“THE ROBE” & “Demetrius & the Gladiator”

Amid a cast of all-stars in 1953's The Robe, Victor Mature made the strongest impression as the Greek slave, Demetrius. It was only natural, then, that Mature should star in this 1954 sequel, in which the newly liberated Demetrius forges an alliance with his Christian brethren to hide the sacred robe of Christ, coveted for its "magic" by the vile emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson, also reprising his role in The Robe). Captured and manipulated into believing his beloved Lucia (Debra Paget) has been killed, Demetrius rejects his pacifist faith, plots vengeance while becoming a rising star in the bloody arena, and falls prey to the scheming senator's wife Messalina (Susan Hayward), who craves his... affection. It all leads to a crisis of faith that will determine Demetrius’s fate as a noble Christian or downfallen hedonist.

Demetrius and the Gladiators has everything you'd want in a Biblical epic. The lavish arena battles and morality doesn't compromise its themes of religious loyalty.
This enormously successful sequel to "The Robe" continues the story of Demetrius (Victor Mature), the Greek slave who, after the death of his master, is sentenced to train as a gladiator in the Roman arena. There, his newfound Christian faith is put to the test when he has to contend not only with the swordsmen and wild beasts of the arena, but also the evil and sensuous Messalina (Susan Hayward) and the mad emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson). Crammed with astonishing action and fight sequences, this heroic epic is not to be missed.

Starring: Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, and Debra Paget.
102 Min., Color.

A tribute to Victor J. Mature, actor.

Information gathered by Katherine M. Pulzone’ for the Italian American Association of Louisville, Kentucky.

After spending a few hours on the internet reading about Victor Mature, I thought the Italian American Association should pay tribute to this great actor who was born and raised in Louisville. I have researched the Courier-Journal and found one article about his death. Hopefully, there are more out there that just haven’t appeared on the web. As much as I admired this actor when I was growing up in NY/NJ, I didn’t know much about him, other than the fact that he was Italian and obviously, his family dropped the “Italian” in their name.

The information I did find on him was interesting and I just know as fellow Italian-Americans, you would also enjoy learning about him. This was one gorgeous Italian that we love to brag about and looking at some of the photos I found on the internet, I’m sure everyone will agree. I have seen every movie and film Victor has starred in and my favorite was “The Robe”. If anyone in Louisville-land has more information on Victor, please e-mail me at KPuzo@insightbb.com. Thank you.

MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO: (Where the Mature family originates.)

Madonna di Campiglio, settled in a beautiful valley between the spectacular Brenta Dolomites and the Adamello-Presanella glaciers, at an altitude of 1550. It became the tourist scene in the mid-19^th century.

In ancient times the area was a crossing for traders in livestock, lumber, iron, wine, salt and food coming from the Po Plane to carry their goods to and from the Sole and Non Valleys or an alternative way to to avoid the heavy duty imposed along the Valle dell’Adige thoroughfare.

In 1882 Giovanbattista Righi’s entrepreneurial adventure of building up Madonna di Campiglio was carried on by Franz Josef Österreicher. Österreicher, who also owned the Grand Hotel Trento, was said to be an illegitimate son of the Emperor of Austria and Hungary, Franz Josef himself!

The transformation of Madonna di Campiglio into a very stylish resort for the Austrian and Central European aristocracy and the upper middle class is due to Österreicher. In 1889 and 1894 Madonna di Campiglio even hosted Princess Sissi and the Emperor Franz Josef himself. They spent their stay in Campiglio walking the forests and hiking up to the lakes that surround the village, to later waltz the evenings away.

The Österreicher family lived in Madonna di Campiglio until 1955, when building contractors from Lombardy gradually bought their properties and transformed the resort.

The end of the 19^th century lured climbers, mostly English and German, who began exploring the Brenta Dolomites. 1872 marks the foundation of the local mountaneering association Società Alpinisti Tridentini, inMadonna di Campiglio, i.e. in the village that mostly and perfectly represented mountaineering adventure. In 1855 a group of local alpinists climbed the Cima Tosa peak and in 1864 the English John Ball succeeded in crossing the whole Brenta group, all pioneers of the ascent to the Brenta Dolomites, culminating on 18^th August 1899 in the adventure of two Tirolean climbers, - Otto Amferer and Karl Berger, who for the first time ever ascended the Campanile Basso summit.

The Ski-lifts Company of Madonna di Campiglio was founded in 1947, with the aim of further encouraging skiing and promoting the winter resort: the first ski-lift was built in 1948: It was a chair-lift connecting Madonna di Campiglio to Mount Spinale. During the 1950’s the lakes cable-car and some drag-lifts were installed. Today the lifts network connects 60 km of ski-runs, with an hourly capacity of 31,000 people. The ski area is also connected to Folgarida and Marilleva, for a total of 150km. In the near future there will also be a lift connection to the 30 km of Pinzolo ski-runs.

