User reviews

Modern espionage escapism story of international intrigue involving a college professor , an Arab prime minister , a ruthless businessman , an ambiguous spy and hieroglyphics . Ingenuous Gregory Peck and enigmatic Sophia Loren involved in sinister goings-on around . Both of them adrift in a tourist-eye as well as beautifully photographed London and on the run from sinister crooks and death-dealing , double secret agents who want to take a hieroglyph .

This is a sparklingly sophisticated comedy/thriller/romance with Donen's stylish direction and full of plot twists , suspense , fast moving , red herrings and adding enough effects gimmicks . Exciting and clever ¨pursuit film¨ about a naive professor and his unsettling involvement with all kind of baddies along with a beautiful as well a suspicious woman . From the opening credits by Maurice Binder to the ending entertainment and amusement are well provided . It is thrilling and intelligent at times , but results to be pretty amusing , being very sub-Hitchcock and in James Bond style . Interesting screenplay by Peter Stone , alias Pierre Marton , being much flashier than Donen's earlier ¨Charade¨ also written by Stone . Although the part of David Pollock was originally scripted for Cary Grant . Stanley Donen is prepared to resort to all the tricks in the cinematic trade to make this a fascinating thriller and he carries out a conscious effort to capture the peculiar look of the sixties . It packs fun scenes with Gregory Peck in the shower , along with moving action sequences . Peck is perfect as a botcher professor who is drawn into espionage . However , Gregory found the stunts particularly difficult because of an old leg injury due to horseback riding . This was last picture Peck made for three years while he concentrated on his humanitarian efforts that included the American Cancer Society . Gorgeous Sophia Loren is amusingly enigmatic and provides the glamorous mystery element in the plot , she manages to change her Christian Dor's dresses at various scenes . Support cast is frankly good , such as Alan Badel , George Coulouris , Carl Duering , Duncan Lamont and last feature of John Merivale . Colorful and glimmering cinematography in Panavision by Christopher Challis . Enjoyable score by Henry Mancini , including catching musical leitmotif .

This espionage adventure picture was stunningly directed by Stanley Donen who made in similar style ¨Charade¨ with Gary Grant and Audrey Hepburn who was never more beautiful . Donen directed some of the best musicals of history such as ¨On the town¨, ¨Singing in the rain¨, ¨Royal Wedding¨ , ¨It's always fair weather¨, ¨Seven brides for seven brothers ¨, ¨Funny face¨ , among others . The posterior Donen films were heavy-handed , exception of ¨Two for the road¨ again with Hepburn , and too few to show if the magic had really gone . ¨Arabesque¨ rating : 6,5/10 . Agreeable film , enough to entertain young and eldest people . It is essentially a hollow and calculated attempt to cash on the Continental spy trend -the Eurospy Subgenre- of the time .

A man kills Professor Ragheeb (George Coulouris) and takes a hieroglyphic from his glasses. Then he seeks out the American Professor David Pollock (Gregory Peck), who is an expert in hieroglyphics at the Oxford University, and tells that his name is Major Sylvester Pennington Sloane (John Merivale). He invites Pollock to travel to London to meet the wealthy Nejim Beshraavi (Alan Badel) to translate a cipher in a hieroglyphic, but Pollock refuses the work.

Soon Pollock is summoned by the Arabian Prime Minister Hassan Jena (Carl Duering), who is unofficially in England and asks him to accept the assignment and spy the activities of Beshraavi that might be plotting something evil.

Beshraavi offers 30,000 dollars to Pollock to work in his mansion deciphering the hieroglyphic. Pollock meets Beshraavi's mistress Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren), who tells him that he is in danger and Beshraavi will kill him in the end of his work the same way he did with Professor Ragheeb. Pollock and Yasmin flee from the mansion with the hieroglyphic, but he is double-crossed by Yasmin and captured by Yussef Kasim (Kieron Moore). Soon the professor is deeply involved in an international conspiracy where everybody wants the cipher and he does not know who is trustworthy.

