''The Sword and the Cross'' ( it, La spada e la croce) is a

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

religious

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (8 July 1894 – 4 January 1998) was an Italian film director whose career spanned from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. He mainly directed adventure pictures and popular comedies, including some starring Totò. His 1942 ...

and starring Yvonne De Carlo as Mary Magdalene. Shot in English and later dubbed in Italian, the film was released in the United States in 1960 as ''Mary Magdalene''.

Cast

* Yvonne De Carlo as Mary Magdalene * Jorge Mistral as Gaius Marcellus *

Rossana Podestà Rossana Podestà (born Carla Dora Podestà; 20 June 1934 – 10 December 2013) was an Italian actress who worked mainly in Italy from the 1950s to the 1970s. Biography Podestà was born in Tripoli in the Italian colony of Libya. She spent her f ...

as Martha *

Massimo Serato Massimo Serato, born Giuseppe Segato, (31 May 1916 – 22 December 1989) was an Italian film actor with a career spanning over 40 years. Serato was born in Oderzo, Veneto, Italy and started appearing in films in 1938. He played leading roles in ...

as Anan *

Andrea Aureli Andrea Aureli (5 March 1923 – 5 November 2007) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Terni, Aureli graduated from the Liceo classico in his hometown, then he enrolled the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in ...

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

Mario Girotti Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

as Lazarus *

Nando Tamberlani Nando Tamberlani (1896–1967) was an Italian film actor. A character actor in Italian cinema of the postwar era, he was the brother of actor Carlo Tamberlani. Another brother Ermete Tamberlani was also an actor. He appeared in a number of peplum ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

Philippe Hersent Philippe Hersent (26 July 1912 – 30 December 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1930 to 1978. Filmography References External links * 1912 births 1982 deaths French male film actors {{Franc ...

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

Rossana Rory Rossana Rory (born 7 September 1927) is an Italian retired actress best known for her performance as Norma in Mario Monicelli's caper film ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' (1958). Career Rory began working as a model at the age of seventeen, po ...

as Claudia

Production

De Carlo was signed for the film in May 1958. The film's director,

, later remembered that the "producer, Ottavio Poggi, had sent the provisional script to America, so Yvonne De Carlo could read it and decide on her participation in the film. She read it and got very excited, agreeing to play the role of Magdalene." Edgar G. Ulmer was reportedly preparing another project on Magdalene with Ottavio Poggi. De Carlo left for Rome in July 1958. Filming took place in Rome in August through to November 1958 at Cinicetta Studios. A working title for the film was ''The Great Sinner''.

Release

Although the film was shot under the English title ''The Sword and the Cross'' another Italian film with that name (Le Schiave di Cartagine aka Slaves of Carthage) starring Gianna Maria Canale and Jorge Mistral, was released un the US in 1960.

Critical reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "sluggish". Gary Allen Smith, in his book ''Epic Films: Casts, Credits and Commentary on More Than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies'', described the film as "above average."

References

External links

* 1958 films 1950s historical drama films 1958 drama films Peplum films Italian historical drama films 1950s Italian-language films English-language Italian films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Religious epic films Films set in the 1st century Films set in the Roman Empire Portrayals of Mary Magdalene in film Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate Sword and sandal films Caiaphas Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot 1950s multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1950s Italian films {{historic-film-stub