duke1029 In a lengthy letter to the editor in the October 1960 issue of "Films in Review," a very young Robert Osborne supplies some erudition on the casting of "Androcles and the Lion." According to the film historian, shooting began with Harpo Marx in the title role and continued under the direction of Chester Erskine for five weeks. Osborne states that the film's producer and Shaw impresario Gabriel Pascal thought him "the perfect Androcles," and maintains that the rushes were thought to be "brilliant." However, RKO studio boss Howard Hughes had recently seen Alan Young on a TV show, and impetuously insisted that the part be recast. That meant all the footage involving Harpo had to be reshot.Unfortunately because of the delay two other principle cast members were lost to other commitments: Rex Harrison as Caeser and Dana Andrews as the Roman captain. Footage with them was scrapped and is presumed lost. They were replaced with Maurice Evans and Victor Mature. The two other stars, Robert Newton and Jean Simmons, making her American film debut, were able to stay.Although IMDb trivia claims that Harpo was only considered for the role, Mr. Osborne's reputation, gravitas, and record of film scholarship gives this anecdote credibility. It certainly is typical of the idiosyncratic and fickle Hughes that he would have these kind of caprices. Just one year earlier after John Farrow had completed "His Kind of Woman," the unpredictable billionaire brought in Richard Fleischer to shoot some additional scenes. Incredibly Fleischer ended up reshooting virtually the entire film when Hughes suddenly decided he now wanted Raymond Burr as the villain and had a large expensive set built in the studio tank for a superfluous sight gag involving Vincent Price that lasted only a few seconds on screen.Although it's unlikely that any of this footage will surface, if indeed it exists, but one can always hope.P.S. Victor Mature had a refreshingly off-beat sense of humor, and unlike other egotistical stars of the period, never took himself too seriously. According to co-star Jim Backus, he and Mature decided to go to a local café for lunch rather than suffer through a meal at the RKO cafeteria. The waitress was surprised to see the two men in ancient Roman military uniforms and was shocked and amused to hear the actors ask for the usual "servicemen's discount."

Hitchcoc I last saw this film as a child some 50 odd years ago. I remember after all these years, watching Alan Young, Mr. Ed's owner, waltzing with a lion in the Coliseum in Rome. I also remember knowing that the Romans did not treat the Christians very well in this setting. Shame on you George Bernard Shaw. Mr. Young, who apparently just turned 96 years old, a character actor of some merit, plays an insipid man who, in a most dingle-jolly way, is taken with a group of Christian prisoners to provide entertainment. He is docile and so trusting with those big eyes. Even a man who lives in a kind of la la situation would recognize that pain and death were just around the corner. He tries to inspire the others who are all giddy with their heads in the clouds. They somehow have learned Hymns that were written at least 700 years later. I guess this is supposed to be a comedy. The Roman soldiers are a bunch of silly Teddy bears, sort of like Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes. A laugh fest in a German prison camp. It also has Victor Mature, one of the most one dimensional actors of all time. Why the pretty young Christian girl played by Jean Simmons would want anything to do with someone so boring, I don't know. There is a fine line between comedy and tragedy. Making the Romans straight men who would never have fawned over those who were anathema to them was insulting. Watching the emperor chased by the lion was the final touch in a marvelously forgettable film.

dropzone2001 I remember this movie fondly as a very young child. The reviewer may have seen this film many years later, but at the time, it was a believable and wonderful film to watch. I was moved to tears (believe it or not) by the plot and the main character (Alan Young) who later took the role he was most famous for opposite that stupid horse on Mr. Ed. The film, however, is the thing I remember and will always hold close to my heart. It's really too bad that the nice bubbles we hold close get burst so easily by people how have no clue they are even doing such a disservice. It's OK though. It's why I don't read or listen to reviews and I will continue to avoid them in the future.

telegonus A famously bad movie of a minor Shaw play, Androcles and the Lion isn't bad so long as one doesn't approach it expecting a sparkling and witty adaptation along the lines of Major Barbara. To be fair to producer Garbriel Pascal, who loved Shaw's work dearly, and director Chester Erskine, an experienced theatre man, the play wasn't that good to start with. In trying to make their picture look like a spectacle, and casting hunky Victor Mature in a major role, Pascal and Erskine at least give the viewer something pleasing and familiar to look at. The presence of Jean Simmons doesn't hurt, either, though her padrone, studio chief Howard Hughes, was in the process of inadvertantly wrecking her American career with inferior movies. In the roles as early Christians, Alan Young and Robert Newton make a terrific pair, and ought to have been co-starred again. Mr. Young's endearingly innocent, child-like and effeminate Androcles makes a fascinating contrast with Newton's bellowing, hyper-virile Ferrovius, and one wonders, if one adds to the mix the mere presence of Victor Mature, was going on subliminally in the minds of Pascal and Erskine when they cast this film. (Young fared far better with the animal kingdom some years later on television, as friend and companion of the irascible and unpredictable equine, Mr. Ed.)