Il figliuol prodigo

Luke's New Testament Bible story of the son : Edmund Purdom of a wealthy old man : Walter Hampden . The young Hebrew called Micah is insatisfied with his dad's rural life and tries his luck in the town. There he is seduced by greed, squandering his money , and by a gorgeous woman : Lana Turner , High Priestess of Gods Baal and Astarte , being regularly transfered to the silver screen by Richard Thorpe . Two years in the making , a fortune to produce ! . The story of woman's beauty and man's temptation ! . MGM's magnificent Cinemascope and Color Spectacular !

A big budgeted but empty Hollywood rendition based on a famous Parable of the Sacred Scriptures and full of interesting Biblical issues . The main attraction results a be a colorful cast with a large number of prestigious secondaries . Stars Edmund Purdom in his second movie venture into the realms of ancient story , and it has similar virtues , drawbacks and misfortunes to the the first , Sinuhe the Egyptian directed by Michael Cutiz . While Lana Turner is really wonderful as the ambitious priestess of the Goddess Astarte . Outstanding the huge production design , settings and gowns , all of them are magnificent . The large support cast include the most notable among them , the nasty priest Louis Calhern, as well as a bald Neville Brand , the beautiful young Audrey Dalton , Joseph Wiseman , the villain fat man Francis L SullIvan, John Dehner as envious brother , Walter Hampden as the redempter father , Cecil Kallaway , Paul Cavanagh , Henry Daniell, and Taina Elg in his first Hollywood film .

It displays a brilliant and glamorous cinematography in CinemaScope and Technicolor by Joseph Ruttenberg , though a perfect remastering is extremely necessary . As well as a rousing musical score by Bronislau Kaper , including religious sounds and musical choirs . The picture was middlingly directed by Richard Thorpe, packing some flaws , shortcomings , and gaps . Richard was a prolific director who made slickly a lot of films of all kinds of genres . As he directed the following ones : "Thin Man goes home" , "Three little words" , "Knights of the Round Table" , "The Black Hand" , "Great Caruso" , "Prisoner of Zenda" , "King of the Kongo" , "Fun in Acapulco" , "Jailhouse Rock" , "Vengeance Valley" , among others . Rating : 5.5/10 . Average , though passable and acceptable . The picture will appeal to Lana Turner fans .

There isn't a whole lot to add that hasn't already been said previously.The film does drag,the plot is labored,and,for all of the spectacle,most of the cast look as though they would rather be doing something else.I have to disagree,very slightly,with one observation made by the most recent reviewer.Purdom's Micah,is,of course,a fool,a dupe,an ingrate,and a chump of the first order.My thought is,why did they have someone of his age playing the character?He appears to be playing a character of his own chronological age.And,any 30-year old man who is taken to the cleaners the way Micah is,has left himself wide open for this kind of exploitation.It might have made more sense(and a more believable film)if Micah had been played by a late-adolescent,who had never been away from home before,rather than a mature traveler and merchant.Take this for whatever it happens to be worth.

I recall that Senator Estes Kefauver made a great deal of political hay out of his holding up to (self-)righteous scorn the publicity campaign for this lavish five million dollar spectacle. Lana, featured in one of her more strategically beaded creations, was front and center in several of the advertisements used to promote this next-to-last of her M-G-M contract obligations. The Senator did his best to bring the studio to its knees over this blatant exploitation of (gasp!) sex in what was, after all, thinly veiled titillation, designed to unglue the American hoi polloi from its presumably chaste TV screens. (How he must have gloated when several theater owners had the lobby posters retouched to show somewhat less of the Luscious Lana!) Other comments about this one are pretty much "right on" but the Senator's fulminations were far more revealing of his hypocrisy than anything Lana was required to enact as the High Priestess Samarra. How little has changed in Washington, D.C. to this very day. Sometimes I think that politicians distract us more successfully than the most skilled artists of the cinema!

Lana Turner was pure magic, emotion and sensation in her long walk through the temple of love... And "The Prodigal" will remain the best showcase ever equipped for her excellent figure... The film is M.G.M.'s entry in the CinemaScope Bible race...

Lana was cast as Samarra, the lightly-clad temptress who incited history's first juvenile delinquent to leave home…

The film was based on the Biblical story of the prodigal son as told by St. Luke in Chapter XV of his gospels… There, in fewer than 300 words is the bare suggestion of a youth who "wasted his substance in riotous living," later to return, repentant to farm and father…

The screenplay portrayed the prodigal as Micah (Edmond Purdom), the model son of a Hebrew patriarch named Eli (Walter Hampden). As the film begins he has honored his father by becoming engaged to Ruth (Audrey Dalton), a gentle girl of his own faith…

While visiting Damascus, however, the youth enters the tent of Samarra, the high priestess of Astarte, goddess of the flesh, and he is dazzled by her beauty… To his father's bitter dismay, he demands his share of the family fortune, leaves his fiancée on the eve of their marriage, and goes off to the city in pursuit of the pagan woman, whose duties include presiding over human sacrificial rites…

Among the fleshpots of Damascus, Micah's uncontrollable infatuation for the priestess plunges him into a variety of mishaps… He is victimized by Nahreeb (Louis Calhern), the sinister high priest of Baal, who conspires to destroy him for his irreverent interest in Samarra; by Bosra (Francis L. Sullivan), an unscrupulous moneylender; and even by Samarra herself, who withholds her love until he produces a certain valuable pearl as a gift for her goddess

In 70 BC, the middle eastern seaport city of Joppa is bustling with business. A major disruption occurs when handsome Edmund Purdom (as Micah) saves runaway slave James Mitchell (as Asham) from nasty Neville Brand (as Rhakim). A mute, Mr. Mitchell is wounded and taken home to live with Mr. Purdom's family. They worship one God (Jehovah), according to the opening narration; they are Hebrew. Going against his religion, Purdom is smitten with high priestess Lana Turner (as Samarra). An uncommon blonde, she worships the pagan Baal, male God of the flesh...

Our protagonist and star decides to leave home and "have" (sex with) Ms. Turner. Purdom takes Mitchell and relocates to Damascus. Turner's likewise aroused, but requires a payment of pearls, as is customary for Baal. Meanwhile, high priest Louis Calhern (as Nahreeb), the previous owner of Mitchell, desires revenge. Turner does little to justify her star billing. This is an adaptation of "The Prodigal Son" story from The New Testament, Luke 15: 11-32, which is mentioned in the introduction. It's only an average story, but competently produced and expensive looking.

***** The Prodigal (2/27/55) Richard Thorpe ~ Edmund Purdom, Lana Turner, James Mitchell, Louis Calhern