"Arabesque" is a funny rip-off of "007" movies combined with "North by Northwest". The story of a clumsy professor from Oxford that is involved in an international conspiracy in London has hilarious moments, like for example the shower scene with Sophia Loren that makes this movie worthwhile. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Arabesque"

This movie is reminiscent of Charade in that it is a thriller that is lighthearted in places. Highlights of Arabesque are Gregory Peck playing the somewhat bumbling type, Sophia Loren's exotic beauty, and some memorable humorous situations like Pollack hiding in the shower with Jasmin while being questioned and later the two of them trailing the guy who drops the candy wrappers. The ending action sequence with the press conference, the horse chase, and the helicopter were also well done. All in all, very good entertainment, 7/10.

Sometimes it's difficult to say why one likes a film.

Undoubtedly, what is most memorable about this film is Sofia Loren (as with any of her films). She remains beautiful and charming regardless of the script's worth Admittedly, the script isn't worth much; Peck's character is given all these imitation-Bond one-liners that are like listening to a relative speak only in bad puns, as some of my relatives do. The plot is only fair, and some of the plot-twists absurd. The film is over-long and wallows in its own cleverness. Undoubtedly, some of the visuals in this film are just experiments in '60s psychedelic 'hip' - occasionally confusing, utterly annoying.

But the film gets carried by Peck, hammy but companionable, and Ms. Loren. It's definitely entertaining, and more than one scene may stick with you for some years - although I find it difficult to say just why. My suspicion is that the glittery surface of the film, which is very light, is used to make palatable realities that are very dark - like the drowning of the killer in the aquarium. Ultimately the film feeds on the ambivalence of the audience, because in part it generates this ambivalence intentionally.

Hardly a great film, in some ways a bad film, but worth a couple hours entertainment.

In a few more years when movies from the 1960's are studied clinically with an eye to their historical development, this one will be a technical standout. For sheer visual beauty, cinematic virtuosity, and musical score, it ought to have been a big winner in its own time. That it was not can be deduced from the few comments recorded here with respect to its failures in text and casting, all of which are obvious and quite fatal.

Not to be repetitious, I nevertheless agree that Peck was miscast. Moreover, his character as conceived was a ludicrous echo of the typical 1960's hero, and I doubt that any actor could have carried it off -- even Sean Connery and certainly not Cary Grant. Add to that several other cartoonish elements in the plot and you have the sad spectre of beauty defiled.

Watch it for Sophia Loren and the Mancini score alone and you will be delighted.

This film is a bit dated (1966) but the plot twists and turns keep you watching. With Gregory Peck knocking off one liners and Sophia Loren for eye candy, this film is a good one to catch if you have never seen it before...The villains in the film are a bit over the top and a tad campy but this only adds to the charm of the film.

Gregory Peck, (Professor David Pollack), "Old Gringo", plays a professor who is kidnapped for a brief period and is told to reveal the secrets of an Arabic writing which is his specialty. He is shot at, hit on the head and thrown out of a truck and meets up with Sophia Loren, (Yasmin Azir), "The Black Orchid", who runs into him all the time and decides to help him escape from his captives. However, Yasmin tells so many lies that David does not believe her and begins to think she is working against him. There is plenty of comedy, drama, romance and action. This is not exactly an easy film to just sit back and relax, it keeps you wondering just what is really Going ON

This isn't a great movie, but it's pretty fun to watch. It's basically a crazed version of "North by Northwest", down to the crop-duster sequence. The plot quit making sense to me halfway through (if not sooner), but I didn't care much by that point, as it was obviously not a movie that required a delicate understanding of the storyline in order to extract pleasure from what's good about it, which is 1) Sophia Loren is various tight and/or ripped dresses 2) Wile E. Coyote set-piece action sequences and 3) the fantastic opening title sequence. Everything else you can live with our without.

Charade (which I saw on a double bill with this) is a much better movie, in part because of better writing, but also because by '66, Arabesque is starting to show some of the cheesier artifacts of late 60's style (forced psychedelia, etc.). But Arabesque is fun for what it is: a campy, pulpy, slightly over-the-top spy action jamboree.

ARABESQUE is another fab Universal romantic thriller in the grand CHARADE tradition, including some of the same personnel! If director Stanley Donen's classic 1963 comedy-thriller CHARADE is Hitchcock Lite, then ARABESQUE is Hitchcock Lite after taking a few classes in James Bond 101 (including an opening title sequence by Maurice Binder, who also did the honors for CHARADE as well as for most of the Bond movies). As the hieroglyphics expert embroiled in Middle Eastern intrigue while decoding the cipher everyone's after, the usual slightly wooden note in Gregory Peck's delivery is oddly effective as he tries to loosen up and deliver Cary Grant-like witticisms (from co-scripter "Pierre Marton," a.k.a. CHARADE alumnus Peter Stone). Peck may not be Mr. Glib, but he's so inherently likable and seems so delighted to get an opportunity to deliver bon mots after all his serious roles that he's downright endearing, like a child trying out new words for the first time. And co-star Sophia Loren, at her most alluring as an Arab femme fatale, can make any guy look suave and sexy! Alan Badel, looking like a polished Peter Sellers in cool shades, virtually steals his scenes as the suave-bordering-on-unctuous villain with a foot fetish. Shoe lovers will swoon over the scene with Badel fitting the lovely Loren with a roomful of fancy footwear. Speaking of things of beauty, Christopher Challis's dazzling, inventive cinematography won the BAFTA (the British equivalent of the Oscars), and Christian Dior got a BAFTA nomination for Loren's elegant costumes. Suspenseful and sparkling as this twist-filled adventure is, ARABESQUE's biggest mystery is why it's still only available in VHS format. If this gem ever gets deluxe treatment as a DVD (including letterboxing, please!), I sure hope they get Donen and Loren together to do the kind of entertaining, informative commentary that Donen did with the late, great Stone for Criterion's CHARADE DVD. In the meantime, ARABESQUE turns up on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies periodically, so check your TV listings -- this fun thriller is worth seeking out! UPDATE FOR 2012: ARABESQUE is now available from Universal in a six-DVD Gregory Peck collectors' set, along with MIRAGE, CAPE FEAR, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, CAPTAIN NEWMAN, M.D., and THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS!

Arabesque is directed by Stanley Donen and collectively adapted by Julian Mitchell, Stanley Price and Pierre Marton from Gordon Cotler's novel The Cypher. It stars Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel, John Merivale and Harold Kasket. A Panavision/Technicolor production with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Christopher Challis.

Hieroglyphics expert David Pollock (Peck) is thrust into a world of shifty political intrigue involving a Middle Eastern Prime Minister, a beautiful spy and a sinister rich businessman.

There's quite a bit wrong with Arabesque, with white actors made up as Arabs, a scatter-gun plot, weak finale, a barely threatening villain and Peck is no action hero! Yet if you can just run with it, to enjoy being in the company of the stars? Then there's fun to be had here.

Part comedy, part thriller mystery, Arabesque zips along at a decent clip and Donen inserts memorable scenes along the way. From a wonderful shower sequence to chase me perils at a Zoo and a building site, there's truly a great will of spirit involved in the production. Donen also at times chooses to shoot the movie through a kaleidoscopic prism, and uses canted angles to accentuate David Pollock's confusion. These are nice touches, as is Mancini's Eastern flavoured musical arrangement.

Peck may be no action hero type actor but his sense of fun here, and his all round classy charm, makes it very easy to root for him. Loren looks fabulous, a real sex-bomb pouting away with a glint in her eye. Not all of the Christian Dior costumes suit her character, but Loren, herself seemingly having a great old time of it, comes through the picture with flying colours. Elsewhere the performances are merely adequate, with Badel's villain coming off like a weak Peter Sellers clone!

So a mixed bag for sure and the shadow of Donen's wonderful Charade three years earlier looms large at times, but it's an enjoyable enough ride while it lasts. 7/10

Arabesque is a very '60s movie that tries to be both a suspense film and a spy spoof, but doesn't entirely succeed at either.

Director Stanley Donen knew Arabesque's story didn't make a lick of sense (seriously, this is not so much a story full of holes as it is a hole with some story sprinkled in it), so he went for razzle dazzle. The memorable opening scene is heavily influenced by German Expressionism, the scene in the zoo has a Wellesian quality, and the influence of Hitchcock pops up periodically.

