The Egyptian (1954)
Country: US
Technical: De Luxe/Cinemascope 139m
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Edmund Purdom, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Gene Tierney, Bella Darvi, Peter Ustinov
Synopsis:
14th century B.C. During the rule of Akhenaten the son of a famous physician becomes successful in his own right, attending on the Pharaoh and his family. However, he falls under the spell of a Babylonian courtesan and loses everything he had. Meanwhile, Egypt baulks at the introduction of monotheism by its philosophical ruler and foreign powers loom in the shape of the Hittites.
Review:
As the above might suggest, the novel by Mika Waltari contained much to intrigue, and it is certain that Fox/Zanuck saw the property as a continuation of their cycle of Judaeo-Christian epics begun with The Robe. Although only the closing title makes this explicit, the protagonist, Sinuhe, is tussling all along with his attitude towards the poor and meek, only finding happiness when he gives expecting nothing in return. The trouble is that the screenplay is ground to a halt by the love obsession with Nefer, and Purdom, whose diction is unassailable, is also an actor whose facial expression and body language are, let us say, one-note in the extreme. Nevertheless, this is far from an unmitigated disaster, with Shamroy's cinematography and the Newman/Herrmann score offering up points of interest, even if the Cinemascope compositions make close-ups all but non-existent, with Wilding in particular languishing in the middle distance. Note: there is not a single kiss in the film, making it uncommonly chaste even for a 'biblical' epic, so that when we learn that Jean Simmons has had a son from a hug it comes as quite a shock!
Country: US
Technical: De Luxe/Cinemascope 139m
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Edmund Purdom, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Gene Tierney, Bella Darvi, Peter Ustinov
Synopsis:
14th century B.C. During the rule of Akhenaten the son of a famous physician becomes successful in his own right, attending on the Pharaoh and his family. However, he falls under the spell of a Babylonian courtesan and loses everything he had. Meanwhile, Egypt baulks at the introduction of monotheism by its philosophical ruler and foreign powers loom in the shape of the Hittites.
Review:
As the above might suggest, the novel by Mika Waltari contained much to intrigue, and it is certain that Fox/Zanuck saw the property as a continuation of their cycle of Judaeo-Christian epics begun with The Robe. Although only the closing title makes this explicit, the protagonist, Sinuhe, is tussling all along with his attitude towards the poor and meek, only finding happiness when he gives expecting nothing in return. The trouble is that the screenplay is ground to a halt by the love obsession with Nefer, and Purdom, whose diction is unassailable, is also an actor whose facial expression and body language are, let us say, one-note in the extreme. Nevertheless, this is far from an unmitigated disaster, with Shamroy's cinematography and the Newman/Herrmann score offering up points of interest, even if the Cinemascope compositions make close-ups all but non-existent, with Wilding in particular languishing in the middle distance. Note: there is not a single kiss in the film, making it uncommonly chaste even for a 'biblical' epic, so that when we learn that Jean Simmons has had a son from a hug it comes as quite a shock!
Country: US
Technical: De Luxe/Cinemascope 139m
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Edmund Purdom, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Gene Tierney, Bella Darvi, Peter Ustinov
Synopsis:
14th century B.C. During the rule of Akhenaten the son of a famous physician becomes successful in his own right, attending on the Pharaoh and his family. However, he falls under the spell of a Babylonian courtesan and loses everything he had. Meanwhile, Egypt baulks at the introduction of monotheism by its philosophical ruler and foreign powers loom in the shape of the Hittites.
Review:
As the above might suggest, the novel by Mika Waltari contained much to intrigue, and it is certain that Fox/Zanuck saw the property as a continuation of their cycle of Judaeo-Christian epics begun with The Robe. Although only the closing title makes this explicit, the protagonist, Sinuhe, is tussling all along with his attitude towards the poor and meek, only finding happiness when he gives expecting nothing in return. The trouble is that the screenplay is ground to a halt by the love obsession with Nefer, and Purdom, whose diction is unassailable, is also an actor whose facial expression and body language are, let us say, one-note in the extreme. Nevertheless, this is far from an unmitigated disaster, with Shamroy's cinematography and the Newman/Herrmann score offering up points of interest, even if the Cinemascope compositions make close-ups all but non-existent, with Wilding in particular languishing in the middle distance. Note: there is not a single kiss in the film, making it uncommonly chaste even for a 'biblical' epic, so that when we learn that Jean Simmons has had a son from a hug it comes as quite a shock!