (as Luke) chooses Greek sculptor Paul Newman (as Basil) to fashion "The Silver Chalice" that served at Jesus Christ's "Last Supper" with faces of the Lord Christ and some of his disciples. Looking tanned and handsome in Warner colors, Mr. Newman not only has trouble recreating the face of Jesus, but also choosing between bosomy Pagan-tilting Virginia Mayo (as Helena) and pretty Christian-leaning Pier Angeli (as Deborra). His cup runneth over...

Unlike Newman, you'll have no trouble figuring out where his character and this story are going...

Going up are Ms. Mayo's plucked and penciled eyebrows; going down is Jack Palance (as Simon) as the new Messiah. Don't be too quick with the fast-forward button, lest you miss Mr. Palance's fall from grace. Newman, who herein moved from TV dramatic guest to big screen star, was not proud of this film; and, it's easy to see why. It's a woefully misguided Biblical epic, with Newman not the least of its problems. The musical score by Franz Waxman is nicely done, especially during softer sequences.

**** The Silver Chalice (12/17/54) Victor Saville ~ Paul Newman, Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance

This film is certainly an oddity but deserves some mention for the actors involved, and especially Jack Palance as "Simon the Magician".

I too remember watching this around Easter at around age 10, it could be an interesting film for children who don't understand the historical issues of Emperor Nero,the Romans and conflicts of Christianity etc.

As another reviewer mentioned, it is odd with unusual sets. Virginia Mayo, however, looks lovely as always, even with some over the top eyebrow makeup and gold eyeshadow.

Paul Newman is a slave who must craft a special chalice for Jesus. Mayo, as royalty attempts to rescue him from his chains. Simon the Magician entertains Caesar but loses his mind in the end, building a special tower and wings to prove to Caesar that he can fly. He is just as much a God as any other, he proclaims.

The film is theater and a bit campy as you get older but worth watching as a curiosity. 6/10

My advice is, watch about ten minutes of this for the sheer weirdness of it, the way people used to go to carnivals and pay to see the two-headed pig, but don't waste two and a half hours of your life on it.

Everything about this film looks and feels outrageously cheap and amateurish, as if the budget was a few thousand dollars -- painted sheetrock sets, costumes worthy of a college toga party, made from flimsy materials without detailing, blatantly obvious wigs (not just the bright blue-gray one), flat lighting, cheesy special effects, and Virginia Mayo's scary-bizarre makeup -- but it is all of a piece with the stilted dialogue and uncomfortable acting.

The bizarre "representational" sets might aspire to be avant garde and artsy, were it not for the utter cheapness of every aspect of the film. The story doesn't even matter; you will be too distracted by the high-school-play look of the piece. In summary, think of season #1 of Star Trek, the TV series, but without ski pajamas. Better yet, think of Plan 9 From Outer Space, but remove the campy fun and keep the schlock.

As an actor myself, I spent a lot of time watching the actors suffer through this piece of grief and wondering whether they had any idea what they were getting into, and just how desperate for work they were, not to have backed out after the first day on the set. If there was no other way out, it would have been worth shooting off a toe. Jack Palance acquits himself admirably amid this quagmire, but the others just slog through it.

You won't find any spoilers here; I got halfway through it and couldn't bear any more.

Paul looks good in his toga but otherwise is absolutely dreadful in his screen bow. It shows the advantage of the studio contract system that this wasn't the end of his career. His two follow-ups studio assignments, Somebody Up There Likes Me and The Rack, did a great deal to restore his reputation and put him on the superstar track.

Not that anyone else in the picture gives that much better of a performance. Virginia Mayo buried under a mountain of eyeliner is lost in a character that makes no sense. As the younger version of her character Natalie Wood makes a brief appearance and makes it abundantly clear that it was a good thing she never decided to become a blonde. Pier Angeli is quiet and subdued as Deborra and therefore manages to be the standout person in the cast because she doesn't declaim to the heavens. Speaking of which Jack Palance chews enough scenery for a raft of movies and while it's amusing at first it becomes tiresome in the long run.