In the beginning this works pretty well. But all the most notable scenes, like zoo chase or the silly shower sequence, happen in the first half. After that, the movie is a series of unlikely plot twists, general confusion, and Sophia Loren wardrobe changes. And at the end, any attempt to make sense of the story will only cause you to realize it makes even less sense than you thought.

Even at it's best, this is a pretty cheesy movie. But if it had managed to stay at that cheesy best all the way through, it would have been a far more enjoyable one.

As has been duly noted before, "Arabesque" is essentially an update of Stanley Donen's own "Charade." This time, however, the plot twists are more convoluted, the camerwork is decidedly more "mod" (shooting through chandeliers, reflections in sunglass lenses, etc.) and there is an even greater emphasis on the female star's wardrobe. If the story is more confusing and less compelling than "Charade," it certainly isn't at the expense of entertainment. Its derivative nature (it not only incorporates parts of "Charade," but also the drunk and cropdusting scenes from "North by Northwest") prevents "Arabesque" from entering the elevated realm of its predecessor, but it's a delight, nevertheless. Its strongest selling point, really, is the utterly delectable Sophia Loren as Yasmin, the side-switching enigma. It is a strong statement to declare that the glorious Miss Loren has never appeared more beautiful, before or since, than in this film--but I'm willing to take the risk. Her huge, almond, almost Egyptian eyes; tawny, caramel-colored skin; lustrous hair; and world-famous curves have never been seen to better advantage. (Her stunning Christian Dior costumes certainly add to her already formidable allure.) She also displays a very nice light comedic touch; it wouldn't be difficult to dislike someone so supernaturally gorgeous, but instead, Loren's natural warmth and humor shine through. Gregory Peck, on the other hand, looks more than a little ragged around the edges; Cary Grant obviously didn't lend Peck any of his age-defying secrets. His performance isn't nearly as bad or hammy as some other reviews have indicated, but where Loren's charisma and beauty aid her in creating a completely different character than Audrey Hepburn's in "Charade," Peck comes off as an unfortunately blurred carbon coby of Grant in that earlier film. Having said that, "Arabesque" still stands on its own merits as a cracking good comedy-thriller; the final few scenes are terrifically suspenseful. Alan Badel makes a wonderfully oily villain (love the shades!), and Kieron Moore adds a healthy shot of dated humor as a jive-talking Arabian (!). Although the twists and turns might be confusing for some, just sit back and bask in the glory that is Sophia Loren. You know the good guys will win in the end, anyway.

A light hearted spy tale set in London in the mid 60's. Although dated and with a fair amount of corny dialogue it is still very entertaining. Sophia has never looked better and Gregory Peck is perfect in this Stanley Donan classic.

Not one of the best works by these two screen veterans but still worth a look in for Sophia alone. The woman has not aged at all. I like international espionage thrillers especially in the James Bond genre. The mixture of Pecks american know-how with Loren's continental sophistication together with the english precipitation seemed to make up for the flaws in an otherwise gripping story.Enough said. I wont give the story away except to state the clue at the end is in the hieroglyphic.

This has got to be one of the most beautifully photographed movies ever made. Stanley Donen really knows how to use the camera, shooting through chandeliers, using double mirrors for endless reflections, using ordinary objects to highlight the extraordinary--this movie is so wonderfully cinematic that the lack of a serious plot is almost negligible. Not to mention the presence of Gregory Peck, the beautiful Sophia Loren as well as the Henry Mancini score and the titles by Maurice Binder only add to the icing on the cake! "Pierre Marton" (yeah, we all know it's Peter Stone)'s script is sparklingly quotable and provides great fun and great entertainment--just don't think too hard about the plot when you're watching this. "Arabesque" should set the standard in cinematic beauty and it's a shame that this movie isn't more widely shown or known about. Just what happened to that song "We've Loved Before" that was composed for this film?

i've been waiting a while to see this. i've caught parts of it here and there over the years and finally got the chance to see it last night on TCM. bleh. something just never clicked; in fact, I cut it off a little after the halfway point out of boredom. this is one of the few movies with peck where he just seems totally out of place, like he's never quite sure what kind of movie he's in. loren is fine, but the main villain is absurd. he looks like peter sellers doing kissinger in strangelove. the villains and action are too cartoonish for you to feel that there is actually any threat, thus the dramatic elements don't work either. just feels like a mess that never quite hits its mark.

