Another old Hollywood epic recalled today because it was redone recently as a CGI spectacular; this version benefitting from photography by veteran British cameraman Geoffrey Unsworth, attractive Greek locations (against which the scarlet cloaks of the Spartans dramatically stand out) and the presence of Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles.
As usual the hero Leonidas is played as an all-American hunk by Richard Egan and nasty Xerxes is a sybaritic English-accented villain as played by saturnine Brit David Farrar (with a saucy partner in crime in the form of English rose Anne Wakefield as Queen Artemisia); while the supporting cast ranges from Welshman Donald Houston as Xerxes' henchman Hydarnes to the novelty of an actual Greek, Anna Synodinou as Queen Gorgo.
As usual the hero Leonidas is played as an all-American hunk by Richard Egan and nasty Xerxes is a sybaritic English-accented villain as played by saturnine Brit David Farrar (with a saucy partner in crime in the form of English rose Anne Wakefield as Queen Artemisia); while the supporting cast ranges from Welshman Donald Houston as Xerxes' henchman Hydarnes to the novelty of an actual Greek, Anna Synodinou as Queen Gorgo.