As awful as the general film is the production design is a gaudy mini masterpiece of astoundingly bright colors and geometric shapes. It's the highlight of an otherwise mediocre bordering on horrible movie.

Epic and religious story based on a novel by Thomas Costain and dealing with the momentous deeds that befall a young Greek artisan called Basil (film debut of Paul Newman , though James Dean was offered the character, but he and his agent thought the script was poor) is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples (Lucas played by Alexander Scourby , Peter acted by Lorne Greene ..) and Jesus himself . Later on , he returns Rome where he meets Apostle Peter .

This Biblical extravaganza turns out to be a religious mammoth epic and focuses a moving Roman pageant dealing with a Greek sculptor , following his stirring career , spiritual awakening and reaches an exciting peak at the ending . This is a spectacular but failed portrayal of Biblical Hollywoodiana in which only flashes of the brilliance to come emerge from some amazing scenes . In its way , it was Warner Brother's answer to ¨The robe¨, being a misfire in which about to go bankrupt the production company . It has marvelous images , spectacular scenes , average performances as well as a lot of cast of thousands . However , the picture resulted to be a bloated , turgid Biblical epic , a real failure at box office . When the film ran on television in 1966, Paul Newman , who was a little wooden , took out ads in the Hollywood trade papers, and in Variety magazine , calling it "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s," apologizing for his performance, and asking people not to watch the film . Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, and many people tuned in to watch it on TV . Newman once screened the movie for friends at his home, giving them whistles , pots, and wooden spoons, and encouraging them to make noisy critiques of the film. Paul Newman, who was a finalist for the role of Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) that eventually was played by Dean and made him a star, took the role, which Newman later regretted . While shooting "East of Eden," Dean went over to visit Newman on the set of this film, where he met the love of his short life, Pier Angeli, Newman's co-star . A 15-year-old Natalie Wood who interprets Mayo's role when younger gives sensitive acting , though brief . The best acting comes , indeed , from Virginia Mayo as helper to Simon the Magician performed by an overacted Jack Palance . The supporting cast also includes E.G. Marshall as Ignatius , Michael Pate as Aaron Ben Joseph , Ian Wolfe as Theron , Lawrence Dobkin as Ephraim , Walter Hampden as Joseph of Arimathea , Joseph Wiseman as Mijamin and Albert Dekker as Kester . Furthermore , film acting debut of Lorne Greene and Robert Middleton . Alexander Scourby, who plays St. Luke, was known for his deep, rich voice and later became the first person to read and record the entire King James version of the Bible on records.

Sensitive and lyric musical score by the classic Franz Waxman . Colorful and glamorous Cinematography by William V. Skall . Strange and innovative production design by Rolf Gerard , including monumental as well as rare sets , in theatrical style . The motion picture was regularly directed , this was final film as director for Victor Saville . He moved to Hollywood in 1939, where he acted primarily as producer, though he did direct one more A-grade film , Green Dolphin Street (1947). He directed several movies such as Storm in a Teacup , South Reading , If Winter comes , Calling Bulldog Drummond and especially his successful ¨Kim ¨. Though briefly touted as a possible successor to Louis B. Mayer at MGM, the massive critical and artistic failure of a decidedly stodgy and miscast biblical epic, The Silver Chalice (1954), hastened Saville's eventual retirement from the industry .

I'll agree that this isn't the best movie ever made but it's not a total disaster that some might say it is. Afterall, Paul Newman started his career in this movie despite he hated the film very much. Well everybody has to start their career somewhere. The acting is pretty good especially Jack Palance as Simon, the evil sorcerer. Virginia Mayo and the beautiful Pier Angeli. Also look for Joseph Wiseman who would play the villain in the first James Bond movie Dr. No. (1962).

This film received two Oscar nominations for William V. Skall's colorful cinematography and Franz Waxman's terrific score. Both nominations were well deserved.

