Demetrius and the Gladiators

Demetrius and the Gladiators continues the story begun in The Robe. After the deaths of Diana and Marcellus, the robe of Christ is entrusted to the apostle Peter for safekeeping. The emperor Caligula wants it back, believing it holds supernatural power. Demetrius, once Marcellus's slave and now a Christian, tries to keep the garment out of the emperor's hands. His efforts bring him to the attention of Messalina, wife of Caligula's uncle Claudius, and land him in the arena as a gladiator, where his faith is tested by both the violence he faces and Messalina's advances. Victor Mature leads the cast as Demetrius, with Susan Hayward as Messalina, Michael Rennie as Peter, Debra Paget as Lucia, Anne Bancroft as Paula and Jay Robinson as Caligula.

Delmer Daves directed the film, which sits between Broken Arrow and Jubal in a run of films he made across the 1940s and 1960s. Philip Dunne wrote the screenplay, and Frank Ross produced the 20th Century Fox release. Made for about 2 million dollars, it returned roughly 26 million worldwide, a strong result for a historical adventure of its time.

Audience reception has been moderate and consistent: on IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from around 4,600 votes, and on TMDB 6.6/10 from a much smaller pool of 95 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1/10 from eight reviews places it close to, though slightly below, those viewer scores.