The Silver Chalice

Released Dec 20, 1954

2h 24m

Drama

List

13%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

17%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

A Greek slave trained as an artisan, Basil (Paul Newman) is on the path to a better life when his owners discover his talent for sculpting. After marrying the lovely Deborra (Pier Angeli), Basil receives an important opportunity when he is asked to cast and engrave Jesus Christ's cup from the Last Supper in silver. Meanwhile, his path crosses with that of the scheming magician Simon (Jack Palance) and his sultry assistant, Helena (Virginia Mayo), which leads to trouble.

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Steve D

nice Jewish boy stuck pushing Christianity. Newman is the only thing of note and he can't act yet.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/02/23

Full Review

StephenPaul C

The worst 02 hours: and 24 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a bad movie -- This movie avoids a flaw found in several other movies from the 1950s with a religious overtone, such as The Robe, Quo Vadis, and Samson and Delilah. Those movies unfortunately depicted all pagans or anybody who isn't a Jew or Christian as morally depraved and decadent. The Silver Chalice focuses well on the struggle and life of Basil. Meanwhile, it gives good attention to the movement that Simon the Magician is trying to build. There was actually a person named Simon Magus who challenged the "miracles" of Jesus. Not surprisingly, he was demonized by early Christian historians. The main flaw with the Silver Chalice is the movie set. Many other movies of the 1950s set in ancient times made a decent effort in designing their movie sets to duplicate dwellings as they might have existed in ancient times, and often had scenes that were filmed outside. The Silver Chalice has hardly any outdoor scenes. The roof scene set in Jerusalem where Basil and Deborra are trying to escape from the mob and the Romans is very plain. The ride into Jerusalem starts with a focus on the carriage then zooms out to a very artificial entryway. It appears everything was filmed inside a studio.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

charles f

Beautiful filmed, it is ok in general.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Over acted, and horrendous sets. I think our Cub Scout den had better props!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Paul Newman himself took out an ad in the newspaper pleading with people not to watch this film. That and the fact that he also invited over friends to view it and gave them pots and pans to bang on as criticism should be explanatory in itself. It is not horrible, but it is not good either.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Victor Saville

Director

Virginia Mayo

Helena

Paul Newman

Basil

Jack Palance

Simon The Magician

Pier Angeli

Deborra

Alexander Scourby

Luke

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Variety Staff

Variety

Like the Thomas B. Costain book, the picture is overdrawn and sometimes tedious, but producer-director Victor Saville still manages to instill interest in what's going on, and even hits a feeling of excitement occasionally.

Jun 17, 2008

Full Review

A.H. Weiler

New York Times

Though it is lavish and sweeping in execution, The Silver Chalice, for all of its august and religious aspects, is not an imposing offering.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 31, 2006

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The pic is so bad, you can hear the dogs barking.

Rated: C

Apr 6, 2010

Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...the movie attempts to make a grand splash. Unhappily, the splash is more like a belly flop.

Rated: 4/10

Feb 20, 2009

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Admittedly dull, overlong and kitschy, the film was dismissed as embarrassing debut for Paul Newman, yet a closer look shows the attributes that would make him a mega-star.

Rated: C+

Sep 27, 2008

Full Review

TV Guide

A tedious religious epic that wasted the talents of many.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 17, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

A Greek slave trained as an artisan, Basil (Paul Newman) is on the path to a better life when his owners discover his talent for sculpting. After marrying the lovely Deborra (Pier Angeli), Basil receives an important opportunity when he is asked to cast and engrave Jesus Christ's cup from the Last Supper in silver. Meanwhile, his path crosses with that of the scheming magician Simon (Jack Palance) and his sultry assistant, Helena (Virginia Mayo), which leads to trouble.

Director: Victor Saville
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 20, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 2h 24m

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