Main Cast: Michèle Morgan, Michel Simon, Louis Salou, Henri Vidal, Gino Cervi
Release Year: 1948
Country: IT/FR
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
After several years of wartime austerity, the Italian film industry returned to spectacle with Fabiola. French actress Michele Morgan plays the title role, the daughter of a Roman aristocrat (Michel Simon) during the takeover by Emperor Constantine. As a reaction to Constantine's Christian conversion policy, many old-line Romans are persecuting the city's Christian community, killing the believers off before Constantine marches into town. Fabiola is loyal to her Christian-sympathizing father but is irresistibly drawn to a Roman gladiator (Henri Vidal). All works out for the best when it is revealed that the gladiator is secretly working on behalf of Constantine. Originally released in 1949 at a length of 183 minutes, the French/Italian co-production Fabiola was distributed to the U.S. two years later in a 96-minute version, retaining the action highlights but cutting the plot footage to incomprehensible ribbons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Fabiola (UK title: The Fighting Gladiator) is a 1949 Italian language motion picture historical drama directed by Alessandro Blasetti, based on novel "Cardinal" by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman. The film stars Michèle Morgan, Henri Vidal and Michel Simon. It tells the story of the Roman Empire in which Christianity is growing around the fourth century AD.