On FEBRUARY 12, 2000: a retrospective exhibition and cinema review of Victor J. Mature's career and life was held at Madonna di Campiglia in July and August. Victor's fathers family was originally from the area of Pinzolo and the Rendena Valley (at the end of the 19th Century the country still belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire but the language spoken by the population was Italian). The community of Pinzolo and the local tourist board held an exhibition at the neighboring Madonna di Campiglio. Victor's native homeland remembers him and honored his passing with an exhibition of materials related to his life and career. Eight of his films were shown and was a wonderful tribute to a true legend. (Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Victor Mature film-fest here in Louisville hosted by I.A.A.?)

Victor Joseph Mature (on birth certificate)

Date of Birth

29 January 1913, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Date of Death: 4 August 1999, Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA (leukemia).

Buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Louisville, Ky.

Nickname

Beautiful Hunk of Man
The Hunk

Height

6' 2½" (1.89 m)

He was born Victor Joseph Mature (to a German-speaking Tyrolean father, Marcellus Gelindo Maturi (Marcellus George Mature), a cutler, and a Swiss-American mother, Clara Mature) in Louisville, Kentucky. Victor's father Marcello Gelindo Mature, was born in 1877 in the town of Pinzolo, in the Italian Tyrolean region of Trentino which was then under the rule of Austria-Hungary, and returned under Italian sovereignty in 1918 after WW I. He emigrated to the US with his brothers in 1912, and settled in Louisville, Kentucky.

Growing up in Germantown, Victor was for most of his youth, an only child because he lost two siblings at ages 2 and 11. Victor attended St. Xavier High School. He also attended the Kentucky Military Academy. One of his classmates was future fellow actor, Jim Backus who’s memorable roles was starring in Gilligan’s Island and Mr. Magoo.

Victor Mature worked as a teenager with his father as a salesman for butcher supplies. He also sold magazines and candy and with his saved money, opened a restaurant which he then sold in order to head for California. A more interesting note, he operated the elevator at the Brown Hotel until they fired him for getting caught dancing on the rooftop during one of his shifts. (I’m sure someone regrets THAT little deed.) There’s that old saying about “when one door is slammed at your back, another one opens” helped push Victor out of Louisville to find his calling. When he got to California to become an actor, he studied at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. After achieving acclaim in his first few films, he served in the Coast Guard in World War II. Mature became one of Hollywood's busiest and most popular actors after the war, though rarely was he given the critical respect he often deserved. He chose the Coast Guard because the Navy wouldn’t take him due to his being color blind. He was a petty officer in the Coast Guard during World War II. He served on the troop transport ship Admiral Mayo. His service carried him to the North Atlantic, including Normandy, the Mediterranean, Caribbean and many islands in the South Pacific. He was on Okinawa when the A-bomb was dropped on Japan.

He took exotic roles in films like Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Egyptian (1954). Never an actor of great artistic pretensions, he took roles in more prominent films like The Robe (1953). His love for golf, more than acting, lessened his appearances in films which diminished in the 1960s, but he made a stunning comeback in a hilarious romp as a very Victor Mature-like actor in Neil Simon's Caccia alla volpe (1966). Golf eventually took over his activities and, after a cameo as Samson's father in a TV remake of his own "Samson and Delilah" (Samson and Delilah (1984) (TV)), he retired for good. Victor invested most of his money from his first films and those later on, in real estate and retail stores, giving him an early retirement in his 40’s. He could then choose films that he liked.

Until he handed over the loin-cloth to Charlton Heston, he dominated the "Biblical epic" genre, starring in Samson and Delilah (1949), The Robe (1953) , The Egyptian (1954) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954).

Victor has a daughter, Victoria, born in 1975 who is an opera singer.

Applying for membership in the swank Los Angeles Country Club at the height of his fame, Mature was turned down and told that the golfing facility did not accept actors as members. His response: "I'm not an actor - and I've got 67 films to prove it!"

He attributed his success in Biblical spectacles to his ability to "make with the holy look."

In Zarak (1956) he played perhaps the only title character in the movies to be flogged to death.

In her autobiography, Esther Williams details a passionate affair she had with Mature during the filming of Million Dollar Mermaid (1952). According to Williams, her marriage was on the rocks, she needed love and Mature provided all she wanted. Victor was reportedly a favorite for movie starlets. Could you blame them?

He was a Republican.

Personal Quotes from Victor Mature:

I'm no actor, and I've got 64 pictures to prove it.

If you're so concerned about fucking privacy, don't become a fucking actor!

Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics.

When asked if it bothered him playing Samson's father in a TV remake of his own "Samson and Delilah" (Samson and Delilah (1984) (TV)): If the money's right I'd play his mother!

It is written and talked about, that Victor visited Louisville although I can’t find any written information on his visits here. I sure would like to hear that Louisville received him with open arms and pride. If you know anything about his visits, please email me at KPuzo@insightbb.com Would you like to share your story about Victor with members? Let me know.