The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Days of Pompeii (1935
) is an RKO Radio Pictures film starring Preston Foster
and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
and Merian C. Cooper
, creators of the original King Kong
. Although inspired by the novel of the same name by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the film has virtually nothing to do with the book.
) is content with his life, beautiful wife Julia (Gloria Shea) and six-month-old son. However, when Julia and their child are run down by a chariot in the streets of Pompeii
, Marcus spends the little money he has to pay for a doctor and medicine. Needing more, in desperation, he becomes a gladiator
. He wins his fight, but in vain; his wife and child die.
Blaming his poverty, he becomes an embittered professional gladiator and grows wealthier with each victory. In one match, he kills his opponent, only to discover he has orphaned a young boy named Flavius (David Holt). Full of remorse, he adopts the boy and purchases a slave, Leaster (Wyrley Birch), to tutor him. However, the added responsibility makes him too cautious in the arena, and he is defeated and injured. The injury ends his second career.
When Cleon (William V. Mong
), a slave dealer, offers him a job, Marcus is at first contemptuous, but eventually takes it. He raids an African village for slaves, before turning to trading instead.
One day, Marcus rescues a fortune teller, who foretells that Flavius will be saved by the greatest man in Judea. Marcus and Flavius travel to Jerusalem to see the man that Marcus thinks fits that description: Pontius Pilate
(Basil Rathbone
), the governor of Judea. At an inn along the way, a man tells him that the greatest man is staying in the stable (similar to the one in which he was born
), but Marcus does not believe him.
On learning that Marcus was once a great gladiator, Pilate employs him secretly to lead a band of cutthroats to raid the chief of the Ammonites, who has been causing him problems. Marcus comes away with many fine horses and much treasure, but when he goes to see his son, he finds that Flavius has been thrown from a horse and is near death. With no doctors around, Marcus takes the boy to a noted healer; Christ saves Flavius's life. When Marcus later reports back to Pilate with his share of the treasure, Pilate has sentenced Christ to death. The remorseful (as depicted in this film) Pilate is consumed with guilt over his condemnation of an innocent man.
Marcus leaves the city quickly, but as his party is departing, one of the apostles recognizes him and begs him to rescue Jesus, carrying his cross through the streets, but Marcus refuses. As Marcus and Flavius get outside Jerusalem, they see three crosses on Calvary behind them.
Years pass. Marcus has grown wealthy as the head of the arena in Pompeii. Flavius (played as an adult by John Wood) is now a young man (in fact, supposing that Flavius was aged about seven at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, he would have been aged well over fifty at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius). One day, Marcus welcomes Pontius Pilate as a guest to his lavish home. When Flavius mentions memories from his early childhood of a man speaking about love and compassion, Marcus assures him (as he has always insisted in the past) that there was no such person. Pilate answers, "Don't lie to him, Marcus. There was such a man." Flavius asks, "What happened to him?", and the remorseful Pilate answers, "I crucified him." It is then that the memory of the three "crosses on the hill" comes flooding back to Flavius.
Unbeknownst to Marcus, Flavius has been secretly helping slaves escape from certain death in his father's arena. However, he is arrested with a group of the runaways and sentenced to die. When he discovers what has happened, Marcus tries to free Flavius, but in vain. Flavius is herded into the arena with the others, but as the fighting begins, Mount Vesuvius
erupts. As Marcus wanders stunned through the streets with the panic-stricken populace, he sees the jailer who refused to release Flavius trying to free his own son from the rubble. The dying man asks Marcus for mercy for his son. Marcus angrily refuses, but then remembers asking Jesus for mercy for Flavius and rescues the boy. Marcus sees his faithful servant Burbix (Alan Hale
) leading a group of slaves carrying his treasure on litters. He orders the litters be used to rescue the injured instead. As they get to a ship, Marcus sees that one of those saved is Flavius and offers a prayer of thanksgiving. The prefect and his men try to get through the gate to take the ship for themselves. Marcus holds the gate shut, giving the boat enough time to get away at the cost of his life. He has a vision of Christ reaching out to him just before he dies.
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) is an RKO Radio Pictures film starring Preston Foster
Preston Foster
Preston Foster was an American stage and film actor, and singer. Foster entered films in 1929 after appearing as a Broadway stage actor. He was appearing in Broadway plays as late as October 1931 when he acted in a play titled Two Seconds starring Edward J. Pawley...
and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack was an American motion picture cinematographer, director, and producer.Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Schoedsack is probably best remembered for being the co-director of the 1933 film, King Kong....
and Merian C. Cooper
Merian C. Cooper
Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, and film director and producer. His most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong.-Early life:...
, creators of the original King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
. Although inspired by the novel of the same name by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the film has virtually nothing to do with the book.
Plot
In the time of Jesus Christ, blacksmith Marcus (Preston FosterPreston Foster
Preston Foster was an American stage and film actor, and singer. Foster entered films in 1929 after appearing as a Broadway stage actor. He was appearing in Broadway plays as late as October 1931 when he acted in a play titled Two Seconds starring Edward J. Pawley...
) is content with his life, beautiful wife Julia (Gloria Shea) and six-month-old son. However, when Julia and their child are run down by a chariot in the streets of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Marcus spends the little money he has to pay for a doctor and medicine. Needing more, in desperation, he becomes a gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
. He wins his fight, but in vain; his wife and child die.
