The Prodigal
| The Prodigal | |
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Theatrical release lobby card
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| Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
| Produced by | Charles Schnee |
| Written by |
Maurice Zimm adaptation Joe Breen Jr. Samuel James Larsen |
| Based on | Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 of the Bible (uncredited) |
| Starring |
Edmund Purdom Lana Turner James Mitchell Louis Calhern Joseph Wiseman |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Edited by | Harold F. Kress |
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Production
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| Distributed by | MGM |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,783,000 |
| Box office | $4,143,000 |
The Prodigal is a 1955 Biblical epic film made by MGM starring Edmund Purdom and Lana Turner. It was based on the New Testament parable about a selfish son who leaves his family to pursue a life of pleasure. The film also features James Mitchell, Louis Calhern, Joseph Wiseman, Cecil Kellaway and Walter Hampden. The dancer Taina Elg made her film debut.
The story is loosely based on Jesus Christ's parable of the prodigal son, from the Biblical New Testament Gospels, although considerable liberties are taken with the source material, chief among them being the addition of a female lead in the form of the high priestess of Astarte, Samarra.
Micah (Purdom), a young Hebrew farm boy, sees Samarra (Turner) and says he will have her. He demands that his father give him his inheritance and journeys to the city of Damascus. There Samarra seduces him into losing his inheritance and betraying his religious faith. Enduring a number of difficulties, Micah finally realizes where he belongs and returns home to his father, who forgives Micah all of his sins and orders a lavish celebration of his return.
In the early 1950s films with Biblical themes were very popular. Two friends, Sam Larson and Joseph Breen Jnr, became interested in the cinematic possibilities of the famous parable. Larson had muscular dystrophy and thought the story had resonance to the problems of young people today; he was also interested in setting of Damascus and Joppa in 70 BC, which had been rarely seen on screen. Larson and Breen wrote a 60 page treatment together. They took it to Dore Schary, head of production at MGM, who was interested. He assigned Charles Schnee to produce and Maurice Zimm to write a script.
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