Action in Arabia

The action of this film never got anywhere near the Arabian peninsula for a film titled Action In Arabia. I guess the alliteration got to the folks at RKO when they titled this film as the scene of the action is Damascus.

Which was after World War I Syria was a French mandate per the Versailles treaty. When France fell in 1940 the various colonial possessions had their own internal battles as to whether to declare loyalty to the Vichy regime or the Free French of DeGaulle. Then there were the various Arab tribes not to mention the Druse people in Syria who were not mentioned in the film all of them having their own idea on which horse to place their bets.

George Sanders is an American reporter who had been covering the backwoods theater of Iraq during World War II. He's stopping in Damascus, but he also recognizes Alan Napier as a Nazi agent on the plane with Lenore Aubert who is the daughter of influential sheik H.B. Warner. He sends a colleague with a bead on the story who unfortunately gets killed following it up.

Now Sanders is on a mission to see what's going on. With the help of Virginia Bruce and her father Gene Lockhart who we really never trust simply because its Gene Lockhart and you know the roles he's normally cast in. There's also Robert Armstrong of the American Foreign Service who's a bit thick but comes through in a crisis.

It's a decent action propaganda programmer from RKO though it should have been entitled Intrigue In Damascus.

In the Arab world there is a saying that Allah grants wisdom but only the foolish ignore it. In this movie, The vast area of the Middle East is slowly being foolishly drawn into the second world war and both sides are doing their level best to secure the help of all the tribes. In this Philip MacDonald story George Sanders plays American News Correspondence Michael Gordon who arrives in Damacus with a colleague who is soon murdered. Directed by Leonide Moguy, our hero is unable to understand why. Because he is a newsman, Gordon is Keen to discover the reason. Unfortunately, the police and several interested officials wants him to leave on the next day's flight. In the meantime, he ties into the local network of Spys, counter spies and assassins, each with their own agenda towards their approaching war. This Black and White movie has all the traditional mystery and drama who with it's plethora of exciting cast members, such as Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart and Robert Armstrong makes for a great film. ****

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.

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.

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.