The Silver Chalice * (1954, Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance, Virginia Mayo) – Bad Movie 8

Director Victor Saville’s 1954 historical epic saga, based on the 1952 novel by Thomas B Costain, is a legendary bad movie.

Its star, Paul Newman, took out a newspaper ad in America to ask people not to watch this biblical epic, his first film, in which he plays Basil, the Greek artisan craftsman ordered by St Luke (Alexander Scourby) to make the chalice for the Last Supper. He is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus, and travels to Jerusalem and Rome to complete it. But someone is trying to convince the crowds that he is the new Messiah by using mere magic tricks. Jack Palance plays Simon Magus, the magician villain (‘A true miracle is nothing but a good trick’).

When the film was first shown on TV in America in 1966, Paul Newman took out an advertisement in a Hollywood trade paper apologising for his performance and requesting people not to watch the film. This of course just led to unusually high ratings. Newman called it ‘the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s’ and once screened it for guests at his home, handing out pots, wooden spoons and whistles and encouraging the audience to offer noisy critiques.

It is indeed as bad as Newman suggested, with the star struggling manfully against his terrible dialogue. But incidental pleasures like William V Skall’s Oscar-nominated CinemaScope Warnercolor cinematography and Franz Waxman’s notable Oscar-nominated score, as well as the handsome Warner Bros production make it easy to watch between the unintentional guffaws. The film features unusual semi-abstract sets, created by the stage designer Rolfe Gerard. Acting-wise, Palance’s performance is the one bright spot.

It was Lorne (Bonanza) Greene’s début (as Peter). It also co-stars Pier Angeli, Virginia Mayo, Walter Hampden, Joseph Wiseman, E G Marshall, Natalie Wood, Albert Dekker, Michael Pate and Terence de Marney, so don’t blame the actors – there’s nothing wrong with the cast. You could blame Lesser Samuels, who adapted Costain’s novel.

Pier Angeli is Deborra, Virginia Mayo plays Helena, Joseph Wiseman is Mijamin, Walter Hampden is Joseph of Arimathea and Natalie Wood plays Helena as a child.

James Dean was offered the role of Basil but he and his agent rightly thought the script was poor. Newman, who was a possible for the star-making role of Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), made the mistake of accepting the Basil role instead. While shooting East of Eden, Dean visited Newman on the set of The Silver Chalice, where he met a new love, Pier Angeli.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Bad Movie 8

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