Androcles and the Lion
“SPECTACLE, ROMANCE, COMEDY!...as only Shaw could write it and the screen show it!”
George Bernard Shaw’s breezy, delightful dramatization of this classic fable—about a Christian slave who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw and is spared from death in the Colosseum as a result of his kind act—was written as a meditation on modern Christian values. Pascal’s final Shaw production is played broadly, with comic character actor Alan Young as the titular naïf. He’s ably supported by Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, and Elsa Lanchester.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
16 people
Victor Mature
Captain
Known for
My Darling Clementine
Kiss of Death
Jean Simmons
Lavinina
Known for
Spartacus
North and South
Alan Young
Androcles
Known for
DuckTales
Mickey's Christmas Carol
Robert Newton
Ferrovius
Known for
Around the World in 80 Days
Oliver Twist
Maurice Evans
Caesar
Known for
Planet of the Apes
Rosemary's Baby
Elsa Lanchester
Megaera
Known for
Mary Poppins
Witness for the Prosecution
Reginald Gardiner
Lentulus
Known for
The Great Dictator
The Flying Deuces
Gene Lockhart
Menagerie Keeper
Known for
His Girl Friday
Miracle on 34th Street
Alan Mowbray
Editor of Gladiators
Known for
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Terror by Night
Noel Willman
Spintho
Known for
The Reptile
The Man Who Knew Too Much
John Hoyt
Cato
Known for
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
Attack of the Puppet People
Jim Backus
Centurion
Known for
Gilligan's Island
Rebel Without a Cause
Chester Erskine Director · George Bernard Shaw Author Friedrich Hollaender Composer
Budget $1.2M · United States release December 1, 1952 · Produced in United States
Box office
Budget
$1,250,000
Production
RKO Radio Pictures
Production
RKO
Studio · Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · December 1, 1952
Theatrical
More from Chester Erskine
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Androcles and the Lion
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.