Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Who wore it best?

Who wore this costume the best?

Robert Taylor - QUO VADIS (1951; original production)

Rex Reason - SALOME (1953)

Cesare Danova - screen test for BEN-HUR (1959)

Remarkably enough, my vote is for Cesare





3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Robert Taylor...first is best.

Graham Sumner said...

While most of the costume is fantasy, the belt with the split terminals worn by Taylor does have parallels with Roman examples.

Some of the Roman military costumes from 'Salome' which were reused from 'Quo Vadis' possibly have an even older pedigree, as props from that film appear in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. While other pieces of kit are even older as they were purchased for that film from a German theatrical company.

Incidentally I often thought Rex Reason appeared in the famous Star Trek episode 'Bread and Circuses' set on a world where the Roman Empire had not declined. However It was in fact his younger lookalike brother Rhodes.

Iván said...

Robert, no doubt. He looks bold and solid like a true roman even when troubled. Rex headband was a bad idea and the short sleeves of Cesare make him sort of weak.