Alexander Scourby

With archival footage from 16 countries, this Oscar-nominated film presents important facts about the Nazis' persecution against Jews during WWII.

Theo, an elderly professor, has just finished what he terms as a "three year rest," meaning a prison term. Theo tells a young criminal, Paul, that he wants one more triumph before ending his highly controversial career. Even though he is reluctant, Paul takes physical charge of the criminal operation of which mastermind Theo has meticulously planned. Melanie, a stripper, and her mentor, saxophonist Poncho, are also recruited onto the seven person team for the event. The master plan calls for the robbery of the Grand Casino of Monte Carlo on the night of the Governor's Ball. But when the caper moves into full swing, obstacles abound. Will the seven thieves be able to pull it off?

He looks like Marlon Brando, some reviewers said of this movie's 29-year-old star, but those comparisons would soon end. Soon to impress with his own intense brilliance, Paul Newman made his movie debut in this Biblical saga in the mode of Quo Vadis and The Robe. Set in Rome during the early Christian era, if focuses on an ill-fated sculptor sold into slavery and torn between his adoring wife (Pier Angeli) and a wily temptress (Virginia Mayo) - and threatened in his work by a power-mad sorcerer (Jack Palance) bent on overturning Christianity and becoming his own "true Messiah." The Silver Chalice's cast also includes Lorne Green, E.G. Marshall and a blonde Natalie Wood. But Newman is the movie's heart. "This young man," director Victor Saville predicted, "is destined for great things."