Princess of the Nile

More fabulous adventure than the tales of the Arabian Nights , more exciting than the travels of Marco Polo, more spectacular than the splendors of Kubla Khan. This wonderful Oriental adventure deals with the princess Shamar, Debra Paget , the flame that ignited Egypt . And well starred by those sensational new stars , Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter . It is set 1249 Egyt, where the son of the caliph of Baghdad , Jeffrey Hunter, arrives in order to keep peace and order, along the way he helps the beautiful princess to rid the Bedouin invaders led by Michael Rennie .Meanwhile , Shamar takes a double identity , both as a wealthy princess and disguising as an expert dancer, dancing at market place.

This is a typical oriental movie produced by 20th Century Fox with intrigue , fights , sword-crosses and colorful scenarios, though mostly shot in studios . The two sensational new young stars give passable interpretations. Debra Paget is marvelous as the gorgeous princess striving to gain her aims, to rid the Bedouin conquerors, as she practices her intriguing skills, both at the slums and at the royal court . Paget starred a lot of adventure movies for 20th Century Fox , outstanding her exotic beauty and dancing skills, such as : Bird of paradise, Anne of the Indians, Prince Valiant, Demetrius and the Gladiators, Omar Khayyam and the exceptional dyptic : Tiger of Snapur and The Indian tomb by Fritz Lang . While her partenaire Jeffrey Hunter as a brave hero is fine, but inferior to Paget. Support is frankly well , such as Michael Rennie, Jack Elam , Michael Ansara, Edgar Barrier as Shaman, Dona Drake and uncredited Lee Van Cleef.

It packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor by Lloyd Ahern Sr. , adding fastuous production design, though some of the sets were used from Demetrius and the gladiators. As well as an evocative and thrilling musical score by Lionel Newman. The motion picture was professionally directed by Harmon Jones. He was a producer , production manager, editor and filmmaker. As Harmon directed all kinds of genres, drama, thriller, Noir, Western, comedy . . such as : Wolf Larsen, The beast of Budapest, Gorilla at large, Target Zero, Canyon river, City of bad men, A day of fury , The silver whip , The pride of St Louis, As young as you feel, Bloodhounds of Broadway . He also directed several episodes from known TV series such as : Land of giants, Death valley, Voyage to the bottom of the sea, The Virginian , Perry Mason, Gunslinger, Daniel Boone , Iron horse, The Monroe, The Zorro, among others. Rating : acceptable and passable. Well worth watching. The flick will appeal to Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter fans

For the most part, I only enjoy the kind of movie that allows one to escape the current time into the future or past. This movie is pure escapism. The dancing starts almost immediately, and Debra Paget in her "purple harem" bikini dress simply has no equal in film in my opinion. Her dancing, while sultry, is surpassed by her dance in Fritz Lang's Tiger of Eschnapur, available on DVD, where she played the temple dancer Seetha.

One problem with the movie is the closed setting. There are few outdoor scenes shot, and they as well as other scenes are a bit claustrophobic. The same locations are used over and over again, but with some interesting secret passages and waterways. Her secret double identity is totally unbelievable with beauty of that magnitude. Debra even wields a sabre and holds 2 enemy soldiers at bay on a staircase, she could do it all.

What does work is Debra Paget as a princess. With her beauty, she certainly would be the center of attention anywhere at any time in history. This movie, when hopefully it becomes available on DVD, will be a must buy. Overall, taken with a bit of humor, I loved it.

The 20th Century Fox studio have finally bowed to public demand & released "Princess Of The Nile" on DVD. Nobody can, hand on heart, pretend that it is a great movie but it is a triumph for the innovation of glorious technicolor. Playing the title role Debra Paget, then aged just 20, was just about as beautiful as any young lady can possibly be. Dressed in an array of diaphanous costumes she looks utterly fabulous &, even if she was not that much of an actress, her erotic dancing is as breathtaking as her looks. For the ladies, Fox studio have co-starred the handsomest of their leading young actors Jeffrey Hunter as Prince Haidi. Nobody is going to include POTN in their list of top ten movies but, crikey, I never saw a vision of loveliness the equal of young Debra Paget in this movie. She takes the phrase "eye candy" to a whole new level & I guarantee that anyone who buys it will not be disappointed.

With looks that could kill, and a willingness to display her charms, Paget's sensuality leaves no doubt as to where her assets lay...

She plays a sultry-innocent 13th-century princess who rouses her people to save Egypt from the ambitions of a powerful Beduin (Michael Rennie) and joins her forces with the son of the Caliph of Baghdad (Jeffrey Hunter) to save her trembling throne... She also finds time to fulfill a great deal of exotic dancing... Her luscious legs make her hard to forget!

The emphasis is not on the plot, but on the visual pleasure of a great number of beautiful girls in sensual Technicolored costumes...

An absolutely amazing cast (Lee Van Cleef! Jack Elam!) enlivens this utterly preposterous yarn which passes off an Egyptian Hareem that's straight out of Minsky's (down to a few blondes and red heads).

Paget is both lovely and acrobatic, handling action sequences charmingly. Hunter is a stiff. And who knew Michael Rennie fenced left handed?

This film has recently been seen in criculation on AMC, and it's worth catching. The technicolor production design combines with the two-dimensional characters to create the effect of a Prince Valient comic on celuloid. But the appaling acting, ham-fisted dialog and cardboard sets only enhance the film's charm.