The 1965 Biblical epic The Biggest Story Ever Informed — which airs tonight at 8pm EST on TCM as a part of their Easter season programming — was thought of one of the crucial anticipated motion pictures in early ’60s Hollywood. Tailored from a profitable 1947 radio sequence and a 1949 novel that bought over 3 million copies, the movie was green-lit for a then-unheard-of $10 million finances, and set to be crammed with well-known faces, from Robert Loggia to Charlton Heston to Sidney Poitier.
Nonetheless, this retelling of the lifetime of Jesus Christ suffered from manufacturing issues of Biblical proportions – together with authorized battles that delayed filming by years, on-set deaths, and Arizona snowstorms. A average success upon launch, it struggled to recoup its huge finances ($20 million, or $203 million in in the present day’s {dollars}), with some critics believing that it helped finish the 1950 and ’60s Bible movie development.