Day of Triumph

This obscure film of the life of Christ seems fairly decent for the time it came out since before the 1960's no one represented Jesus openly and realistically, Robert Wilson's portrayal of Christ wasn't that bad even though at times he did seem melancholic. The interesting thing about Wilson is that he along with Danny Quinn(son of legend Anthony Quinn) are the only two actors to portray as Jesus in more than one movie.Lee J.Cobb's performance was well enough to give this picture a dramatic run thru since he retells the events that happened along with Andrew.Perhaps this is the only movie other than 'I Beheld his Glory' that shows a passive a naive Jesus. Robert Powell's Jesus in Jesus of Nazareth was nearly as good as Robert Wilson's Christ.

One more take on the Gospels , without the cinemascope and the usual hollywoodian lore,a la "greatest story ever told" ;the prologue sets the tone:it's the parable of the sower and the seeds everybody who attended Sunday school knows.

The most interesting side is the time given over to the Zealots : Judas Iscariot is some kind of go-between with Jesus and his twelve ;he's given a political role -which Franco Zephirelli would use again in his own "Jesus from Nazareth"(1976); he sees Jesus as a rebel who could lead a revolt against the Roman occupants ; he has him arrested to urge the Jews to start a riot to free him;oddly he is present (and injured) in Pilate's passover grace scene :"shall I free Jesus or Barabba?"

All that concerns Jesus is edifying ,it's the merciful Lord ;all the episodes included are well known,although the adulteress ' case is passed over in silence.

On the other hand, Mary Magdelene is subject to cliché :she was not the woman who washed the Lord's feet ; the Gospels tell us that Jesus saved her from "seven devils who possessed her" (in "the king of kings "(1927) Cecile B De Mille's depiction was accurate.)

"Day of Triumph", a low-budget, church-sponsored film about the life of Christ, was the first Technicolor, English-speaking sound film in which one actually saw and heard an actor playing Jesus Christ (whose face was never shown in such films as "Ben-Hur" or "The Robe".) Once shown on TV annually, it now seems even worse than ever. Filmed on cheesy-looking sets, "Day of Triumph" features unknown Robert Wilson as a Jesus who looks like somebody made up for a small town religious pageant. His performance is completely forgettable and makes Jeffrey Hunter in "King of Kings" look like Laurence Olivier (not that Hunter was bad at all in "King of Kings"; in fact he was quite good; he just wasn't an Olivier).

Noted actor Lee J.Cobb, who gets more screen time than anyone as Zarok, confidant of Judas, and a sort of well-meaning high priest, makes a heroic effort under the circumstances, demonstrating how a great actor can bring class to a religious film that looks and sounds like a cheap B-movie. Judas is played like a villain in a silent melodrama (his "I have sinned!" after his realization that Christ is to be crucified takes first prize for melodramatic overacting) and everyone else is just plain bland. One wonders what director Irving Pichel could have been thinking.

I had the pleasure of attending a seminar this weekend given by the producer's son, Father Jim Friedrich. The seminar was "Jesus in the Movies." This film was blacklisted in the 1950s, so it was not widely seen. It is quite true to the scriptures. Christ looks "older" than 33, in fact,t he whole film has a very 1950s feel to it. But it is quite enjoyable. There is an especially wonderful scene between Mary Magdalene and her servant. Lee J Cobb and Mike Connors give very good performances. In the opening scene, the first word is said by Jesus, "Listen." It is powerful and compelling. This film is not easy to find, but worth looking for.

The first time I saw this was about 17 years ago, then a year later it was on again. Since then nothing. Growing up in the 60's it was fun to pick out many actors that I had seen on other shows, some from Superman. The thing I remember most though is that the two times I have seen this the ending brought tears to my eyes.