Hollywood didn't go in for sequels as back back in the 1950s, outside of official movie series, but The Robe made so much money, and had such potential for a sequel 20th Century Fox no doubt felt it was rude not to follow it up. Yes, Richard Burton and Jean Simmons went off to their unconvincing martyrdom (shown in reprise in the first minute here with Susan Hayward added in), but there's still Victor Mature, the robe and Jay Robinson's Caligula who hadn't received his comeuppance yet.
This has a great concept - Caligula hears that the robe has special qualities and asks for it to be tracked down. Having said that, this tends to get sidelined as the action progresses and we concentrate on the story of Mature, as he's forced to become a gladiator - at first he's reluctant (he won't fight humans but takes out a poor tiger), but after a good little Christian girl (Debra Paget) is manhandled by gladiators (Richard Egan mostly) and seems to die somehow, Mature takes to killing gladiators with a vengeance, and banging Messalina (Susan Hayward), going to parties with dancing girls and eating grapes. But he gets his faith back when Peter (Michael Rennie here) shows him that the girl isn't dead, just resting. (So Mature's faith is conditional upon miracles.)
People interested in Ancient Rome will enjoy depictions of gladiator life and portrayals of St Peter, Caligula, Claudius, Messalina, Macro, Cassius Chaera; film fans will get a kick out of seeing a young Richard Egan, Anne Bancroft and Julie Newmar.
There's also one of the most positive black characters who had appeared in a Hollywood film - William Marshall as the gladiator who gives Mature advice on how to survive, has to fight him in the ring, but unlike Woody Strode in Spartacus is allowed to live, get his freedom, become a Christian, and share the final frame walking alongside Rennie and Victor Mature.
A lot of this is campy e.g. slave girls, Hayward throwing herself at Mature, Hayward at the end of the film swearing she won't root around no more laughing gladiators. Ernest Borgnine was born to train gladiators and Hayward is beautiful, even if her character is all over the place (is she a tramp? religious? genuinely in love with Mature?)
Mature seems mostly tired and doesn't pull off the emotional requirements of his role, Jay Robinson got on my nerves as Caligula (it's a gift part but he's amateur hour) and some of the handling of action scenes was slack. But there's certainly plenty to keep you interested and there are some great bits like Caligula ordering a prisoner to be killed to test the robe.
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