The Robe

Marcellus Gallio is a Roman tribune whose life changes after he is posted to Jerusalem. There he carries out the crucifixion of Jesus and, in a drunken game of dice, wins the condemned man's robe. His Greek slave Demetrius takes the garment and flees, and Marcellus is left haunted by visions and guilt. Hoping to free himself of the torment, he sets out to recover the robe and destroy it, a search that leads him toward the Christian faith he has never shared.

Henry Koster directed the film, which came in the middle of a run that included The Bishop's Wife, Harvey and No Highway in the Sky before it, and Marilyn, Dear Brigitte and The Singing Nun afterward. Albert Maltz and Philip Dunne wrote the screenplay, and Frank Ross produced it for 20th Century Fox. Richard Burton plays Marcellus, with Jean Simmons as Diana, Victor Mature as Demetrius, Richard Boone as Pontius Pilate, Leon Askin as Abidor and Michael Rennie as Peter among a credited cast of thirty.

Released in September 1953, the film cost about four million dollars and returned roughly thirty-six million worldwide, a strong result by the standards of its time. Audiences are warmer toward it than critics were: on IMDb it holds 6.7 from around thirteen thousand votes and on TMDB 6.8 from about three hundred, while the critics' rating stands at 5.6 from twenty-one reviews.