The late, great Paul Newman thought that the performance he gave in his first feature film was so bad that he purchased ads in a trade paper apologizing to those who went to see it. That movie was The Silver Chalice, an epic historical drama set in the first century AD about early Christians who hire a young Greek silver worker to make a silver chalice to conceal the holy grail, and now you too can experience the film as a part of the Paul Newman Film Series.

They don’t make movies like The Silver Chalice anymore. Released in 1954, the film predates things like “computer generated images,” or “historical accuracy” or “good acting,” though the film is shot in CinemaScope and WarnerColor. The art direction of the film is especially surreal, rendering the cities of Antioch, Jerusalem and Rome as if they were made out of plastic, or smooth, featureless stone in exterior shots, and interior shots are abstracted to the point that they look more like a theatrical set design more than a modern film set. All of this give the film an interesting look, although it would be more impressive if the filmmakers had intentionally taken artistic liberties with their sets, instead of trying for realism and falling short, which is the vibe that The Silver Chalice gives out. The costumes, however, are very elaborate, though no less strange, capturing many different styles of dress from Rome to Jerusalem, nobility to poverty.

The story is long and convoluted, following the life and times of the silver worker Basil (played by Newman). Starting with his childhood adoption into a wealthy family, the story contains one of the most awkward “flash-forwards” I’ve ever seen in a film. Eventually, Basil is sold into slavery, then resold, then freed and commissioned to create the titular Silver Chalice for Joseph of Arimathea. Meanwhile, a sorcerer named Simon the Magician (Jack Palance) is hired by an Anti-Roman rebellion to discredit Jesus by performing miracles of his own (using the latest special effects of the 1950’s) in order to coax disillusioned Christians to give up that whole “turn the other cheek” thing and join the insurrection. Meanwhile, Basil is torn between the affections of his childhood love, Helena (Virginia Mayo), who has grown up and become Simon’s assistant, and Joseph of Arimathea’s granddaughter, Deborra (Pier Angeli) a devout young woman who falls in love with the artisan who is brought into her grandfather’s house.

It’s all very complicated.

As far as performances, Newman’s isn’t really all that bad, when compared to the others in the film, as all of the performances seem to favor an older, more declarative style of acting, rather than the more subtle style favored by modern actors. Jack Palance owns his cheesy, maniacal character, but the rest of the cast doesn’t fare so well. This is made worse by the fact that they are all trying to exist in the pseudo-Roman world, with ludicrous dialog. Still, it is no surprise that Newman was embarrassed with the performance, since it is a historical epic from another era, and not one of the better ones.

If you’re looking for special features, look elsewhere. They have a remastered soundtrack and subtitles in English and French. That’s all. But the audience for this release probably isn’t really looking for extras. The film itself is, in a way, a special feature for Paul Newman’s career: an awkward scene that should have been cut, only worth idle curiosity from his most dedicated fans.

Ultimately, this release is for people who are curious about Paul Newman’s humble origins in film, and willing to watch an older movie despite the convoluted story, confused production design and outdated methods of acting. While the movie doesn’t live up to modern standards, and is, in fact, ridiculous even in 1950’s terms, it really isn’t bad, it’s… silly. Like an old video of a high school drama production, The Silver Chalice isn’t unwatchable, just embarrassing for anyone involved. You can have fun with it, if you know what you’re getting into.

ComicsOnline.com gives The Silver Chalice 2 1/2 out of 5 ancient relics.