Despite all of the talent involved, I do have one complaint. That's for the set designs. They looked cheaply done and very cheesy and not enough texture to make them look believable and were an eye sore at sometimes. Which is a shame because I saw that Boris Levin was the Art Director and he's done terrific work in the future. I also think there were some issues with the writing because things just seemed to happen for no reason at all. But I tried to overlook some of these things and enjoy Paul Newman's performance in what I think was a fair movie. But watch and judge for yourself.

It's twenty years after the execution of Jesus Christ. Rich Greek merchant Ignatius adopts an artistic boy from a poor family and renames him Basil. Linus is angry to have the addition of his new nephew. Basil helps slave Helena escape the house. Basil (Paul Newman) grows up to be a gifted artist. After Ignatius' death, Linus has him sold as a slave. The only witness to his adoption who is still alive is missing and the magistrate has been bribed. Helena (Virginia Mayo) finds him and warns of Linus' desire to have him killed. Luke buys his freedom and brings him to Jerusalem to make a silver chalice of the Holy Grail. His former owners claim that Basil is a runaway slave. Helena entertains Roman soldiers with Simon (Jack Palance), the magician. She gets a new slave in revolt leader Mijamin looking to free Jerusalem. Mijamin wants to use Simon's magic to convert Jesus' followers who he sees as too pacifist against the Roman overlords. Simon intends to steal Jesus' cup and crush the new religion.

It's Newman's theatrical debut after years on TV and he has every bit of his leading man looks. I'm with the movie until the introduction of Simon the magician. The movie starts with Linus and the Romans as the villains. It's a complicated task to switch villains like that. The movie should start with Simon as the villain. It should show the origins of his hatred. He doesn't need Mijamin. It muddies the waters for Helena. It muddles the whole narrative. The battle between believe and false prophet should be simple. It could be a great parable about the selfish arrogance of Simon and the selflessness of Christianity. The muddled telling saps away the power of its message. The ending makes no sense because Simon sees every miracle as a simple trick. He sees Jesus as a great competitor. Simon would never do what happened. It's not in keeping with his character. It needs a better conclusion. Simon the magicians could be a great Biblical character but this story fumbles the narrative.

In a world of screen tricks, special effects, the props and scenes are weak.

But the shining performances of Paul Newman, Virginia Mayo and Jack Palance make one forget it, the same way a stage play is dominated by the actors. Watch it, and enjoy a classic tale of good, evil, menace and magic, faith and charlatans. The story begins with Basil being adopted into wealth, but the twist begins immediately as he is lowered by treachery into slavery. A love triangle ensues when Basil's young ex-slave friend shows up after Basil has fallen into the home of Joseph of Arimethea and Basil has become the love interest of his grand daughter Deborah. Power -- art -- and faith become intertwined as Basil is hired to make the Chalice... the repository of the Holy Cup of Christ.. which Simon the Magician-- a hater of Christ, wants to destroy.... From Antioch, to Jerusalem and finally to ROME this pageantry of ancient history is worth the effort to find a copy and watch this movie. The performances of Paul and the Italian beauty Piers Angeli shine.

Due to its bad reputation, I foolishly missed out on this one on local Cable TV during the late 1990s; however, when the opportunity arose recently to watch it – in tribute to its late star, Paul Newman – via a somewhat washed-out if quite serviceable 16mm print projected in a private cinema owned by an old friend of my father's (who's also a well-known film collector) – I couldn't very well decline! Incidentally, this was Newman's debut film (and one he famously later apologized for to his fans, being clearly out-of-place in a biblical epic, even going so far as to call it "the worst film made in the entirety of the 1950s" – I'd say it's definitely in the running for the title of oddest!). By the way, I hadn't intended to include it in my Halloween Challenge list, but the presence of power-mad magician Jack Palance and the weirdly avant-gardist sets which wouldn't be amiss in a sci-fi movie changed my mind about this!

