The Prodigal (1955)

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Joseph Breen (adaptation) and
Samuel James Larsen (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

6 May 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A wealthy young Hebrew traveling in Damascus renounces his faith after is seduced by an alluring pagan priestess and cheated of his fortune by the High Priest as well.

Plot Keywords:

Faith | Pagan | Priestess | Hebrew | Inheritance

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Samarra
Edmund Purdom	...	Micah
Louis Calhern	...	Nahreeb
Audrey Dalton	...	Ruth
James Mitchell	...	Asham
Neville Brand	...	Rhakim
Walter Hampden	...	Eli
Taina Elg	...	Elissa
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Bosra
Joseph Wiseman	...	Carmish
John Dehner	...	Joram
Sandy Descher	...	Yasmin (as Sandra Descher)
Cecil Kellaway	...	Governor
Philip Tonge	...	Barber-Surgeon
David Leonard	...	Blind man

Also Known As:

Le fils prodigue (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
De verloren zoon (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Den förlorade (Sweden) [sv]
Der verlorene Sohn (Austria) [de]
El hijo pródigo (Spain) [es]
Il figliuol prodigo (Italy) [it]
O Filho Pródigo (Brazil) [pt]
O asotos yios (Greece) [el]
Skøgen fra Damaskus (Denmark) [da]
Tempel der Versuchung (West Germany) [de]
Tuhlaajapoika (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

112 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Jazz performer and arranger Melba Liston has an uncredited role as a servant woman.

Quotes:

Ruth: A woman always knows more than her man thinks.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir (2001) (TV)

Observations on the Cast

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.