This is a peplum /sword and sandal movie which does not take it seriously;this thief of Damascos did not meet St Paul (Saul) but he did meet the Romans who occupied his country :the governor's long speech is tongue-in-chick demagogy and his final generous promises will remind you of these of your own local or national politicians ; you can guess the final "unexpected twist " as soon as the governor tells he lost his dearest five-year-old child a long time ago: and it spawns ,in the last pictures, a true spoof on classic melodramas (it's not moving ,it's riotously funny).
This thief is pretty smart and his tricks are much fun to watch; his African mumbo -jumbo proves that coded messages existed in antiquity ( Caesar used them long before the RSA cryptography) .
In Damas town , the Romans divide and rule : to become a Roman citizen is the greatest honor and the villain would hand all his compatriots over to them to be king of Syria (he's already a Roman citizen)
Tony Russel has plenty of go ; the Syrian/Roman confrontations are badly directed ,but it does not matter for it's essentially a farce.