The plot starts off with a young Greek boy, a promising sculptor, being given away for adoption by his poor father (Ian Wolfe) to a merchant (E.G. Marshall); the latter intends making him his heir, sealed by a pact witnessed by a number of servants (including Albert Dekker). All of this, however, doesn't sit well with Marshall's brother (the face of the actor portraying him seemed very familiar to me, but I had to search the IMDb for his name – it turned out to be Herbert Rudley, whom I'd recently watched in two low-budget but quite impressive films, THE MASTER RACE [1944] and DECOY [1946]!); consequently, after Marshall's death, the boy is sold into slavery (but not before he has befriended one of his adoptive father's own slave girls, played by a blonde Natalie Wood).

Some years later, we find that Newman has continued to develop his craft and has made quite a name for himself – so much so that the apostle Luke (Alexander Scourby) has sought him out to fashion a silver chalice that would hold the cup Christ drank from during the Last Supper; as a result of accepting this assignment, Newman befriends Joseph of Arimatea (Walter Hampden) and his lovely daughter (Pier Angeli) – incidentally, Newman and Angeli would be much more happily reteamed in his breakthrough film SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (1956). In the interim, Wood has turned into the most lusted-after Antioch-based courtesan (Virginia Mayo); into the story now enter two other important figures – Joseph Wiseman is the member of a sect who wants the people to rise up against the Romans (he's eventually involved in a scuffle in the desert with Newman) – an event which he deems possible with the arrival of Palance, who's building himself up as an alternative Messiah (and who seems to bear a grudge towards Simon Peter, played by a debuting Lorne Greene!).

The film was one of a slew of Biblical epics to emerge in the wake of the colossal QUO VADIS (1951); in fact, its plot line isn't dissimilar from that of (the much more successful) THE ROBE (1953) – which also revolved around a coveted relic of Christ epitomizing the struggle between Christianity and Paganism. As I said, the film is highlighted by unusual-looking sets (by Rolf Gerard); even so, it's nowhere near as bad as Newman (or contemporary critics) claimed – though the star is undeniably wooden; besides, there's a definite (and not disagreeable) camp factor to the film with respect to Mayo's make-up, some of the dialogue (especially Greene's closing straight-to-camera monologue, not to mention his taking on the persona of hunchbacked tavern-keeper to escape Roman detection!) and Palance's inspired contribution (performing magic tricks involving snakes, wearing a beehive-shaped cap and, later, a Riddler-like costume equipped with Wile E. Coyote bat-like wings – by which he seeks to astound the Roman crowds, Emperor Nero among them, by pretending to fly)!

Victor Saville (whose last effort as a director this proved to be) was a distinguished film personality best noted as a producer, but he had previously tread similar period/epic trappings in GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (1947) and KIM (1950). For all its faults and instant notoriety, the film still notched up two Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography (by William V. Skall) and Franz Waxman's rousing score! Despite the film's considerable length (142 minutes) which necessitated two intermissions for reel-changing purposes, the fact that I watched it under those conditions mentioned above made it seem decidedly shorter and I look forward to future visits to that same venue (in fact, I spent a good deal of time before and after the screening looking over – and simply admiring – his vast collection!).

142 minutes of some of the most bizarre scenes and storyline was asking a bit to much of the viewer. We all know Paul Newman hated this and told everyone so, and I have to say it is justified criticism, and feel the musical score was far too classy for the Movie. However, it is easy to be over-critical , and not give any credits that are due, so I'll start by saying Newman was actually very good at handling some of the worst dialogue ever concocted and was far from the worst in it. Save that for Virginia Mayo who looked as if she had wandered onto the set by mistake. Jack Palance had a ball, giving the most over-the-top acting seen for years,; but at least he kept one awake. Pier Angeli was very pretty, but very wooden; while Lorne Greene seemed in a hurry to get back to the Ponderosa. Had it been cut by at least 30 minutes, and that would have been easy, as many scenes were unnecessary, it would have been a heck of a lot more endurable.