John Huston as Noah ...

THE BIBLE – IN THE BEGINNING. As Russell Crowe’s NOAH is about to descend upon us, a timely look at that forgotten John Huston version from 1966, this version of parts of The Bible, as produced by Dino De Laurentiis looks rather like his production of BARABBAS, and also has a polyglot cast. 

The creation of man section is rather risible as Michael Parks and one Ulla Bergryd essay Adam and Eve discovering shame in their nakedness after that apple; then its on to Richard Harris and Franco Nero as Cain and Abel (before they went off to Hollywood and CAMELOT), Stephen Boyd is an oddly made-up King Nimrod with that tower of babel, Peter O’Toole plays 3 Angels who appear to Abraham – George C Scott going way over the top, with Ava Gardner as his wife Sarah. 

The central section has Huston himself enjoying playing Noah with all those real animals going two by two into the ark. Lets see if Aronofsky can top that! - it seems his animals are digitalised and not really central to the film. Then it is on to the destruction of Sodom as those decadent citizens want to “know” those Angels (didn’t O’Toole suffer enough as T E Lawrence?) . 

Before a nuclear bomb hits the city Lot (Gabriele Ferzetti from L’AVVENTURA) and his wife Eleanora Rossa Drago flee, but she too gets turned into that pillar of salt – that section was better done in Aldrich’s 1962 extravaganza SODOM & GOMORRAH. This is all over-ripe fun now – not quite an epic nor a peplum, but certainly a curiosity in Huston’s resume.