Victor Mature was my very first love, I was 10 years old, and went to see the movie "Samson and Delilah with my father, I remember writing him a letter telling him how I loved the movie, and I recieved a signed photo back from him
I am a Spanish man and this movie is one of my best in my collection. I like to watch Caligula played by Jay Robinson. The best!! There will no be another Caligula like him.
Jay Robinson! Any time this movie was on tv. I made sure to watch just to catch his performance. Listening to his voice, I could never tell he grew up in NY City!
I have to admit, John Hurt from the BBC miniseries "I, Claudius" was the first portrayal I saw of Caligula, and boy was he insane! LOL But Jay Robinson was a lot of fun, too. I think he was a pretty one-note villain, but I still think he did a hell of a good job, and I liked how obsessed he was with finding the robe in Demetrius and the Gladiators. I also like seeing Robinson here just talking like normal. I'm so used to seeing him go all crazy and smiling evilly in The Robe, but I like seeing him here talking and smiling normally. I always like seeing actors who play villainous roles all normal and relaxed like this, and he looked like he had a cheerful normal smile. :)
Victor Mature picked up my father hitchhiking back around February, 1954. My father and a couple of his Navy buds were going to Long Beach, CA and Victor Mature pulled up in a red car and said, "Where ya headed, boys?" They told him and he told them to hop in. My father said he had the widest set of shoulders he'd ever seen. He was a good man, too bad he never did that proposed remake of Red River with Sly Stallone.
You know why I love the Robe premiere so much is because it features Debra Paget, her beautiful sister, LISA GAYE and their brother Frank Griffin. Wish it was in HD and in color or even colorized. Still its a treat, and so very rare.
well said--the emperor role went to his head-thought he could make it as a big-time star-for a while he did--i agree he was very impressive-best Caligula ever--knew his lines-wouldve liked to see the bloopers--there must of been laughs on the set..would also like to see a decent interview on jay about jay play in these 2 movies--what do we have all these interview shows--not one of them will invite him as a guest--jay did to the movies what dr smith did to lost in space--
@@modmutha8608 I guess it would mean that he was the godfather of a grandparent , not knowing how old Denver Harris I'm not sure that Victor Mature would have been old enough to be that. This is how the line would be: Victor Mature: Godfather of Grandparent > - Parent >- Denver Harris.
jay robinson-At The Premiere Of The Robe The emperor role went to his head-thought he could make it as a big-time*-for a while he did-i agree he was very impressive-best Caligula ever-knew his lines-wouldve liked to see the bloopers-there must of been laughs on the set..would also like to see a decent interview on jay about jay playong in these 2movies-what do we have all these interview shows-not one of them will invite him as a guest-jay did to the movies what dr smith did to lost in space.
Wow. So cool. Thank you for sharing. That must have been a real turn-about in your Life. Please write back .. love to share my part in meeting with famous movie stars .....
Actually,How to Marry a Millionaire was the first cinemascope film. For some reason they thought The Robe would make a bigger impression on the public than a comedy about 3 attractive women looking for rich husbands. Go figure. I've never seen The Robe. I've seen "Millionaire" a 100 times because I love Betty Grable.
Yes Catman, Betty Grable was certainly the BEST of the trio. Gorgeous in every respect, she pulled off her comedy role with ease while the other two - Monroe & BaCall - paled in comparison.
Yes, you're right CatMan, Betty Grable was the best in How to marry a millionaire. Fox tried to give Monroe that big build-up by billing her first over Betty Grable, but Grable proved to the world that even in 1954, she was still the best!!! Betty's was a true talent, and not one that was manufactured. Hey, but don't get me wrong I loved Monroe in Gentlemen prefer blondes, Niagara, Don't bother to knock and River of no return. Her sexiness was unique, she literally burnt up the screen.
They kept pushing him toward a "Sex Symbol" and he wanted to do serious Acting! Toward the end he was so comfortable with who he was, his Last film,he Lampooned himself! All thru his career there were 'spurts of Genius' but he kept getting pulled back into "The He-Man Image".Obviously Sly( Stallone) copied him to a T. Hollywood Legend, never allowed to fly! He did some really interesting work in the late 50's but he also left the "Star System". (R.I.P. SAMSON).
Yes, I just have to admit that Victor Mature was a bona-fide matinee idol. Put him in any genre, and he shone like a beacon. He was great with Betty Grable in : I wake up screaming, Foot-light Serenade, Wabash Avenue. Of course, he was unforgettable in Samson & Delilah. He was a character actor in a leading-man's body. He was at ease in Westerns, Detective, Swashbucklers, Historicals, and Comedies. Wasn't he terrific in Million Dollar Mermaid with the beauteous Esther Williams? I can go on and on and perhaps end up writing a thesis on this great man of the silver screen.
It's interesting how those times were that Mature would send you an autographed picture as an expression of his gratitude for your letter. I wonder if acting stars do that today. Do you still have the photo?
I enjoyed this movie. Grand type of flick. The story could have focused more on the spiritual part of growing. The movie could have been shorten but this was the 50s an lemore. Now Burton is could but Vic is the man in this show. Jay steals the show. I think Jay got in trouble with the law that hurt his promising career. But he was good in Star Trek.
Much liberties taken Actually when Jesus was wearing The robe many were healed by just Touching it but it lost its power When Jesus was naked on the cross And the soldiers gambled for it!
@JubalCalif, the reason I watched this clip was just to see the interview with Jay Robinson. Thanks for mentioning the name of his book. Tomorrow, I will see if my library has it.
This movie was good but as usual, the book was much better. In the Movie, the real focus was on the Stars and their romance. In the book, the focus was on Jesus. The romance was a very small part of the story.
That's not a true statement he made. Samson, and Delilah was the 2ed highest grossing movie for a decade. Number one was Gone with the wind ! With Victure Mature, & Hedy Lamar were cast perfectly !
He was also in an episode of' 60's comedy 'Bewitched' with Elisabeth Montgomery. It was called 'Ceasar Salad' and he did a comedy send up of Caligula. On You Tube in 2 parts.
Jay also played in one episode of "Wild, Wild West" as an evil scientist trying to discover a cure for aging. He also played a clergyman figure in "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex" in 1969.
He had to have been the blue guy, the Troyian guy that was the Ambassador. Elaan was suppose to marry a Troyian and stabbed her instructor so Kirk had to fill in as her instructor. I knew his voice sounded familiar, just did not realize that it was the actor Jay Robinson who had played the role of Caligula in the wonderful movie, The Robe.
