The Prodigal is a 1955 Eastmancolor biblical epic CinemaScope film made by MGM starring Lana Turner and Edmund Purdom.

It was based on the New Testament parable about a selfish son who leaves his family to pursue a life of pleasure.

The film also features James Mitchell, Louis Calhern, Joseph Wiseman, Cecil Kellaway, Audrey Dalton, and Walter Hampden.

The story is loosely based on Jesus Christ's parable of the prodigal son, from the Gospel According to Luke 15:11-32, although considerable liberties are taken with the source material, chief among them being the addition of a female lead in the form of the high priestess of Astarte, Samarra.

Two friends, Sam Larson and Joseph Breen Jnr, became interested in the cinematic possibilities of the famous parable.

Larson had muscular dystrophy and thought the story had resonance to the problems of young people today; he was also interested in setting of Damascus and Joppa in 70 BC, which had been rarely seen on screen.

Schary decided to finish the picture on an accelerated schedule instead "and hoped that we wouldn't fare too badly".