This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I saw this movie on TV in the early 1960s the first time. It is a mishmash of both good and bad, and is still watchable for a number of reasons. The Silver Chalice must have had a miserable production budget because some of the sets are ludicrously cheap, one set in particular (a stone wall) looked like it was drawn onto cardboard using a black permanent marker with a yardstick. So hilariously funny that it completely made me forget what was happening in that scene!And, speaking of hilarious, Jack Palance's performance was over-the-top total high camp. It was never clear if this was a deliberate move on the part of the director or producer or just an actor's ploy to steal every scene in which he appeared in this film. Not too far behind was the performance of Virginia Mayo, as his "magician's assistant", whose obvious job duties included prostitution as well. I think this was Palance's all time best performance, if only for the preposterous overacting. His Mickey Mouse Sorcerer's Apprentice costume and hairdo certainly did not contribute to a serious character role!Paul Newman was just really starting his career in movies, although he had chalked up a lot of time and experience in theatrical plays. He mainly seemed uninvolved in his character's role, and uncomfortable in the movie in general. He has been quoted several times that this was the one production that he wanted to purchase all possible copies of since he regretted this role more than any other. Not really bad, but he was probably suffering from the difference between live acting on a theatre stage vs a movie set. The script didn't help him out much.It was fun trying to identify the actors portraying supporting players in this convoluted story which was in reality fairly straightforward. It had the same overall cheesy and disjointed feeling of another overblown attempt by the old Hollywood Studio machine when it made another interesting stinker titled THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, which contained few starring roles, but a series of scenes populated by a cameos of a veritable Who's Who of Hollywood's plethora of film celebrities, mainly from the 1940s.I highly recommend both of these movies, if only to watch how the best of the film industry's intentions can go so publicly awry, regardless of casting and production efforts. Watch these two films and see how many famous actors and actresses you can pick out in the various scenes, while having a really fun and hilarious couple of hours along the way!

142 minutes of some of the most bizarre scenes and storyline was asking a bit to much of the viewer. We all know Paul Newman hated this and told everyone so, and I have to say it is justified criticism, and feel the musical score was far too classy for the Movie. However, it is easy to be over-critical , and not give any credits that are due, so I'll start by saying Newman was actually very good at handling some of the worst dialogue ever concocted and was far from the worst in it. Save that for Virginia Mayo who looked as if she had wandered onto the set by mistake. Jack Palance had a ball, giving the most over-the-top acting seen for years,; but at least he kept one awake. Pier Angeli was very pretty, but very wooden; while Lorne Greene seemed in a hurry to get back to the Ponderosa. Had it been cut by at least 30 minutes, and that would have been easy, as many scenes were unnecessary, it would have been a heck of a lot more endurable.

The 1950s saw a proliferation of Biblical epics--most of which, frankly, have very, very dubious religious messages and take a fast and loose view of the source material. Atheists will find the films tiring and many Christians will be dissatisfied as well due to their strange and watered down messages. Now this isn't saying all of these films were bad ("Quo, Vadis" wasn't bad and "Ben Hur" is a classic) but many were simply glossy crap films. A prime example is "Solomon and Sheba"--a film that literally killed Tyrone Power. In fact, his untimely death during filming may have been a blessing for him, or at least his memory, as the scenes with him had to be re-filmed with a new actor! In the case of "The Silver Chalice", however, poor Paul Newman was not so lucky--he actually survived to see his screen debut turned into an object of derision...it was THAT bad. In fact, his performance and the rest of the film was so bad that he took out newspaper ads apologizing for "The Silver Chalice"! The plot is about the cup from the Last Supper--and the Monty Python take on this sacred object was far more entertaining and less laugh-inducing at times! In "The Silver Chalice", an angry young man (Newman) is hired by Joseph of Arimathia to make a silver outer covering for the simple metal cup used in this ceremony. There's a lot more to the film than this, but frankly I don't particularly think it's worth discussing. Suffice to say there was a lot of romance, killing and semi-religious nonsense that instead of inspiring might just generate a few laughs.The biggest problem is not the silly plot (and it was silly) but the horrid dialog. While this film was based on Thomas Costain's novel (and, he was usually a very competent writer--I've read quite a few of his books), the dialog written by the Hollywood hack (from the appropriately named 'Lesser Samuels') was the major issue. In many ways the dialog sounds like it was written by a middle school kid or perhaps lifted from an issue of Classic Comics! It hardly ever sounded real and abounded with stilted phrases.Another problem, though not quite as serious, were the bizarre sets. Instead of looking like real buildings or homes, everything looked like it was constructed on giant open sound stages--which is exactly what they did. I think this huge open look was used to demonstrate the Cinemascope process, but it just came off as weird and unreal. Plus, the minimalistic props just made everything look strange...very, very odd.As far as the acting goes, this was also a problem. Newman was bad--surely hampered by the bad script but he also was clearly uncomfortable. It's a shame, as he was a brilliant actor--here he looks like Mr. Potatohead. Virginia Mayo is clearly NOT in her element and is plastic--and this is accentuated by her weird eye makeup. Though entertaining, Jack Palance is just peculiar to put it mildly. He plays a combination of a devil, a magician, Batman and Attila the Hun (looking just like he did in "Sign of the Pagan"). He's very silly in the film, but at least his histrionics and impossible magic is entertaining! Overall, the film COULD be great for a laugh were it not for the fact that the film is so freaking long!! At well over two hours, even the laugh-factor starts to wear thin! By the way, there was only one great line in the film. Near the end when Nero says "he could not fly" it was priceless! You just have to see this to know what I mean!

"The Bible" anthology orator Alexander Scourby (as Luke) chooses Greek sculptor Paul Newman (as Basil) to fashion "The Silver Chalice" that served at Jesus Christ's "Last Supper" with faces of the Lord Christ and some of his disciples. Looking tanned and handsome in Warner colors, Mr. Newman not only has trouble recreating the face of Jesus, but also choosing between bosomy Pagan-tilting Virginia Mayo (as Helena) and pretty Christian-leaning Pier Angeli (as Deborra). His cup runneth over...Unlike Newman, you'll have no trouble figuring out where his character and this story are going...Going up are Ms. Mayo's plucked and penciled eyebrows; going down is Jack Palance (as Simon) as the new Messiah. Don't be too quick with the fast-forward button, lest you miss Mr. Palance's fall from grace. Newman, who herein moved from TV dramatic guest to big screen star, was not proud of this film; and, it's easy to see why. It's a woefully misguided Biblical epic, with Newman not the least of its problems. The musical score by Franz Waxman is nicely done, especially during softer sequences.**** The Silver Chalice (12/17/54) Victor Saville ~ Paul Newman, Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance