Debra Paget dances up a storm in THE MERCENARIES (1961)
Sorry about the fuzzy image. It's the best copy of this movie I have in my collection. I have about 5 or 6 different versions (spread out on one hard drive). Debra went from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) to small films in Europe. She was not the only one from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS to end in such a point in their careers. It seems the Cecil B DeMille movie didn't expand the careers of the actors except for Charlton Heston. It's odd because that movie was such a big hit and you'd think anyone from it would be in demand. I believe Paget is billed third behind Daniela Rocca and Yvonne Sanson. The movie was directed by Mario Bonnard, the director of THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959), the Steve Reeves version in which he reportedly had to quit due to health reasons and Sergio Leone took over. He still directed movies after that health scare. Also known as ROME 1585.
5 comments:
This is a real generalization about the cast of The Ten Commandments. Check out the credits for Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Vincent Price to name a few. Paget returned to the U.S. and ended her career with two of the Roger Corman Poe films. She left movies by choice because she married and had a son.
Vincent Price, John Derek, Yvonne De Carlo, and Debra all ended up in Europe to make films. There's nothing wrong with that but at the time, that wasn't well seen. Yup Brynner took a break after TEN COMMANDMENTS and was cast as Solomon in SOLOMON AND SHEBA after Tyrone Power died. He did have great success with THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and a couple of other films but in the 1960s he slowly became a supporting actor. Anne Baxter didn't go to Europe but mainly became a TV actress after TEN COMMANDMENTS.
Heston had hits after hits well into the 1970s. TOUCH OF EVIL, BEN-HUR, El CID, MAJOR DUNDEE, THE WAR LORD, THE PLANET OF THE APES, SOYLENT GREEN, EARTHQUAKE, AIRPORT 75, etc.
Yes, Baxter, Brynner, etc, all worked after TEN COMMANDMENTS but their careers never achieved the success of that film. Price movies were mostly drive-in/horror movies from AIP and such. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS' enormous success didn't translate as success for most of the cast. It was their peak while Heston peaked well into the 1970s.
Price's horror movie career equalled or surpassed Heston's. You can't dismiss the horror movies. They certainly are just as "respectable" as the Sword and Sandal movies, if not moreso. After The Ten Commandments Anne Baxter appeared in such high profile movies as Cimarron and Walk on the Wild Side. And when did Brynner become a supporting actor? His name always toplined movies. But what is the point of arguing. You are always right.
I never dismissed horror. You keep saying things I didn't say. If you read my blog and magazines, I'm a big horror fan. But comparing big studio projects/blockbusters to low budget horror films is a stretch. I love AIP movies. I bought books on the studio but they're not comparable to major films.
My mistake. I suppose if you are talking about big budget movies only Heston, Brynner, and Baxter continued to make them. But Price had the biggest career of them all. Glad to hear you are a big horror fan. Same here. AIP never did quite make it to the big time but those Poe films are pretty darn wonderful and, like the Hammer films, they look far more expensive than they were.
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