Critical reaction of the film and CinemaScope following the premiere in New York was generally favourable. Frank Quinn of the "New York Daily Mirror" called it "a new realistic and phenomenal concept of the art of motion picture production." Kate Cameron at the '"New York Daily News" gave it eight stars (four for the film and four for CinemaScope) and claimed that "any picture projected on a flat screen...is going to seem dull" after "The Robe". The only criticism came from Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" who wrote, "The human drama of this story of Christian conversion occurs amid sumptuous and scenic surroundings and are mighty impressive to see. But the mightiness of surroundings—the spectacle of settings and costumes—is meaningful only in relation to the story that is being told. And the story in this instance is not spectacular, so that the amplitude of its surroundings does not enhance its scope." "Variety" wrote, "It is a 'big' picture in every sense of the word. One magnificent scene after another, under the anamorphic technique, unveils the splendor that was Rome and the turbulence that was Jerusalem at the time of Christ on Calvary."