''Theodora, Slave Empress'' () is a 1954 film about Theodora, a former slave who married

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

, emperor of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

in AD 527–565. It was directed by

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

Cast

Gianna Maria Canale Gianna Maria Canale (12 September 1927 – 13 February 2009) was an Italian film actress. Biography Canale was born in 1927 in Reggio Calabria. In 1947, she competed in the Miss Italia beauty contest, where she was runner-up to Lucia B ...

as " Theodora" *

Georges Marchal Georges Marchal (10 January 1920 – 28 November 1997) was a French actor. Born Georges Louis Lucot in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, the strikingly handsome Marchal was discovered in the early-1940s by director Jean Grémillon. By the ear ...

as "

" *

Renato Baldini Renato Baldini (18 December 1921 – 5 July 1995) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983. He was born in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''It's Forever Springtime'' (1950) - Un carabiniere al processo ...

as "Arcal", Theodora's would-be lover *

Henri Guisol Henri Guisol (12 October 1904 – 11 May 1994) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1931 to 1980. He enjoyed a career in French ''mystery fiction, who done its'' and film noir. Filmography References External ...

as " Giovanni di Cappadocia" *

Irene Papas Irene Papas or Irene Pappas (, ; born Eirini Lelekou (); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. She gained international recognition through ...

as "Faida", Theodora's step-sister * Olga Solbelli as "Egina", Theodora's step-mother * Roger Pigaut as "Captain Andres" * Nerio Bernardi as "General

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

" * Carletto Sposito as "Scarpios" * Alessandro Fersen as "The Metropolitan"

Release

''Theodora, Slave Empress'' was distributed theatrically in Italy on 29 September 1954 by

Lux Film Lux Film was an Italian film distribution (and later production) company founded by Riccardo Gualino in 1934. Gualino was an anti-fascist businessman who had clashed with the regime of Mussolini in 1931 and had been forced into internal exile on ...

. It grossed a total of 592 million Italian lire on this domestic release. It was also distributed in France by Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France as ''Théodora, impératrice de Byzance''. The film was the first of director Riccardo Freda's film to obtain a wide distribution outside Italy. It was also released in the USA in December, 1954, distributed by Lux Film America as an I.F.E. release. For this occasion, the film was dubbed into English and edited to 88 minutes (from its original runtime of 124 minutes). The editing was accomplished by simply removing the middle 4 reels of film, covering the plotline from the marriage of Theodora and Justinian to the start of the nobility's revolt against Justinian and his reforms.

Reception

In a contemporary review, The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' spoke of the film in negative terms, calling it a "dispiriting experience". The piece referred to Freda's direction as "laboured", stating that he "brings neither gusto nor honest vulgarity to the narrative". Regarding the action scenes, the reviewer felt that only the chariot race was staged with "any suggestion of real flamboyancy or flair" and that Canale's erotic dance before Justinian was "painfully unexciting".

References

Footnotes

Sources

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External links

* 1954 films 1950s Italian-language films Films set in the Byzantine Empire Films set in the 6th century Films set in Istanbul Italian biographical films French biographical films Films directed by Riccardo Freda 1950s biographical films 1950s historical films Biographical films about Roman emperors Cultural depictions of Justinian I Cultural depictions of Theodora I Lux Film films Sword-and-sandal films Films scored by Renzo Rossellini 1950s Italian films 1950s French films {{historic-film-stub