Movie
Androcles and the Lion
Released: December 1, 1952 (1952)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Genres: Comedy
George Bernard Shaw’s breezy, delightful dramatization of this classic fable—about a Christian slave who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw and is spared from death in the Colosseum as a result of his kind act—was written as a meditation on modern Christian values. Pascal’s final Shaw production is played broadly, with comic character actor Alan Young as the titular naïf. He’s ably supported by Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Robert Newton, and Elsa Lanchester.
Main Cast (Top 10 billed, oldest first)
- Gene Lockhart as Menagerie Keeper
Age at release: 61
- Alan Mowbray as Editor of Gladiators
Age at release: 56
- Maurice Evans as Caesar
Age at release: 51
- Elsa Lanchester as Megaera
Age at release: 50
- Reginald Gardiner as Lentulus
Age at release: 49
- Robert Newton as Ferrovius
Age at release: 47
- Victor Mature as Captain
Age at release: 39
- Noel Willman as Spintho
Age at release: 34
- Alan Young as Androcles
Age at release: 33
- Jean Simmons as Lavinina
Age at release: 23
Show more cast
- John Hoyt as Cato
Age at release: 47
- Lowell Gilmore as Metellus
Age at release: 45
- Jim Backus as Centurion
Age at release: 39
- Woody Strode as The Lion
Age at release: 38
- Strother Martin as Soldier (uncredited)
Age at release: 33
- Millard Sherwood as Christian (uncredited)
Age at release: Unknown