Sports Analogies Hidden In Classic Movies – Volume 150: “Spartacus”

• Today’s Movie: Spartacus
• Year of Release: 1960
• Stars: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
• Director: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann

This movie is on my list of essential films.

NOTE: This installment of Sports Analogies Hidden In Classic Movies is being done as part of something called the Party Like It’s 1899 Blog-A-Thon being hosted by Poppity Talks Classic Film. In the host’s own words, “the purpose of this blog-a-thon is to celebrate the lives and works of those Old Hollywood players who were born in the year 1899.” In this case, today’s episode features Charles Laughton who entered this world on July 1^st of that year.

However, this is not Mr. Laughton’s debut in this series; that came all the way back in Episode Five. But just like today’s installment, that initial appearance is also a study in rebellion.

You can see all the contributors to this blog-a-thon here:

• Days One, Two, Three, and Four

The Story:

The plot of Spartacus begins in 73 B.C. in the waning days of the Roman Republic. As such Roman society was structured along class lines. At the top were the privileged Plebeians and the wealthiest of the commoners known as Patricians. Both classes owned slaves, one of which is a Thracian named Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas)

As a slave in the stone quarries of Libya, Spartacus is exceptionally strong in both body and spirit. He also has a defiant streak; his displays of intelligence and pride often get him whipped. When he comes to the aid of a fellow slave, Spartacus ends up viciously biting a Roman centurion who tried to stop him. As punishment, Spartacus is chained to a boulder and left to rot under the intense North African sun.

However, Spartacus caught the eye of Batiatus (played by Peter Ustinov), who trains slaves to become gladiators. Batiatus purchases Spartacus and takes him to his gladiator training camp in Capua. Here, he makes it clear that each of slaves he has bought will be conditioned to fight to the death as gladiators are little more than vessels of blood sport pleasure for the Plebeians and Patricians.

It’s not much of a stretch to understand that gladiator training really isn’t a step up from the mines. Each slave is branded like cattle, they are kept in prison-like cells, the training is merciless, and the head trainer Marcellus (played by Charles McGraw) revels in his own brutality. Spartacus quickly learns of the segregated mindset of the future gladiators when he attempts to befriend an Ethiopian slave named Draba (played by Woody Strode). None of the slaves in the gladiator training camp will ally with each other as they know eventually they will be forced to slaughter each other for sport.

Knowing that Spartacus has never had a woman, Batiatus and Marcellus present him with another slave named Varinia (played Jean Simmons). They watch from a grate above Spartacus’ cell as she expressionlessly disrobes. Spartacus refuses to take advantage of Varinia while the peals of laughter coming from Batiatus and Marcellus disgust him.

The plot bifurcates at this point. While Spartacus grows as a gladiator, so does his love for Varinia. Despite Marcellus’ efforts to interfere, Spartacus and Varinia continue to be drawn to each other. Those dissecting story lines collide when Marcus Licinius Crassus (played by Laurence Olivier) comes to Capua.

Crassus is a powerful Patrician and senator who has traveled to Batiatus’ gladiator camp along with his wife Lady Helena (played by Nina Foch), her sister Claudia (played by Joanna Barnes), and Claudia’s fiancé Marcus Glabrus (played by John Dall). As part of the wedding celebration, Crassus wants to hold a gladiator match. Batiatus advises Crassus against forcing the slaves to fight to the death in their own camp as it creates the potential for an uprising. Crassus ignores him.

Lady Helena and Claudia choose four slaves; two of whom are Spartacus and Draba. They also order the gladiators to be clad only in loincloths instead of armor. As the battles begin, the patricians banter amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the carnage unfolding in front of them. Meanwhile from his cell, in one moment Spartacus hears the death of a gladiator; in the next he is in the arena facing Draba for his own fight to the death. Being bigger and stronger than Spartacus, Draba imposes his will over Spartacus, but refuses to kill him. Instead, Draba attacks Crassus. A centurion impales Draba with a spear; the fatal blow to Draba being sadistically delivered by Crassus himself.

Spartacus is returned to the gladiator camp where he overhears that Varinia has been sold to Crassus. Slaves are not allowed to speak, so when he does, Spartacus is struck in the face with a whip by Marcellus. This brings Spartacus to his breaking point; he attacks Marcellus and drowns him by shoving his face into a pot of stew. This act emboldens the other slaves which brings Batiatus’ fear to reality; a slave revolt spills from his camp. Weaponizing whatever they can find, an army of slaves led by Spartacus roams the countryside increasing their ranks with slaves freed along the way.

