A look at the talent involved both in front of as well as behind the camera might lead you to think "The Egyptian" has the makings of 'The Greatest Epic Ever Made' but while most of the epic tropes are here in abundance this early Cinemascope movie flopped both commercially and critically. Edmund Purdom, (never an actor to begin with), is the Egyptian of the title, a physician in ancient Egypt and while Purdom isn't up to the task he's surrounded by those who are; Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, Gene Tierney not to mention old Samson himself, Victor Mature as well as Michael Wilding and newcomer Bella Darvi who steals the film and won a Golden Globe doing so.
On the plus side Leon Shamroy's cinematography ensures it looks the part while Philip Dunne and Casey Robinson's screenplay veers between being overly literate and totally banal. The director was Michael Curtiz and if he doesn't bring an auteur's hand to bear on the material at least he takes it seriously. Perhaps, too seriously? After a couple of hours of not much happening palace intrigue gets the better of everyone and it races to a not very satisfactory climax but while it's certainly not 'the greatest epic ever made' maybe it's not quite the turkey many people claim it to be either.
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