The Silver Chalice

Director: Victor Saville Victor Saville

Overview

Paul Newman made his screen debut in the gloriously nonsensical costume epic The Silver Chalice. Freely adapted from a novel by Thomas B. Costain, the film casts Newman as Basil, a first century Greek sculptor who is sold into slavery by his wicked uncle. Transported to Rome, Basil manages to enjoy a measure of freedom when his captors discover his sculpting talents; he also marries another slave, the demure Deborra (Pier Angeli) and dallies with the sensuous Helena (Virginia Mayo), the mercenary partner of court magician Simon (Jack Palance). The plot congeals when Basil is commissioned to create a silver receptacle for the chalice from which Jesus Christ drank at the Last Supper. Lorne Greene, likewise making his screen bow, is all portentous speeches and prophetic observations as the apostle Peter. Of the many silly highlights, the silliest -- and most memorable -- occurs when the unhinged Simon is possessed with the notion that he can fly with the gods (Palance's performance in this episode must be seen to be believed). When The Silver Chalice was first released, poor Paul Newman was roundly panned as a third-rate Brando; one reviewer noted that he "delivers his lines with the emotional fervor of a Putnam Division conductor announcing local stops." No one has been more vocal in the drubbing of Newman's performance than Newman himself. When the film was first aired on TV in Los Angeles in 1961, the actor took out a full-page apology in the trade papers. In recent years, however, Paul Newman has pointed to The Silver Chalice with pride, observing that he was able to overcome a bad beginning and endure as a screen favorite for over four decades.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2013
UPC:	0883316723791
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Sales rank:	6,175

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Paul Newman	Basil
Virginia Mayo	Helena
Pier Angeli	Deborra
Jack Palance	Simon
Alexander Scourby	Luke
Joseph Wiseman	Mijamin
E.G. Marshall	Ignatius,Benjie
Walter Hampden	Joseph
Jacques Aubuchon	Nero
Herbert Rudley	Linus
Albert Dekker	Kester
Michael Pate	Aaron
Lorne Greene	Peter
Terence de Marney	Sosthene
Donald Randolph	Selech,Selech
David Stewart	Adam,Actor
Philip Tonge	Ohad
Ian Wolfe	Theron
Robert Middleton	Idbash
Lawrence Dobkin	Ephraim
Natalie Wood	Helena as a Girl
Peter Reynolds	Basil as a Boy
Mel Welles	Marcos
Jack Raine	Magistrate
Beryl Machin	Eulalia
John Sheffield	Witnesses to Adoption
John Marlowe	Witnesses to Adoption
Paul Power	Witnesses to Adoption
Frank Hagney	Ruffian,Actor
Harry Wilson	Ruffian
Charles Bewley	Roman Commander
David Bond	Cameleer
Allen Michaelson	High Priest
Lester Sharpe	Oasis Keeper
Anthony Eustrel	Maximus
Booth Colman	Hiram
Strother Martin	Actor
Franz Waxman	Conductor,Composer

Technical Credits

Lesser Samuels

Victor Saville	Director,Producer
Lesser Samuels	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Paul Newman often bemoaned his debut screen performance in The Silver Chalice -- and with good reason. One of the screen's most talented actors, Newman is simply dreadful in a part for which he was fundamentally unsuited. While he undeniably looks great and, even at this early stage, knows how to play to the camera, the part calls for an actor at home in historical epics and comfortable with the kind of melodramatic mush that fills most such screenplays. Newman is simply dull -- unlike the similarly miscast Virginia Mayo, who, with makeup that must be seen to be believed, vamps her way through the part in classic camp manner. Indeed, though Chalice is a pretty bad movie, much of it is enjoyable as an unintentional "hoot." Certainly, the screenplay is filled with the kind of lines that inspire appreciative guffaws, and Victor Saville's direction -- a curious blend of naïveté and "let's just get the job done" professionalism -- somehow makes things even funnier. Jack Palance and Lorne Greene help add to the camp factor, especially the former, whose mad wizard must be seen to be believed; the character's "I'm flying" climax is truly noteworthy. Of the large cast, only a young (and blonde) Natalie Wood manages to give a decent non-camp performance. Ridiculous it may be, and no one would ever confuse it with a good movie, but Chalice is fun -- for people who approach it in the proper spirit.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler