User reviews

An enjoyable spectacle, though some of the plot was a bit unconvincing. For a tough guy, Marcian was very eager to volunteer details of his mission when he was captured by Attila, and I don't know he he got intelligence of the pagan hordes' move on Rome and was able to rush some of his troops to its defence across considerable distances. And I was also puzzled by how Attila came to be in awe of Christianity. But Palance made an excellent Hun, and was every bit as good a villain as he was in Shane and Arrowhead. And Chandler has never looked better, thanks to his Roman armour and longer hair than usual. It was also fun to try to recognise lesser actors such as Pat Hogan and Leo Gordon in their barbarous costumes. A good 90 minutes of entertainment.

If Charlton Heston had been born Jewish, he'd have been Jeff Chandler, a lookalike who lost out on both The Ten Commandments AND Ben-Hur to Old Granite Jaw. Had Chandler nabbed those roles, he may have become a superstar himself. As is, he played the leads in studio program pictures, those B+ movies that disappeared with the end of the 'studio contract' system in the early sixties. By then, Chandler was already gone, having died while filming a WWII action flick, Merrill's Marauders, for Sam Fuller in the Phillipines. Anyway, his director for this costume mini-epic was Doug Sirk, an expert out of making magic from routine material. Chandler's the Roman centurion who must push back the invading armies of Atilla the Hun. Ludmilla Tcherina is one of a number of flashy looking women (Blonde Allison Hayes, later the sixty foot woman, is another). Lots of fairly big and semi-spectacular action sequences, with Jack Palance hamming it up even more than usual as Atilla. Nice production values, given a moody atmosphere by the always fascinating Sirk. This is one of those films that have been so completely forgotten that even Turner Movies doesn't revive it. Too bad - for this represents a fun aspect of the Old Hollywood in its final hours that ought to be reclaimed by contemporary viewers.

Overall production value is not very high on this film; I seem to recall the film's inability to pass off studio sets as exterior locations. My recollection is of a very "TV-like" production on the level of a "B" movie with a large then usual budget. However, Jack Palance is excellent as Attila the Hun. He really does come across as a barbarian, giving a very intense performance that compares well with his earlier role as Toriano in "Arrowhead" with Charlton Heston. Some great supporting roles, also, with Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth) playing the grizzled Roman General, and Alexander Scourby (famous for his narration/voiceover work) playing Chrysaphius the Eunuch, advisor to Theodosius II. Jeff Chandler's subdued performance is a good match for the stoic Christian Roman he plays. It's a good counterpoint to Palance's growling Attila. For years, I thought Palance was short of stature, based on his sword fighting here with Jeff Chandler, but it was just that Chandler was several inches taller than Palance who was himself 6' 2"...

Interesting trivia:

The uncredited narrator of the film is Rex Reason who co-starred with Jeff Morrow in "This Island Earth."

Very enjoyable Douglas Sirk one and only foray into the sword and sandal genre. Competently made, it has a lush look though obviously made on a small budget. With the stilted dialogue one might expect of such a saga, it somehow remains credible though at times teeters precariously on the borders of camp.

Jeff Chandler turns in a solid performance delivering his lines with diction suited to Shakespeare. Panther like Jack Palance sporting a Fu Manchu moustache is perfectly suited to playing Atilla the Hun which he does with much relish. Despite the numerous forgettable roles in equally numerous trivial movies, one senses that there was something there that never quite came to fruition. The closest he came to really great acting was "The Big Knife" made the following year.

Although Sirk wasn't originally allotted to this movie, it would seem he was willing to try his hand in a genre new to him. As with his only western "Taza Son of Cochise", he proved himself able to work in the genre as well as most, though added little extra of any note.

Expertly filmed by the great Russell Metty who Sirk wisely used on most of his movies.

Even for an epic, at 92 minutes this movie is quite short, but hey it is a very enjoyable movie regardless. Yes even with the occasionally muddled plot and dull performance of Jeff Chandler.

Sign of the Pagan is an example of a movie that is strikingly photographed in early CinemaScope, lustily staged by the director Douglas Sirk and terrifically scored. And there is some nice dialogue as well, not Oscar-worthy material perhaps but nice enough and the pacing wasn't too bad either. It is the performance of Jack Palance though that takes centre stage, he portrays Atila the King of the Huns as a ruthless and ferocious barbarian, and Palance seems to be having a whale of a time, it was quite simply a hugely enjoyable performance.

Overall, not absolutely brilliant but very enjoyable even with its faults. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"The Sign of the Pagan" is a pretended swords and sandals epic film about Attila the Hun's attack on the remains of a divided Roman empire. The screenplay tries somehow to follow historic facts and show us some events in the Hun King's life that we know about (his merciful attacks on villages while marching against Rome, his meeting with Pope Leo, his contacts with the Romans -he had been a hostage in Rome as a young boy- and his death by the hand of slave girl Ildico).

But in all the movie lacks a sense of greatness and the big spectacle other films of the same genre that were released about the same time achieved ("Quo Vadis" and "Helen of Troy" are clear examples).

The cast is not very accurate either. Jeff Chandler was always a standard actor but no more than that (perhaps his best performance was that of Apache chief Cochise in 1950's western "Broken Arrow"), and he looks wooden and unconvincing as the Roman Centurion that tries to defeat Attila. Ludmilla Tcherina was not much of an actress either and her Princess Pulcheria character is too simple. Rita Gam clearly overacts as Palance's daughter that starts to question his father's ideas about Rome. What makes this film worth a watch is Jack Palance's performance as the Hun chief; he has the proper "physiche du rol", some make up helps him too but he manages to transmit the strength and conviction a warrior leader like Attila was supposed to have.

Too many indoor shooting doesn't help the picture either. I think Douglas Sirk was a fine director but he felt more comfortable in contemporary dramas such as "Written in the Wind".

"The Sign of the Pagan" is just for fans of the genre or to watch a fine performance by Jack Palance as an historical figure. Not much more in my opinion but superior to the Italian try on Attila's whereabouts starring Anthomy Quinn and Sophia Loren released almost at the same time).

This is a 1954 Universal International film titled Sign of the Pagan , full of historic inaccuracy and being well starred Jack Palance as Attila . It results to be an epic adventure yarn set in 5th-Century about the chieftain Attila the Hun who was a leader of the Hunnic Empire , a tribal confederation consisting of Huns , Ostrogoths , and Alans among others, on the territory of Central and Eastern Europe . There a Roman centurion called Marcian (Jeff Chandler) is captured by en route to Constantinople , but he flees . On arrival, he meets the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius (George Dolenz) scheming with Attila to look the other way while the latter marches against Rome . But Marcian (who really was emperor and succeeded Teodosio) gains the favor of Pulcheria (Ludmilla Tchérina of Red slippers) , lovely sister of Theodosius , who favors a united Empire and plotting against Attila . As Attila marches across Empire to Rome and things look bleak for the weakened imperial forces . Emperor Valentinian III sent three envoys, the high civilian officers Gennadius Avienus and Trigetius , as well as the Bishop of Rome Leo I (Moroni Olsen) , who met Attila at Mincio in the vicinity of Mantua and as the conqueror had an awe of the power of the Christians' God , he obtained from him the promise that he would withdraw from Italy and negotiate peace with the Emperor . Against the ravaging hordes of Attila stood a warrior's might and a people's faith! . Against his ruthless pagan lusts , the power of a woman's love!

This spectacular movie contains action , breathtaking battles , thrills , romance , hokey historical events and the crowed scenes of the Huns are impressively made . Big production design , lavishly produced , brilliant photography and rousing soundtrack as you'd expect from Universal International at the time . There takes place a fictitious battle of wits and wills between Attila/Jack Palance and Marcian/Jeff Chandler . Jack Palance dominates with his overacting this historical adventure , while Marciano being grumpily performed by Jeff Chandler . Marcian's character bears remarkable resemblance to General Aecio who vanquished Attile in Chalons . And Pulcheria , who really married emperor Marciano , being decently played by Ludmilla Tchérina . Great support cast provide some solid secondary interpretations such as Allison Hayes as Ildico who was actually wife wife to Attila , Rita Gam , Alexander Scourby , Michael Ansara , Leo Gordon , Eduard Franz as Astrologer , Jeff Morrow and final film of Moroni Olsen . Colorful cinematography in Cinemascope by Russell Metty . Evocative as well as thrilling musical score by two Hollywood classic composers , Hans J. Salter and Frank Skinner . The motion picture was professionally directed by melodramas expert , Douglas Sirk , though it has several flaws , gaps and historical mistakes .

The picture is partially based on historical events about Attila , Marciano , Valentiniano , Pulcheria and emperor Teodosio . During his reign , Attila was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires . He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople . His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire , the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France) , crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Orleans before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains . He subsequently invaded Italy , devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453 . After Attila's death his close adviser Ardaric of the Gepids led a Germanic revolt against Hunnic rule, after which the Hunnic Empire quickly collapsed . Other films dealing with this historical character are the followings : ¨Attila¨(1953) Pietro Francisci with Anthony Quinn , Sofia Loren and Henry Vidal as general Aecio . ¨The Nibelungos , vengeance of Siegfried¨ (1967) by Harald Reinl with Herbert Lom as Attila . And "Attila" (2001) miniseries by Dick Lowry with Gerard Butler as Attila the Hun , Powers Boothe as Aetius , Simmone Mackinnon as Ildico and Red Rogers as Valentinian .

According to Marilyn Kirk's biography of Jeff Chandler, Chandler was originally offered the role of Attila in Sign Of The Pagan. I think he was wise to decline as he would have been ill suited for the part. But I think Jeff would have been smart to skip this one altogether. He's rather colorless as the centurion who becomes Captain-General of the Roman forces.

When Jack Palance is on screen as Attila the Hun there ain't a stick of furniture safe in his view. It's that kind of part so sit back and enjoy. In fact Anthony Quinn took the same approach when he did Attila in a film that came out around the same time.

Nothing remotely historically accurate about Sign Of The Pagan other than Attila's meeting with Pope Leo I and his turning back from his conquest of Rome. Moroni Olsen in his farewell big screen performance is is the Pope. No one knows what was actually said so its is all open to speculation.

If you love scenery chewing acting when it's called for than Sign Of The Pagan is your kind of film.

Not one among the top notch epics that come to mind while encountering the genre, SIGN OF THE PAGAN by Douglas Sirk is an intriguing production and the one that occurs to offer a bit more than its typical concepts. Seemingly, it appears that there are two persons who make this film still mentioned on lists: its versatile director Douglas Sirk who became renowned in Hollywood and whose hallmarks are herein noticeable and the actor Jack Palance, the face that hardly results in negligence, who, actually, portrays the protagonist of the story. To analyze it in a more in-depth manner, one cannot consider the film from a merely spectacular standpoint. In that context we can name a dozen other, better, more colossal epics.

The historical period its story is set is a very interesting material for a screen production. Unlike some colossal Roman epics, SIGN OF THE PAGAN deals with an already 'Christianized' Roman empire (something Tony Keen critically points out in his review) or rather the divided empire into two of its 'wings': the west with the capital in Rome and emperor Valentinian (Walter Coy) and the east with the capital in Constantinople (perhaps one of the most spectacular cities in the history of mankind) and emperor Theodosius (George Dolenz).

Yes, it is the 5th century, the proud Roman eagles have already been replaced by the humble Cross (reference to Walter Pidgeon's prologue to 1951 QUO VADIS) but the enemy is approaching: it is the king of the Huns, Attila, the barbaric leader who has been granted many portrayals in both opera and film (just to name Anthony Quinn who portrayed the figure in another 1950s epic). Here, it is JACK PALANCE. Although it is not one of the most famous portrayals, this performance deserves credit.

Hailed by Gregor Torinus as depicting 'Attila's humanity' and 'sweeping portrayal of a crazed warrior with modern ailments' (Dennis Shwartz, 2007), Jack Palance is the highlight of the movie. From the good rapport with the director, he is, indeed, not an absolutely crazed savage driven by blood-thirst and slaughter (there are exceptions to this rule) but a man who is able to display certain godly fear from the depths of his nature. It is best resembled in the scene (a historic moment) of the meeting with a historically eminent figure, Pope St Leo I the Great (the first Successor of Peter who was, actually, the first to carry the title of both the Bishop of Rome and POPE) here played by Moroni Olsen. Gleaming with mysterious light and quite accurate historically, the scene does not only aim at portraying the superior power of will and faith within Leo but also Attila's readiness to cease the weapons and accept peace. The fact that he is a sophisticated character and has those 'modern ailments' (Schwartz) may also be observed in his fear of signs, esp. when lightning kills his seer in a fictitious fantasized scene and many consultations with the Astrologer, his sorcerer (Eduard Franz). Credit to Mr Palance! And the director, DOUGLAS SIRK?

We do not recognize him in the 'cheap spectacle' (Schwartz), in 'complete re-arrangement of chronology' nor 'oddity for a Hollywood Roman epic' (Keen) because, honestly, Mr Sirk proves to feel rather at odds with the genre. Douglas Sirk's style evokes at the role of women herein depicted. We actually encounter three women here: Cubra (Rita Gam), Attila's daughter, Ildico (Allison Hayes), her lady in waiting and Princess Pulcheria (Ludmila Tcherina). Let me skip the historical inaccuracy in this (particularly the princess), they all supply us with clear overtones of, let me call it in modern terms, 'emancipation.' While still pagan women are ruled by the ever present desire of independence (which is not a right word in the historical context), Pulcheria's free spirit is inspired by Virgin Mary. In one scene, we see her worship the Mother of God at one of the icons in Constantinople (it is not, as some would say, a Catholic perspective but a very historical notion that Mary was an example for Christian women of the first centuries, even 'Augustas of Rome' the most notable being Saint Helen, the mother of emperor Constantin). Unfortunately, this point is not well developed, goes pale and remains the backdrop till the fatally banal finale when we, actually, mix the idea if it is the shadow of the cross or a woman who kills Attila. There is no mention of Honoria. The director's spirit can be found, however, in the love story of Marcian (Jeff Chandler), the centurion and future emperor of Rome and Pulcheria.

The HISTORICAL INACCURACIES are, indeed, multiplied. Beginning with its source where the screenwriter Barre Lyndon does not even consider the historical writings of Priscus, Procopius nor Jordanes but Oscar Brodney's story that leads to the mode of fantasy and fiction where important historical figures and the entire background gives way to all needs of cheap entertainment evoked in wrestling, 'proto-Xena' fighting, etc. There are some memorable scenes, like the aforementioned meeting with Pope Leo at Mincio near Mantua that does not echo the famous painting by Raphael nor depict the famous Christian legend but carries a certain visual impact. Another moment is Attila's entrance to the church where the cross and monks's psalm drive him away from the town. However, there is no single mention of officer Aetius, Council of Chalcedon which played a decisive role in the story. The confrontation of civilization vs barbarianism is also reduced to sheer Christianity vs paganism. Esp. in the Roman context, we know that this is not the case.

Nevertheless, in spite of all criticism about this movie that one may encounter, I would still recommend to see SIGN OF THE PAGAN for purely cinematic motives. Obviously, do not treat it as a history lesson where the shadow of the cross within the sign of sword occurs to be sheer mutilation and simplification. Something different than more famous epics.

At 7:05 pm on Saturday, 1 May 1976, BBC 1 showed the complete and uncut version of Sign of the Pagan. Puzzlingly, this was probably the last time that anyone was allowed to see Ludmilla Tcherina's exotic dance number. For reasons known only to the Universal studios, that whole sequence has been deleted from subsequent television showings, both on American station AMC and Britain's Channel 4. Nor do DVD releases contain the dance, even though the main title still credits Kenny Williams as choreographer, leaving viewers wondering what he could have possibly choreographed. Most surprising of all is the 2011 German DVD "special edition" which presents both the original wide screen and 4 x 3 versions. Even here, Universal have cleanly cut the dance number from both prints and both languages.

For those who have never seen the sequence, Attila has just won the palace show fight with Herculanas. After that, the Emperor commands his sister, the Princess Pulcheria, to dance for the visiting barbarians. For the first 50 seconds she performs a graceful and dignified piece of ballet which the barbarians obviously find boring. Therefore, the Emperor tells a servant, "Advise my sister this is not suited to barbarian taste." So ordered, the Princess switches to a more raunchy routine that the visitors find much more enjoyable. This lasts about two minutes. Few genre fans would argue that, in both the Hollywood and Italian epics, the exotic dance interlude is something of a highlight. We get to see beautiful girls in eye-catching costumes, always accompanied by some classy music. Indeed, the ballet score we hear (or used to hear) from Salter and Skinner in Sign of the Pagan is arguably the best music they ever composed.

Universal obviously hope no-one's going to notice what they've done, but why did they do it in the first place? One can only theorize. Perhaps the film was cut at some stage to fit into a fixed television slot. Or maybe the dance was excluded to make the film more suitable for children's matinees. Then nobody remembered to put the scene back? A somewhat wilder theory is that it's a rights issue. Remembering how the Gershwin estate, not liking the Porgy and Bess movie, have tried for years to prevent anyone seeing it, could Ludmilla Tcherina and her estate have somehow bought out this dance scene and are now withholding it because it does not enhance her memory as a classical ballerina? But surely Universal, with all their wealth, would hardly spoil one of their classics just to grab a few dollars?

Whatever the reason, most fans will agree that missing scenes in movies are a continuing source of irritation. Come on, Universal, put it back!

"They don't make 'em like this any more!" and one is tempted to say "Thank Heavens!" A typical 1950s Hollywood sword and sandals caper with one eye on the folks in the Bible Belt so references to "the Cross" and this strange new force coming from Gallilee while, on the other hand, lots of scenes of young ladies, (all of whom seem to have disconcertingly easy access to 1950s hair salons or lip-stick stores), either splashing about in Roman baths or being leered at by nasty barbarians, led by the worst of them all, Jack Palance in the guise of Attila the Hun. The more the 90 minutes dragged by, the more you came to appreciate Palance's appearances as virtually the ONLY saving grace for this family-sized slice of ham. For a start, he seems the only person in the entire cast who can actually ACT, the rest being so wooden that they could easily have auditioned for the lead role in 'Pinnochio' instead. Secondly, the production values are a complete laugh. The 'numerous wild hordes of barbarians' in reality were probably 30 extras on horseback, (and I lost count of the number of times the SAME scene of these horsemen riding by was used throughout the film!), while what seems to have been the producer's weekend country retreat outside Los Angeles was apparently used as another sacked city on a number of occasions. There is some good work in background projection to suggest Rome and other vistas, but, on the whole, it is very amateurish stuff. Conclusion: OKish if you have a wet afternoon to spend but, beyond Palance's screen presence, do not expect a lot and you will not be disappointed. Having seen it once, the next time you come across it, get out the video or DVD of "Gladiator" instead and thank your lucky stars we have moved on so much in fifty years!

Who want make epic movies could on first time known the facts, and over that building something reliable, wasn't we have here, some strong mistakes were erroneously put in this picture just for dramatic purposes, Attila really had a non-aggression treaty with Byzantine empire and they rule all Huns tribes as describe on movie, Marcian really knew Attila at Constantinople, as expose in the picture the ring offers by Pulcheria didn't happened as shown in the plot, also the Emperor Theodosius never resigned, actually died after fallen down of his horse, the battle at Orleans wasn't mentioned due the short time to tell the story, another fail comes from when Attila arrives at Rome's gate to meeting with Pope Leon I, this meeting never takes place there, in fact it was at river Padus (Po), back on picture Jack Palance portrayed a faithful Attila, he looks like an Hun properly with mongol's semblance, his fabulous acting improves and saves the picture itself, Jeff Chandler was totally absence on his role as Marcian, not convinced herself, this epic character has been constantly laureate by the filmmakers due his fascination over his notable achievement to faces the great Roman Empire!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

I was surprised to see this costume adventure and antique movie directed by one of the most known melodrama specialist in Hollywood history: Douglas Sirk. As you can guess, it is talkative and full of intrigue, and don't expect many battle scenes with thousands of extras, as in a Cecil B De Mille's feature. Palance of course is at his right place as Attila, as he will be several years later in Andre De Toth's LES MONGOLS, as a kind of Gengis Kahn like horde's leader. As you can also guess, christianity is not far, as so many Hollywood stuff from this period, how the Chistian Cross can change a man, or convince him to become better.... Usual material for American audiences. But it remains a good costume adventure film from Universal Studios of this period. Enhanced by the 2.35 frame.

This movie is not exactly great, but it is probably my personal favorite. And it's all because of Jack Palance's performance as Attila the Hun. I just love Jack Palance. He is one of Hollywoods first real tough guys. Before Stallone and Van Damme, there was Palance. It is sad that his early films have been sort of forgotten. They were classics. And "Sign of the Pagan" was one of his finests acting jobs. He played the part like he was born for it. All the other characters in the film were far less colorful. He stole the show! The story of the movie is definitely more Hollywood then history. And the real Attila the Hun was a dwarf. But that's okay, it still is most enjoyable. I've watched it maybe about 100 times. I don't think most people will want to do that. However, the princess is a mighty hot looking babe with a fine body. She could dance for me anytime. Attlia gets to kiss her too. Lucky Guy!

"Sign of the Pagan" tends to live in the shadow of the great 1950's Hollywood epics such as "Quo Vadis", "The Robe", and "Helen of Troy" among others.

Based on Attila the Hun's invasion of the Roman Empire, "Sign of the Pagan" stars Jack Palance as Attila. Although the script plays fast and loose with history, most of the characters are based on real historical figures including Jeff Chandler's Marcian, who became the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire.

There are some powerful scenes in the film although many of them are shot on foggy, dimly lit sound stages that would suit "Phantom of the Opera". Some nicely rendered glass shots give scope to a few scenes, but the palace interiors are less than sumptuous and look as though they were filmed in a couple of spare rooms at Universal.

The film plays up Attila's superstition regarding Christianity, which seems based on fact; one of the best scenes is when Pope Leo I psyches him out and stops the sacking of Rome.

One disappointment is the way Attila's death is handled. There are a number of versions about how he actually died, but the most popular is that he burst a blood vessel consummating his marriage to Ildico, a hot Ostrogoth princess (Allison Hayes). A tricky one for a 1950's movie, but director Douglas Sirk and the team didn't even try - she still kills him, but far less spectacularly.

It probably doesn't pay to be too pedantic about costuming in a film such as this, but the Roman Army seems equipped with armour and weapons from a far earlier time; this was the early 5th Century AD and things had changed over five-hundred years - the costuming here is a little like making a movie about D-Day with U.S. troops hitting Omaha Beach wearing the uniforms of George Washington's Continental Army.

Although it is hard to see a modern audience getting too much out of "Sign of the Pagan" - a mini-series such as "Rome" has higher production values - I still enjoy this film.

Maybe its partly nostalgia, but I find it fascinating watching actors as unique as Jeff Chandler and Jack Palance. With chiselled features and prematurely grey hair, Chandler had a great presence even if he was a little wooden, but Jack Palance was a scene-stealer in every film he did, and he made a perfect Attila - all he needed was a bigger horde behind him.

Made the same year as another sword and sandal movie dealing with the same subject ,"Attila Flagello Di Dio" (starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren),it is an icily impersonal movie from Douglas Sirk.It's watchable ,but it could have been done by anyone at all.Sirk's métier was melodrama (he was the master of the genre in the fifties) and western ("Taza,son of Cochise" ) and epics are not obviously his forte.

Although Jack Palance was potentially as ideal as Anthony Quinn to portray the king of the Huns,the screenwriters made him a too polite ,too sentimental ,not bestial enough character (just compare with Anthony Quinn's performance,in a movie which was not better though).

Sirk did not seem to put of lot of effort into his work:"Christian" best describes it:the thunderbolt,the Roman talking about the Virgin and her son to the pagan daughter ,the pope 's intervention (there's a similar scene in the Italian movie),the final victory which was given by "their" God...

SIGN OF THE PAGAN is an historical curiosity in more ways than one. The director is Douglas Sirk, more normally at home with lush melodramas such as MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION or WRITTEN ON THE WIND. This film was made for Twentieth Century-Fox rather than Universal, and shot on a low budget. Nonetheless, with the help of his regular cinematographer Russell Metty, Sirk manages to create some memorable set pieces, especially when he depicts the movement of Atilla the Hun's (Jack Palance's) army on its doomed trek to Rome.

Perhaps more so than any other epic, except perhaps for QUO VADIS? (1951), this film preaches an explicitly Christian message. Atilla's attempts to take over the Roman Empire are doomed, not because of any lack of valor on his part, but because he cannot challenge the will of God. His regular astrologer (Eduard Franz) counsels him not to pursue his campaign, but he ignores the advice in the belief that to turn back would represent a betrayal of his masculinity. In the end, however, the struggle to carry on becomes too much, and he does turn back, only to meet a violent and bloody end. Palance transforms Atilla into a complex character, one who likes to maintain an aggressive facade, mistreating his women (Rita Gam, Allison Hayes) and exchanging aggressive banter with his men. In truth, however, he is genuinely apprehensive of God's wrath, despite his pretensions to the contrary. In his frustration - at not being able to fulfill his intended quest - he throws a dagger at his daughter and kills her stone dead.

Jeff Chandler is predictably wooden as the good guy, the Roman Marcian. He doesn't have to do much, other than to show loyalty to his ruler and insist on the power of Christianity to save everyone he commands, soldier and civilian alike. Despite being heavily outnumbered, God is on their side.

