this be not what one would term a happy tale . the titled leading character ( edmund purdom a the egyptian ) do not get the gal although he do ( . ) evidently get the last word and the otherwise principal tragic figure ( michael wilding a the politically myopic pharaoh ) end up tragically and and the wrong guy even if it be victor mature and wind up win all the marble . peter ustinov possibly have get the best part ( kafka ) and arguably may have steal some if not most of the movie except for top bill jean simmons a the somewhat bright than average barmaid ( merit ) whom just possibly have more on the ball intellectually and spiritually and than all of the rest of them put together . the brooding and pessimistic sinuhe the physician ( that purdom ) be portray a a dark and cynical and tortured soul whom spend the entire plot his lifetime and seek the meaning of life . ( btw and and to paraphrase john lennon and life be what happen while youre make other plan . ) pardon the lack of philosophical depth in the prior parenthetic comment and but eventually the plot unfold to reveal just that . and speak philosophically and a if thing aren not morose and negative enough and john carradine ( a the un name grave robber ) pop up in a cameo role in the middle of the flick espousing that life basically be meaningless and be only worth living a a poor alternative to the eventual ultimate disappointment . so here we be over 200 word in and i haven not really have a kind word and so why the heck do i rate it so high . well there be a lot of shakespherian tragedy and bunch of moral worth in it . there ethical contrast and true friendship and true and unrequited ( almost ) love and and despite limitation of 50 production capability and it be very well ( sound ) stag and please both the eye and ear and and very well or evenly pace . the acting be and for the most part and uniformly very good give it a 50 costume drama and and the interaction be believable right down to the character fatal flaw which abound and and in that do justice to the best of greek tragedy . there be some redemption and sinuhe do discover and embrace his son play by tommy retigg whom and despite ustinov best effort and really need lassie to pull it off . a couple of other amisguided soul get their just desserts the foreign fleshpot nefer ( bella darvi ) apparently in egypt on a carnal exploitation work study visa and whom earlier cruelly even mercilessly spurn sinuhe \and\ the dykeish princess baketamon ( gene tierney a pharoah wilding sister ) whom know a deep dark secret about sinuhe ancestry and and then try to use it to set him against his friend and her brother the pharaoh nice people and huh . purdom performance be actually something to behold . he carry off the dirge well enough that somewhere before the end of the pix you want to smack him across the pus and grab him by the lapel and and say look dummy pull yourself together and the glass ain not half empty it half full . and then find that youre personally disappointed in horemheb truly sinuhe best friend and ( victor mature a pharoah top soldier ) for himself have that flaw in his character that prevent him succeed at do something positive . i wonder if the secret to the whole movie be that it very quickly achieves and then sustain the necessary suspension of disbelief and early on get you understanding and worry about the character and care to the point that you really feel sorry for them and their missed chance at happiness while a happiness that otherwise wasn not all that far from their grasp . can not understand why this one isn not already out on dvd and hope that get correct soon .