When word of the slave revolt reaches Rome, Crassus’ main rival Plebeian Senator Gracchus (played by our “Man of the Hour” for this blog-a-thon… Charles Laughton) takes full advantage of the situation…as any scheming politician would. In Crassus’ absence, Gracchus challenges Glabrus (who is also the head of the Roman garrison) to marshal his soldiers against the slaves. Upon his return to Rome, Crassus realizes that by dispatching Glabrus, Gracchus has made him vulnerable to attack from the army of slaves…as the leader of the troops remaining Rome is none other than Julius Caesar (played by John Gavin)…another of Crassus’ rivals.

Meanwhile, back in Capua at Batiatus’ camp, a group of slaves have forced two Patricians to fight as they had been. Spartacus orders a halt; issuing the dictate they will not be as cruel as the Romans. This allows his loosely-bound group of newly-freed slaves to become a united force capable of eventually challenging Rome. But along the way, Spartacus is re-united with the recently-escaped Varinia.

As the threat to Rome from Spartacus and his army grows, Gracchus continues his plot against Crassus. Knowing that Batiatus blames Crassus for inciting the slave revolt, Gracchus widens his political base by forming an allegiance with him.

Needing to rest and regroup, Spartacus settles his army at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius where he meets Antoninus (played by Tony Curtis); another slave who has recently escaped from Crassus. Because Spartacus longs for an education; he is taken with Antoninus’ knack for music and poetry.

Spartacus is later approached by a representative of the Salician pirates. Tigranes (played by Herbert Lom), offers their support for the slave’s rebellion. Using the plunder his army has amassed during their march across the Roman Republic, Spartacus arranges for the pirates to provide him with 500 ships, and to have them waiting at a point on the Italian coast. When Tigranes wonders why Spartacus believes he can defeat the Romans, Spartacus tells him that unlike paid soldiers, the former slaves are not afraid to die as they believe death is a far better fate than a life in chains.

Not long after this, Glabrus and his troops arrive at Mt. Vesuvius. While preparing to attack the slave’s camp, Glabrus seriously underestimates his opponent. As a result, Spartacus and his men rout the Roman garrison and capture Glabrus. Instead of killing him, Spartacus sends Glabrus back to the Senate to convey the message that the slaves will not be stopped. For being defeated, Glabrus is banished into exile by Crassus.

During the following winter, two things happen. As Spartacus and his army resume marching through the countryside while Gracchus convinces the Senate to send two legions to destroy them. When no one volunteers to lead the legions against Spartacus, Gracchus is forced to ask Crassus to do it. Naturally, he is more than happy to have a chance to eradicate Spartacus and the slaves.

The plot definitely thickens when Spartacus discovers that Varinia is pregnant while Gracchus confides to Julius Caesar that he arranged for the Salician pirates to aid Spartacus. While Spartacus celebrates when his army encamps within only twenty miles between them and the Salician ships, Tigranes returns as the proverbial bearer of bad news. Sparatcus learns Crassus has hatched a conspiracy of his own, and he now has the slaves surrounded. The presence of the Roman army forces the withdrawal of the ships.

Now trapped, Spartacus understands Crassus’ plan is to force him to attack Rome by cutting off his escape route. This will allow Crassus to bring down the entire weight of the Roman army on Spartacus and his men. Tigranes offers to smuggle Spartacus and Antoninus to freedom, but they decline, choosing instead to lead the slaves in the inevitable epic battle.

Now having been named by the Senate as head consul and leader of the all the Roman legions, Crassus vows to destroy Spartacus and restore order to the empire. As their armies approach each other, Crassus pays Batiatus to identify Spartacus. Meanwhile, knowing that he may well be meeting his fate, Spartacus tells Varinia that he believes his only route to victory is for his son to be born free and to take up his father’s campaign.

As the battle begins, it becomes clear Spartacus and the slaves are overmatched by Crassus’ trained, professional soldiers. It doesn’t take long for Crassus to achieve victory, after which he dictates to the vanquished slaves they will be spared crucifixion if they hand over Spartacus. As he Spartacus stands to sacrifice himself for the sake of his men, Antoninus beats him to the punch by declaring “I am Spartacus!”

