The Silver Chalice
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The Silver Chalice VHS cover |
The Silver Chalice is a
1952 historical novel by
Thomas B. Costain. It is the fictional story of the making of a silver chalice to hold the
Holy Grail and includes
first century biblical and historical figures:
Luke,
Joseph of Arimathea,
Simon Magus and his companion Helena, and the
apostle Peter. The story was inspired by the
archeological discovery of a
first century silver chalice in
Antioch.
It was made into a
1954 movie that marked the début of
Paul Newman as an artist Basil, who was given the task of making a silver chalice to house the
Holy Grail. It also featured
Virginia Mayo as Helena,
Jack Palance as
Simon Magus, the
villain,
Lorne Greene as
Peter, and a cameo by
Natalie Wood as a girl healed by Peter.
Victor Saville was the director. Apart from being Paul Newman's first film, this
sword and sandal movie, intended to be a
Biblical epic, is remembered chiefly for the curious
domes in the unusual set designs; and for its
film score by
Franz Waxman, which was nominated for an
Academy Award.
Paul Newman was apparently not proud of his performance. When the film was broadcast on
television in
1966, he took out an
advertisement in a Hollywood trade paper apologizing for his performance, and requesting people not to watch the film. This backfired, and the broadcast received unusually high ratings. The film is sometimes referred to as
Paul Newman and the Holy Grail. Newman has allegedly called the film "The worst motion picture produced during the 1950's".
