Spartacus (film) eclipse him. Gracchus, having seen Rome fall into tyranny, commits suicide. Before doing so, he bribes his friend Batiatus to rescue Spartacus's family from Crassus and carry them away to freedom. On the way out of Rome, the group passes under Spartacus's cross. Varinia is able to comfort him in his dying moments by showing him his little son, who will grow up free and knowing who his father was. The development of "Spartacus" was partly instigated by Kirk Douglas's failure to win the title role in William Wyler's "Ben-Hur". Douglas had worked with Wyler before on "Detective Story", and
Paul Lambert (actor) of the similarity of the titles and the fact that the Sondheim musical featured an actor named Mark Lambert). Lambert's husky dark looks suited his frequent screen portrayals of gangsters and other heavies. In addition, he often appeared as authority figures such as executives, judges, and police officers. Among his major films were "Spartacus" (his movie debut), "Planet of the Apes" (in a brief role as a simian minister), and "All the President's Men", in which he played the national editor of "The Washington Post". It was on television that Lambert played his biggest roles. He acted on 300 shows