One by one, each slave does the same; they would rather ensure their own death rather sell out the man who led them to freedom. As punishment for this last great act of defiance, an enraged Crassus orders all the slaves to be crucified. He does this forcing the slaves on a long march from Brindusia to Rome; the Romans lining the Appian Way with the bodies of Spartacus’ men. During this march, Crassus also discovers Varinia. Crassus sends her and Spartacus’ newborn son to his estate.

Later during the march, Crassus recognizes Antoninus and believes the man with him is Spartacus. Crassus gives the order that the two men be kept alive until they reach his estate. Once there, Crassus exacts revenge on Gracchus by banishing him from Rome. Now without his ally in Gracchus, Batiatus reneges on his deal with Crassus and refuses to identify Spartacus. In their own act of vengeance, Gracchus and Batiatus plot to steal Varinia from Crassus, as they know he covets her.

By now, Spartacus mourns Varinia and his son, whom he believes have been killed. When Crassus finally faces up to Spartacus, the slave spits in the Patrician’s face. For Crassus’ last great act of villainy, he orders Antoninus and Spartacus to fight to death; the victor to be rewarded with crucifixion.

Spartacus and Antoninus fight an intense battle; each is trying to kill the other in order to save him from a far worse death. As Spartacus emerges victorious, Antoninus’ dying utterance is how he loved Spartacus like a father. Spartacus’ proclamation about Antoninus that “he will come back, and he will be millions” stokes fear in Crassus; as promised he has Sparatacus crucified at the gates of Rome.

Batiatus brings Varinia and her son to Gracchus, who presents them with falsified papers that will allow them freedom. Afterward, Gracchus commits suicide knowing that Crassus will soon be coming for him. As Varinia is departing Rome, she encounters Spartacus on the cross. With his last breath, Spartacus witnesses Varinia lift their son skyward as she declares her free son shall never forget his father.

The Hidden Sports Analogy:

WARNING: Regular readers of this blog know I’m well on record of having little patience for those who can’t grasp the concept movies made in a different time may address certain subjects in a manner which is not congruent with current social mores.

As such, Spartacus touches on subjects which some today might find “cringe-worthy.” As such, today’s hidden sports analogy wanders the same minefield of “sensitivity.” The bottom line is if you’re one of those people who is in a never-ending cycle of futility because of an inability to acknowledge the abject reality inherent in differing times being inextricably linked to fluctuations in “acceptability,” as the heading says…you’ve been warned.

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Quite often, I need to start these analogies with some introductory fluff because I’ve always said there are very few bridges between the fandoms of classic cinema and sports. That won’t be necessary as there was a time not so long ago when you would be hard-pressed to find a single soul on earth who couldn’t recognize Muhammad Ali.

While the recognition declines over time, it’s passage also erodes the foundations of the stories which created the fame in the first place. That’s important to note in Ali’s case as time has twisted some of the narrative surrounding the original Greatest of all Time…that’s what happens to anything that gets politicized.

As previously mentioned, that’s not the point. Instead, this is all about how both Spartacus and Ali both were not afraid to fight as an underdog and to risk everything for the sake of their cause. Not only were they both revolutionary, but I bet Spartacus would have made one hell of a boxer. After all, he already was in Champion.

The modern-day gladiator Cassius Clay, Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942 (he didn’t change his name to Muhammad Ali until 1964 when became affiliated with Nation of Islam). Clay initially began training as a boxer in his childhood, making his amateur debut in 1954. Things only got bigger and better for Clay after winning his inaugural bout. He would eventually win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two from the national Golden Gloves, and a national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship.

1960 would see Clay emerge onto the world’s stage when he captured the light heavyweight boxing Gold Medal at the Rome Olympics. All tolled, Clay’s amateur record ended up at 100 wins and five losses. This was the point where it seemed pointless for the greatest amateur boxer on earth to remain so..

Now that he was the best amateur fighter on earth at only 18 years old, the only thing left for Clay to do was to become a professional. Once he did that, he also hired the legendary Angelo Dundee to become his trainer. Clay’s natural ability combined with Dundee’s coaching saw the young heavyweight starting his career 19-0 with 15 of those victories being by knockout.

That record earned Clay the rank of #1 contender; his shot at the title came in 1964 against the heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. This was an exercise in compare and contrast as Liston and Clay were very different fighters. Liston was the “classic” heavyweight; a big bruiser who threw every punch intending to separate an opponent from his consciousness. Liston’s introduction to boxing came when he was serving time in prison.