Blaming his poverty, he becomes an embittered professional gladiator and grows wealthier with each victory. In one match, he kills his opponent, only to discover he has orphaned a young boy named Flavius (David Holt). Full of remorse, he adopts the boy and purchases a slave, Leaster (Wyrley Birch), to tutor him. However, the added responsibility makes him too cautious in the arena, and he is defeated and injured. The injury ends his second career.
When Cleon (William V. Mong
William V. Mong
William V. Mong was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in 195 films between 1910 and 1939.He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and died in Studio City, California.-Selected filmography:...
), a slave dealer, offers him a job, Marcus is at first contemptuous, but eventually takes it. He raids an African village for slaves, before turning to trading instead.
One day, Marcus rescues a fortune teller, who foretells that Flavius will be saved by the greatest man in Judea. Marcus and Flavius travel to Jerusalem to see the man that Marcus thinks fits that description: Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
(Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
), the governor of Judea. At an inn along the way, a man tells him that the greatest man is staying in the stable (similar to the one in which he was born
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
), but Marcus does not believe him.
On learning that Marcus was once a great gladiator, Pilate employs him secretly to lead a band of cutthroats to raid the chief of the Ammonites, who has been causing him problems. Marcus comes away with many fine horses and much treasure, but when he goes to see his son, he finds that Flavius has been thrown from a horse and is near death. With no doctors around, Marcus takes the boy to a noted healer; Christ saves Flavius's life. When Marcus later reports back to Pilate with his share of the treasure, Pilate has sentenced Christ to death. The remorseful (as depicted in this film) Pilate is consumed with guilt over his condemnation of an innocent man.
Marcus leaves the city quickly, but as his party is departing, one of the apostles recognizes him and begs him to rescue Jesus, carrying his cross through the streets, but Marcus refuses. As Marcus and Flavius get outside Jerusalem, they see three crosses on Calvary behind them.
Years pass. Marcus has grown wealthy as the head of the arena in Pompeii. Flavius (played as an adult by John Wood) is now a young man (in fact, supposing that Flavius was aged about seven at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, he would have been aged well over fifty at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius). One day, Marcus welcomes Pontius Pilate as a guest to his lavish home. When Flavius mentions memories from his early childhood of a man speaking about love and compassion, Marcus assures him (as he has always insisted in the past) that there was no such person. Pilate answers, "Don't lie to him, Marcus. There was such a man." Flavius asks, "What happened to him?", and the remorseful Pilate answers, "I crucified him." It is then that the memory of the three "crosses on the hill" comes flooding back to Flavius.
Unbeknownst to Marcus, Flavius has been secretly helping slaves escape from certain death in his father's arena. However, he is arrested with a group of the runaways and sentenced to die. When he discovers what has happened, Marcus tries to free Flavius, but in vain. Flavius is herded into the arena with the others, but as the fighting begins, Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
erupts. As Marcus wanders stunned through the streets with the panic-stricken populace, he sees the jailer who refused to release Flavius trying to free his own son from the rubble. The dying man asks Marcus for mercy for his son. Marcus angrily refuses, but then remembers asking Jesus for mercy for Flavius and rescues the boy. Marcus sees his faithful servant Burbix (Alan Hale
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
) leading a group of slaves carrying his treasure on litters. He orders the litters be used to rescue the injured instead. As they get to a ship, Marcus sees that one of those saved is Flavius and offers a prayer of thanksgiving. The prefect and his men try to get through the gate to take the ship for themselves. Marcus holds the gate shut, giving the boat enough time to get away at the cost of his life. He has a vision of Christ reaching out to him just before he dies.
Cast
- Preston FosterPreston FosterPreston Foster was an American stage and film actor, and singer. Foster entered films in 1929 after appearing as a Broadway stage actor. He was appearing in Broadway plays as late as October 1931 when he acted in a play titled Two Seconds starring Edward J. Pawley...
as Marcus - Alan HaleAlan Hale, Sr.Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
as Burbix - Basil RathboneBasil RathboneSir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
as Pontius Pilate - John Wood as Flavius as a Man
- Louis CalhernLouis CalhernLouis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
as Prefect (Allus Martius) - David Holt as Flavius as a Boy
- Dorothy WilsonDorothy Wilson (actress)Dorothy Wilson was an American film actress of the 1930s.Wilson was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, moving to Los Angeles, California after her high school graduation. Ironically, she had no interest in acting, and had moved to Los Angeles due to an urge to travel...
as Clodia, a slave Flavius rescues and falls in love with - Wyrley Birch as Leaster
- Gloria Shea as Julia
- Frank ConroyFrank Conroy (actor)Frank Parish Conroy was a British film and stage actor who appeared in many movies, notably The Little Minister, The Ox-Bow Incident, All My Sons, The Threat, The Royal Family of Broadway, The Young Philadelphians and The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Gaius Tanno - William V. MongWilliam V. MongWilliam V. Mong was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in 195 films between 1910 and 1939.He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and died in Studio City, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Cleon, the Slave Dealer - Murray KinnellMurray KinnellMurray Kinnell was an English actor. He appeared in 71 films between 1930 and 1937. He was best known as the two-timing petty-larceny hood Putty Nose in The Public Enemy...
as Simon, Judean Peasant - Henry KolkerHenry KolkerHenry Kolker was an American stage and film actor and director...
as Warder - Edward Van SloanEdward Van SloanEdward Van Sloan was an American film character actor best remembered for his roles in Universal Studios horror films.-Career:...
as Calvus - Zeffie TilburyZeffie TilburyZeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury was an English actress-Career:Born in Paddington, Middlesex, England Tilbury was known first on the London stage and later for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as Grandma...
as Wise Woman