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IMDbPro

Action in Arabia

  • 1944
  • Approved
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
635
YOUR RATING
George Sanders, Lenore Aubert, and Virginia Bruce in Action in Arabia (1944)
CrimeDramaRomanceThriller

Reporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for control of Arab sympathies.Reporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for control of Arab sympathies.Reporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for control of Arab sympathies.

  • Director
    • Léonide Moguy
  • Writers
    • Philip MacDonald
    • Herbert J. Biberman
  • Stars
    • George Sanders
    • Virginia Bruce
    • Lenore Aubert
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    635
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Léonide Moguy
    • Writers
      • Philip MacDonald
      • Herbert J. Biberman
    • Stars
      • George Sanders
      • Virginia Bruce
      • Lenore Aubert
    • 19User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast48

    Edit
    George Sanders
    George Sanders
    • Michael Gordon
    Virginia Bruce
    Virginia Bruce
    • Yvonne Danesco
    Lenore Aubert
    Lenore Aubert
    • Mounirah al-Rashid
    Gene Lockhart
    Gene Lockhart
    • Josef Danesco
    Robert Armstrong
    Robert Armstrong
    • Matthew Reed
    H.B. Warner
    H.B. Warner
    • Abdul El Rashid
    Alan Napier
    Alan Napier
    • Eric Latimer
    André Charlot
    • Andre Leroux
    • (as Andre Charlot)
    Marcel Dalio
    Marcel Dalio
    • Chakka - Arab Henchman at Airport
    Robert Andersen
    Robert Andersen
    • William Chalmers
    Jamiel Hasson
    • Eben Kareem
    Abdullah Abbas
    • Arab Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Rafael Alcayde
    Rafael Alcayde
    • Hotel Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Ansara
    Michael Ansara
    • Hamid
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Arnold
    • French Gendarme
    • (uncredited)
    Eric Berge
    • Gendarme
    • (uncredited)
    Maurice Brierre
    • Drunken Customer
    • (uncredited)
    Buster Brodie
    Buster Brodie
    • Bald-Headed Man
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Léonide Moguy
    • Writers
      • Philip MacDonald
      • Herbert J. Biberman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews19

    6.2635
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    Featured reviews

    6planktonrules

    Enjoyable.

    Reporter Michael Gordon (George Sanders) is passing through Damascus, Syria from an assignment. Another American reporter arrived along with Gordon...and soon this other reporter is discovered dead! Michael is determined to get to the bottom of whoever is responsible for his murder...and the trail soon heads to a pretty lady, some Nazis and even the chieftain of the Bedouin tribes! And, again and again, Michael slips in and out of one dangerous situation after another but you know he'll be okay, as he's the hero!

    This is a decent film--mildly interesting but made even better by the lovely performance by George Sanders, who is, as usual, very smooth and engaging. Well worth seeing and a bit better than the typical wartime propaganda film.
    7jcravens42

    Lots of fun - Sanders is a delight

    I watched this because it came on after a movie I watched on purpose. I meant to turn it off, especially because it looked so incredibly low-budget right from the get-go... but I didn't turn it off and, five minutes in, just couldn't stop watching. There are so many snarky, clever, laugh-out-loud lines! There is also as much intrigue and eccentric characters as in Casablanca (and some of the same actors as well). You will need to know a bit about the history of the time to get the plot, but all you'll need to like the film is to listen and drink in George Sanders absolutely awesome performance - this is my favorite of his films. It's low budget and a bad print, but the perfectly-cast Sanders and the hilarious one-liners make it worth the watch.
    6a_chinn

    Sanders makes bland spy yarn worth watching

    Blandly entertaining WWII spy story about George Sanders getting involved with Nazis and intrigue in Damascus. Although filmed near the end of the war, the story takes play at the outset of WWI, with the Allies and Nazis both vying for Arab support. Petty low budget and nothing all that special except for the presence of the effortlessly suave Sanders, who manages to make this film worth checking out.
    7gorgo-22839

    Great lovable 1940's spy yarn

    This movie pops up quite regularly on late night TV-and every time I get sucked into watching it. A cut above usual B grade movies with some very good stock footage of Arabic life the plot is the usual spy Vs spy yarn -but I have to say its very enjoyable. The cast is likable with a number of familiar faces all going earnestly about their business. The real star for me are the Art directors and set decorators. They did not have much to work with on the back-lot but have created that quintessentially Hollywood interpretation of what Damascus would or rather should look like. This is great entertaining action-er that's enjoyable its Casablanca inspired introduction to the final shoot out where the good guys triumph. Well worth a look at any time of the night.
    6blanche-2

    Nice thriller

    George Sanders experiences some "Action in Arabia" in this 1944 RKO film that also stars Virginia Bruce. Sanders is a reporter in Damascus who wants to find the killers of a fellow reporter. He uncovers a Nazi plot of the Germans attempting to turn the Arabs against the Allies.

    It's not much, but there's some great action, and if you're a fan of George Sanders, he's at his elegant best in this, beautifully dressed and very smooth.

    There are nice performances from an able supporting cast that includes Gene Lockhart, Alan Napier (that's Alfred the Butler on Batman), and H.B. Warner.

    A small propaganda film, reminiscent in its way of Casablanca, but pleasant enough.

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    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Desert footage was shot by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack in 1937 for an unmade film on the life of Lawrence of Arabia..
    • Goofs
      When Danesco (Gene Lockhart) is taken into the hotel owner's office, the two men who brought him there stand next to him on either side. Then when the owner had them frisk Danesco for cheating, the two men approach him from several steps away from behind.
    • Quotes

      Matthew Reed: You're a troublemaker, Gordon!

      Michael Gordon: That's what Herr Goebbels said about me once. I was deeply flattered.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Inglourious Basterds (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      La Marseillaise
      (1792)

      Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

      Variations in the score when the Free French Cross of Lorraine is shown

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 6, 1944 (Mexico)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Arabic
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Danger in Damascus
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $200,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 15m(75 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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