On the other hand, Clay was a smooth, athletic counter-puncher whose goal was to wear out bigger, stronger opponents with his agility, then rain lightning-fast combinations on his exhausted victim. That’s why Clay was used to fighting guys who were bigger, stronger, and punched harder than he did. That’s also why he continued his trademark “trash-talking” right up until the bell rang, despite the fact he was a 7-1 underdog.

Clay modeled his brash and boisterous persona after that of professional wrestler Gorgeous George, and it would be the fuel in the rocket which took his career to heights unseen by nearly everybody in any sport. Babe Ruth or Péle might be possible exceptions, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Clay took the title in that 1964 fight when for reasons Liston took with him to his grave, the champ did not answer the bell to start the 7th round. Clay took his first steps toward super-stardom in full “Gorgeous George” mode, declaring (amongst other things)! “I am the greatest!” and “I’m so pretty.”

Welcome to the birth of boxing’s Spartacus.

Nobody who lived in this time really saw that comparison coming, but Clay’s “brash and boisterous” approach combined with his rebellious spirit had boxing fans wanting the young champion to be silenced by some Sonny Liston right-handed thunder in the rematch.

Clay doubled-down on his polarizing nature heading into the 1965 Liston fight. Almost immediately after becoming heavyweight champion, Cassius Clay “renounced his slave name” even though he was named after a famed 19^th-century American abolitionist. He then became affiliated with the Nation of Islam and changed his name to the one we all know…Muhammad Ali.

As for what happened in the ring, Ali erased any doubt as to his status as champion by knocking out Sonny Liston in the 2^nd round. This is the fight which gave us one of the most iconic sports photographs ever snapped; Muhammad Ali standing victorious over what was left of Sonny Liston.

Later, Ali would score a 12^th-round technical knock-out (TKO) of former champion Floyd Patterson. By 1967, it didn’t seem as though there was any man who could take the title belt from Ali. That would be done by men in suits; Ali’s next fight would not be in the ring.

This is the moment Cassius Clay Muhammad Ali hits his full “Spartacus” stride.

While he was the heavyweight champion, Ali received a draft notice from the United States Army. Ali refused induction, claiming he was a Conscientious Objector due to his religious beliefs. However, this claim was not accepted. After continuing to refuse induction, Ali was charged with draft evasion; the crime for which he was convicted in 1967. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Ali appealed his conviction; his case took four years to wind it’s way through the courts. But during that time, Ali became a pariah in the boxing world. Nearly every state to which Ali applied for a boxing license denied him; the sole exception being Georgia where Ali had some political connections. However, Ali had already been stripped of his heavyweight title by the World Boxing Association.

Almost overnight, to a large chunk of the American population, Ali became the face of the movement against the Vietnam War. Some chose to see this entire affair as being all about race; that’s the laziest narrative imaginable because it ignores several key components of this story…all of which kept contributing to the rise of Ali’s fame. Ali’s refusal to be inducted illustrated various fractures in American society being created by the war in Vietnam. These cracks in American society ran along among several fault lines; there were religious, socio-economic, and generational schisms along with those of race being high-lighted by the Ali story. That’s why to this point, Ali gained far more fame outside the ring rather than in it.

Much like Spartacus during his rebellion, as Ali’s fame grew during the anti-war movement, so did his polarizing nature. To some, he was the greatest boxer of all time standing up for his beliefs; to others he was just another unpatriotic draft dodger.

The Supreme Court overturned Ali’s conviction in 1971 affirming that moral and ethical reasoning was as legitimate as religious principles for grounds for granting of Conscientious Objector status. The light Ali’s rebellion shone on the draft undoubtedly played a role in President Nixon’s ending it in 1973 and President Carter’s 1977 pardoning all those who had been convicted between 1964 and 1973 of violating the Selective Service Act, the law which made the draft possible.

With the legal entanglements now removed, Ali went on to be the only man to win the heavyweight crown three times, thus backing up his 1964 boast. He was the greatest

The Moral of the Story: You’re not really protesting anything if you aren’t risking anything.

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P.S. While Ali’s struggle against the draft are a landmark moment in the history of American jurisprudence and are important to discuss, I didn’t want to end this without paying homage to what a consummate showman he was. Combined with legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, Ali was “appointment television.”

P.P.S. For more on Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali’s importance to the history of boxing, peruse my two-part special on the chronology of the death of boxing. Howard Cosell figures prominently there as well…

• Part I
• Part II

P.P.P.S If you want to know about the night I became one of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier’s “boys,” here’s where you can find out.

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