The Last Days of Pompeii

Released Oct 18, 1935

1h 36m

History

Drama

List

Reviews

36%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A blacksmith (Preston Foster) becomes a gladiator and Pontius Pilate's (Basil Rathbone) partner, then sees Vesuvius erupt and finds Christ.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

This is a somewhat flawed film, but when it excels it does so with style.

Rated: 6/10

Apr 21, 2022

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Harold V. Cohen

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A fairly decent piece of fiction.

Nov 19, 2020

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Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)

Esquire Magazine

Basil Rathbone's incisive, worldly portrayal of Pontius Pilate is the most notable characterization in the film. Other players are adequate.

Apr 21, 2020

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Pulpy sword and sandal film, whose highlight is filming the eruption of Vesuvius.

Rated: C+

Aug 3, 2010

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CodyZamboni

This movie mash up combines a religious story, a disaster movie, and gladiator epic, It's never boring. The acting is lame, but I did like the main character's story arc, his rise, fall, and rise again. But it's the gladiator fighting and volcano disaster action with remarkable minature fx destruction, that I'll remember best. Movie was made by the same producer as King Kong,

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

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Audience Member

The best thrilling movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

Forget how silly the acting seemed and try to understand film making in its beginning and only then will you be able to appreciate this movie. As someone who enjoyed reading/knowing who some of Hollywood’s famous actors were back in the day, it was cool recognizing Basil Rathbone and Allen Hale Sr. For its time, I thought the special effects in the end were great!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Pulpy sword and sandal film, whose highlight is filming the eruption of Vesuvius.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The love triangles are the actual story, and Vesuvius's eruption is merely the conclusion. This movie is fairly slow and the payoff wasn't as big as expected, even for a silent movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

An ok historical drama of the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed this roman city

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Ernest B. Schoedsack

Director

Preston Foster

Marcus

Alan Hale

Burbix

Basil Rathbone

Pontius Pilate

John Wood

Flavius, as a Man

Louis Calhern

Prefect

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Synopsis

A blacksmith (Preston Foster) becomes a gladiator and Pontius Pilate's (Basil Rathbone) partner, then sees Vesuvius erupt and finds Christ.

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Screenwriter: Ruth Rose, James Ashmore Creelman, Melville Baker
Production Co: RKO Pictures
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 1935, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 1h 36m

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