The 300 Spartans (1962)

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Gian Paolo Callegari (original story material)
Remigio Del Grosso (original story material)

Release Date:

August 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

Plot:

Essentially true story of how Spartan king Leonidas led an extremely small army of Greek Soldiers (300...

Plot Keywords:

Persian | Greece | Spartan | Soldier | Warrior

Cast

Richard Egan	...	King Leonidas
Ralph Richardson	...	Themistocles of Athens (as Sir Ralph Richardson)
Diane Baker	...	Ellas
Barry Coe	...	Phylon
David Farrar	...	Xerxes
Donald Houston	...	Hydarnes
Anna Synodinou	...	Gorgo
Kieron Moore	...	Ephialtes
John Crawford	...	Agathon the Spartan Spy
Robert Brown	...	Pentheus
Laurence Naismith	...	First Delegate
Anne Wakefield	...	Artemisa
Ivan Triesault	...	Demaratus
Charles Fawcett	...	Megistias
Michalis Nikolinakos	...	Myron (as Michael Nikolinakos)

Also Known As:

Lion of Sparta

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #29936) | Australia:G | West Germany:12 (nf) | Malaysia:U (DVD) | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 | UK:PG | UK:U (cut)

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film is listed in the annual "Screen World" for 1961 releases as "The Lion Of Sparta", but reappears with full photo coverage for the next issue (for 1962 releases) as "300 Spartans".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the battle with the immortals, one of the Spartan "officers" is revealed to have a pink towel between their forearm and the shield itself to comfort and protect the forearm. This is revealed a couple of times during the battles.

Quotes:

Agathon the Spartan Spy: Leonidas! The barbarians have sent an emissary to talk with you. It is Hydarnes himself.
Leonidas, Spartan King: Hydarnes? Good, get me a clean cloak.
Agathon the Spartan Spy: How many men do you want for an escort?
Leonidas, Spartan King: [Scornfully] When has a Spartan king needed an escort to talk to a mere Persian?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Watchmen (2009)

Very credible job

This was one of the last of the great sword-and-sandal epics. Unlike many before it or since, it managed to get the facts generally correct. The story, recorded in Herodotus, concerns a small band of troops from Sparta who held off the advance of the Persian army in the 5th century B.C. In doing so, they gave their fellow Greeks time to organise a larger army. Themes include: democracy vs. despotism, and sacrifice for the sake of the common good. Ever stoic Richard Egan (star of "Pollyanna," "Esther and the King," and other fun films) does a great job of projecting the inner strength of Spartan leader Leonidas. This film is not to be missed and ranks with other memorable epics of the 1960s, such as "The Long Ships". Note: this is newly remastered and should not be confused with the botched version released some months prior.