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Looks to me like the medium shot has Mr. Olivier's hand already slightly past Mr. Douglas's face. Then the cut to the closer shot has his hand back at the face again. Clever effect. No CGI necessary. Or as Mr. Ustinov would say: "Optical".

A good film doesn't necessarily need a happy ending as long as it's true to the story. I can't imagine Spartacus ending any other way. Some of my favorite films have sad or melancholy endings (i.e. On Her Majesty's Secret Service, West Side Story, Lawrence of Arabia, and many others).