It's been 300 years since the death of Jesus, and Christianity continues to spread throughout the Roman Empire, forcing the emperor, Massimiano (Dario Moreno), to take action. At the home of one powerful Roman, a new slave, Vibio (Lang Jeffries), has been purchased who shows a lot of fire and refusal to be kept down. He's caught the eye of his owner's daughter, Fabiola (Rhonda Fleming), for good and bad. She's intrigued by this mysterious new slave who isn't afraid of her or any refusal to do what she says. Vibio is actually a Christian too, caught up in the new religious movement. Both Vibio and Fabiola find themselves caught up in the fighting when Fabiola's younger sister, Agnese (Wandisa Guida), joins the Christianity movement while also catching the eye of the head of the Roman secret police.
Unavailable to watch on VHS or DVD -- that I could find at least -- this sword and sandals epic from director Nunzio Malasomma aired recently on Turner Classic Movies in a very clean, good-looking widescreen print. So many of these Italian sword and sandal epics have a stigma of being cheesy, cheap and goofy, but some money was clearly spent on this 1960 flick. The sets are impressive in scale, the wardrobe and costuming definitely aiding the cause as well. When the story does venture outside, the Italian countryside provides a fresh change of scenery, and composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino's score is solid as well.
A lot of the little things definitely lean toward the positive here, but in the process, the story gets left by the wayside. To say the story drifts is generous and polite. People talk and scheme, Christians meet, Christians run, Romans pursue, and then we start over again. Rinse, lather and repeat. We see the same chases repeatedly, the same discussions and arguments, and needless to say, it gets tedious almost immediately. It finishes up in 102 minutes, but 'Revolt' feels significantly longer. The premise is there, the makings of a good script, but it never comes together quite like you'd want.
Much of that involves the actors. As far as star power goes.......well, there isn't any. Jeffries doesn't have much in the way of personality on the big screen, a bit of a problem when you're the leading man. The one name I recognized coming in, Fleming is all right as heroine of sorts Fabiola. The character is interesting, but there's something special missing. It also seems that mostly Fleming was cast for her physical talents, dressed up in a variety of low-cut and tight outfits. In that department, she comes up aces. The most interesting character is unfortunately a supporting part that disappears for long stretches, Sebastian (Ettore Manni), a Roman prefect at the head of his legion forced to hide the fact he's a Christian. A movie from his perspective would have been far more interesting if you ask me. Also worth mentioning is Fabio (Gino Cervi), Fabiola's father, Cervino (Serge Gainsbourg), the effeminate, snaky head of the Roman secret police, Valerio (Fernando Rey), a suitor of Agnese's, and Tertulio (Antonio Casas), a prisoner converting to Christianity.
The meandering, drifting story does feature a handful of fun if hokey-looking action scenes. Very, very choreographed hand-to-hand combat sequences are pretty goofy as stunt men wait to take punches and then fall dramatically. The highlight though is the finale in a mini-Colosseum, Christians tortured and killed by the bunch in all sorts of inventive ways. Underneath the arena floor, Vibio and his fighters battle with the African troops favored by the secret police. As for the cop-out ending, well, that's best left untouched. Good action, exciting stuff, and it just comes too late to be of much use.
Revolt of the Slaves (1960): **/****
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