Edmund Purdom battles with a vulture in THE PRODIGAL.
I admit that this is not one of my favourite PEP films even though I do recognize the excellent production values and such. I just find it a tad slow. Part of the storyline was recycled in CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982) and the scene pictured above recalls the moment when Conan is attack by a vulture and he then bites its head off. So THE PRODIGAL has had some influence in cinema.
I'll be showing films of Edmund all week on PEPLUM TV.
I should point out that the scene where Conan bites the head off a Vulture while crucified is lifted directly from the Robert E. Howard Conan short story 'A Witch Shall be Born' which was published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1934.
ReplyDeleteI know. Even if the moment is the book, the crucified scene in Conan, visually at least, also looks like the one in the spaghetti western DJANGO KILL. It's almost identical as the hero in the western is stripped down to a loincloth and is assaulted by many animals including a big bat. He doesn't bite off any heads but the visual similarities are obvious. I doubt the makers of DJANGO KILL read Ron E Howard. The sacrificial scenes in Conan were inspired by THE PRODIGAL's sacrificial scenes, like when someone jumps off by herself. Good stuff.
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