A baby found floating in the river near Thebes in ancient Egypt is adopted by a physician and the baby grows up to be Sinuhe who becomes a physician himself, first wanting to help the poor bur eventually being drawn into the court of Pharaoh and its intrigues. It's a story of ambition, greed, passion and politics. It's also too long and very gloomy so that it becomes a bit dull a lot of the time.
It's not helped by having Edmund Purdom as Sinuhe. What could have been an interesting protagonist is let down by bland acting. There are fine actors in it too like Jean Simmons, Gene Tierney, Henry Daniell and Michael Wilding but they are not served well by the script. It is livened up by Peter Ustinov as Sinhue's servant Kaptah who gives the best performance.There are also characters one would liked to have seen more of like John Carradine's grave robber and Judith Evelyn's queen mother but they only have short scenes. There is also a beautiful fluffy cat which out acts Bella Darvi.
On the positive side it looks lovely in Cinemascope and Technicolour with gorgeous sets and costumes and Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrman together provide a splendid music score. Unfortunately it is all wasted on a story that is not engaging.
It's not helped by having Edmund Purdom as Sinuhe. What could have been an interesting protagonist is let down by bland acting. There are fine actors in it too like Jean Simmons, Gene Tierney, Henry Daniell and Michael Wilding but they are not served well by the script. It is livened up by Peter Ustinov as Sinhue's servant Kaptah who gives the best performance.There are also characters one would liked to have seen more of like John Carradine's grave robber and Judith Evelyn's queen mother but they only have short scenes. There is also a beautiful fluffy cat which out acts Bella Darvi.
On the positive side it looks lovely in Cinemascope and Technicolour with gorgeous sets and costumes and Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrman together provide a splendid music score. Unfortunately it is all wasted on a story that is not engaging.