Spartacus finds Varinia : Spartacus

It stars Kirk Douglas in the title role, Laurence Olivier as Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, Peter Ustinov as slave trader Lentulus Batiatus, John Gavin as Julius Caesar, Jean Simmons as Varinia, Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus, and Tony Curtis as Antoninus.
In the first century BC, the Roman Republic slid into corruption, its menial work done by slaves. One slave, a Thracian named Spartacus, is so uncooperative in his position in a mining pit that he is sentenced to death by starvation. By chance, he is displayed to Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus, who - impressed by his ferocity - purchases Spartacus for his gladiatorial school and instructs trainer Marcellus to not overdo his indoctrination, believing the slave "has quality". Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with Varinia, a serving woman whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell. The two are forced to endure numerous humiliations for defying the conditions of servitude.

[@12classics39]

The chemistry between Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons is so palpable. They really make you root for this couple. Two people who have been forbidden to speak more than three sentences to each other, yet saw a kinship in the look of each other’s eyes and the touch of each other’s hand. There’s so much they don’t know about each other, and yet as one slave to another, they understand one another at a fundamental level that real-life couples rarely do. Now they’re finally free to explore that connection. It’s such a satisfying scene.

[@RembertFord]

Laughing. Has. A. Lot. To. Do. With. Love