More on The Big Fisherman

Over at FilmChat, Peter Chattaway has made some interesting observations about The Big Fisherman. Like Ron Reed and me, Peter has never actually seen the film in question, but provides an interesting back story to its production, as well as noting some points about its plot and casting. I'm trying to remember whether or not I have a copy of the novel (by the author of "The Robe", Lloyd C. Douglas) on which this film was based - I definitely had the chase to buy it, but given that space is always a premium, and that I had neither seen the film not read "The Robe" yet, I may well have left it for someone else.

One interesting thing about this film is the question of how it relates to the timeline of The Robe, and its sequel Demetrius and the Gladiators. According to one of the comments on IMDB this film involves Salome's dance in front of Herod, which suggests that some of the action pre-figures The Robe, yet I'd always heard it talked of as a sequel, rather than a prequel, perhaps because the last words at the end of "The Robe" are "the big fisherman".

This is confirmed in a detailed and interesting write up of this film by John Hayes - who unlike Ron, Peter and me has actually seen it, albeit so long ago that he barely remembers it - over at his Widescreen Movies site. Incidentally, Hayes quotes from both Derek Elley's book "The Epic Film" and Jon Solomon's "The Ancient World in The Cinema". I have both, and do, in fact, recall Solomon's description of Peter as "piscatorial". I've been meaning to write up my notes from reading Solomon's book in the summer, but I've not yet found the time.