The Silver Chalice

A tedious religious epic that wasted the talents of many, THE SILVER CHALICE marked the movie debut of Paul Newman at the age of 29, and it's a tribute to his staying power that he has managed to have such a tremendous career after the terrible lambasting he took from the critics and the ennui shown by audiences for this $4.5 million loser. Based on a best seller by Thomas Costain, it's a rambling tale that never comes into focus, and the result is a lot of people running around without motivation. Newman is a young Greek sculptor with something of an inheritance. His greedy relatives sell him into Roman slavery so they can get their hands on his drachmae. In the E...