The settings are predictably orientalist: medieval Constantinople is represented as a city full of eastern promise with muezzins in the background and oriental music playing on the pipes. The female slaves wear long baggy silk pants; their male counterparts have bare torsos. The Roman colonizers lie down on expensive mattresses eating fresh fruit and ordering a variety of entertainments including gladiator-fighting. Such tropes were characteristic of the Hollywood representation of Turkey from the 1920s on.

As a piece of mid-Fifties propaganda celebrating the American way in opposition to alternative lifestyles (here denounced as "pagan") including communism, SIGN OF THE PAGAN is an intriguing historical document, enlivened by Palance's colorful performance.

There have been several films which try to tell the story of this magnificently evil character, Atilla . If ever there were just one person who embodied the essence of evil, the top three contenders would have to to be 1/Atilla, 2/Herod, King of the Jews (of the massacre of the Innocents) and 3/ Adolf Hitler; all splendid Hallmarks of Evil.

Palance is in his element here. Having already made his mark in "Shane" as the heartless, evil gunman which the town feared, he takes evil to a whole new level in "Sign of the Pagan".

The music is glorious and the color is so wonderful. All of the actors really gave their best in this effort. Palance makes you believe his character is evil.

If you ever get the chance to see this film and the one made after 1996, together, bear in mind that they deal with the story from different perspectives. Both are close to being historically correct...as much as they can be. "Sign of the Pagan" is a study in Power and Might where the newer Atilla story is a Love Story with some interesting action thrown in.

If this movie is on your "HOT LIST", check out "The Tatars" with victor Mature (c.1961), "The Black Rose" (1950; with Tyrone Power and Jack Hawkins) and "Swordsman of Sienna" (1956? starring Stewart Granger).

I've watched this movie on the Late Show as a child. To me Jack Palance is the ultimate Attila. He portrays barbarians well in movies as in The Mongols opposite Anita Ekberg. Jeff Chandler's untimely death at an early age is a great loss to for his career was on the up and up. The only survivors of this movie are Rita Gam and Michael Ansara. I saw another movie about Attila which I did not like. Maybe the the producers were trying to be more accurate about character. I taped this movie before AMC changed their format. AMC did show lots of old films especially those made by UNIVERSAL and they did show lots of Jeff CHandler flicks. I love swords and sandals movies and I hope one day this movie will be released on DVD.

This movie can no more be taken as history than Gladiator, but it is entertaining. You can take it as a might of been as it sets the scene in the Roman Empire as Attila the Hun was menacing invasion. Jack Palance does a fine job as Attila. By the way his name is pronounced At-ill-a not A-Till-a. I gave it a 7/10.

When I persuaded my parents that we should go see M-G-M's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the Fox Village Theater in Westwood, a prime venue for viewing widescreen films with stereophonic soundtracks (and I guess it still is very nearly a half-century later!), we found ourselves outside, delayed a bit in being allowed to purchase our tickets to enter the theater because the Fox Village was the site of a "Studio Invitational Preview." My parents wanted to return home and leave a viewing of "Seven Brides...et al." for a later date but, movie buff that I was already, I prevailed and we watched as various Hollywood luminaries made it past a phalanx of photographers. Arlene Dahl, on the arm of her then husband (I think I have my chronolgy right about this), Fernando Lamas, dazzled the paparazzi, one of whom congratulated her on her soon-to-be-released co-starring effort with Rock Hudson, "Bengal Brigade" a U.-I. adventure costumer.

When we non-luminaries were allowed to enter, the picture being previewed was Universal-International's big budget (for that second-string studio, anyway) "Sign of the Pagan." The Fox Village's enormous screen enhanced the almost top-of-the-line production values and the performances by Rita Gam and Jack Palance, especially, made the chore of sitting through it somewhat bearable. I have to admit that "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was the happier viewing experience that night and was certainly grateful for my parents' forbearance in sitting through two full-length features, something they hadn't done since their courtship some years before.

Playing that little game of "Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon" which was fashionable a few years ago (maybe even now and one that I'd never be proficient at, by the way, failing to find Mr. Bacon in the least appealing as an actor), the earlier equivalent of it might have been, as their romantic entanglements played out, connecting Arlene Dahl, once married to Fernando Lamas, who eventually married Esther Williams, who at one time (most probably before she married Senor Lamas) had an affair with Jeff Chandler, the leading man in "Sign of the Pagan" - the American/Hollywood version of "La Ronde", n'est-ce pas?