3 0f 10

If I had the impossible task of naming one film as "My Favorite Most Enjoyable Movie" this and it's bookend, "Charade," would be it.

It is Stanley Donen's near perfect blend of Alfred Hitchcock meets James Bond. Donen made two simply wonderful films in the Hitchcock mold. The first was Charade in 1963 with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Arabesque is the second. They make a marvelous bookend set.

Both films are light, breezy and loaded with wit and humorous dialog. Both feature classic Henry Mancini scores, stylish female ward-robing by the likes of Givenchy and Christian Dior and both feature memorable titles by 007's legendary title master, Maurice Binder.

But it's Arabesque's wildly inventive cinematography which sets it apart from virtually every other action film. The cinematography is pure art school. It's amazingly inventive use of reflection and shot within a shot camera work is what first interested me in the art of cinematography as a teenager. The cinematography in Arabesque fascinates me and entertains me no end to this day.

Gregory Peck's square yet hip college professor plays perfectly with Sophia Loren's chic spy - and Sophia was never more flat-out stunning. Wow! Check out Arabesque. It's two hours of great fun.

As noted many times before,ARABESQUE is a rehash,if virtually not a sequel,to the same director's CHARADE made several years earlier.It is not as good as the previous effort,a superbly scripted and cast comedy thriller with the incomparable Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.Grant was apparently intended for the lead here,and although he would have been in his early sixties if this casting had gone ahead,he would have been a more assured lead than his replacement Gregory Peck.Peck,a fine straight actor,seems a little uncomfortable handling the various wisecracks and witticisms abound in the script,something which the ever-youthful Grant would have handled with more aplomb.That said,at 50,Peck's performance is perfectly acceptable,and he is a credible,handsome romantic lead to the alluring Sophia Loren,whose English by this time was fluent enough for her to give a more charming,rounded performance than in previous UK or US films.The best performance though comes from Mancunian actor Alan Badel,who despite an excess of gravy-stained make-up and dark shades,remarkably manages to make his villainous,suave Arab character almost entirely convincing.Badel wisely doesn't give the part a cod foreign accent which would have turned the role into a crude caricature but a deliberate,carefully modulated standard English accent which gives the part a depth and menace it didn't necessarily have in the script.Badel dominates the film,but oddly enough another Mancunian actor,George Coulouris,also plays an Arab character in the opening scene.

The script by Peter Stone has much similarity with CHARADE with it's various twists and turns,but tends to lack it's predecessor's surprises and cleverness,though amusing lines and incident do usually compensate.Stanley Donen's direction is commendably brisk and pacey,though by this time(the mid 1960's),directors of spy thrillers like this thought it was the right thing to add flashy,kaleidoscopic camera tricks and angles to it's content.Donen is no different here,filming many scenes behind various pieces of furniture,glass,etc. which were somewhat pointless even four decades ago and date such films pretty badly now.It's main technical achievement is sumptuous photography by Christopher Challis,one of the best colour cameramen of his day if not the best.

If Donen hadn't fallen into the trap of trying to be trendy and directed ARABESQUE in a more restrained,yet effective way like CHARADE,it would probably have been rather better,but despite it's flaws,ARABESQUE is still a largely enjoyable,fast-moving and amusing comedy thriller.

'Arabesque' has often been compared to 'Charade' and the story does follow a similar path of twists and turns. This time it's throughout the city and countryside of London. The visualizations of the sights of London are pleasing to the eyes. The movie itself moves at a steady pace and there are a few over the top sequences but the twists keep the viewer at the edge of the seat. Moreover, it makes sense to the story which only enriches its entertainment value. The solid writing also includes some funny witty dialogues. I'm glad Cary Grant turned down the role as Gregory Peck, a much better actor, ended up with the role. He and dazzling beauty Sophia Loren make an awesome pair on screen. The chemistry is sizzling and they're both very charming actors. Overall 'Arabesque' is great fun and it is the movie to watch especially when one is feeling bored.