Androcles and the Lion (play) run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who approaches him with a wounded paw. His wife runs off. Androcles sees that the cause of the animal's distress is a large thorn embedded in its paw, which he draws out while soothing the lion in baby language. Androcles is captured and is sent to the Colosseum to be executed with other Christians in gladiatorial combat. They are joined by a new Christian convert called Ferrovius, who struggles to reconcile his Christian principles with his violent inclinations. The Roman captain guarding them is
The Thorn in the U.S., but it did show overseas in the early 1980s. It received poor reviews. The film reappeared as "The Thorn" on a Magnum Entertainment VHS video release around 1984. It was again blocked by the courts and returned underground. The Thorn The Thorn is a comic, religious satire movie released on May 24, 1974, as The Divine Mr. J. It was first shown as The Greatest Story Overtold at the Detroit Institute of Art in 1971. It was released on video in the early 1980s as "The Thorn". It was written, directed and produced by Peter Alexander. Its