Action in Arabia

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.

Action in Arabia opens with an introduction by the narrator, while displaying a boundary map of Africa, europe, and the middle east as of 1944. Starring the dashing George Sanders (from All About Eve) and Gene Lockhart, we go running around Syria looking for those Nazi's during WW II. Also look for H B Warner (who had played the great "Chang" in Lost Horizon, and JC in "King of Kings"). There has to be a lovely lady at the center of these things, and here its Virginia Bruce playing Yvonne Danesco, the wife of a crooked gambler, at the very least. People start getting knocked off, and away we go! Because we're off in a far away land, and chasing spies, its quite exotic, but according to IMDb, its mostly all filmed in LA. Scoping out the cast list, apparently Bud Wiser played "the man"...... actually, the beer WAS first; it has been around since 1883! Directed by Russian turned Frenchman Leonide Moguy, this was only one of the three English speaking films he did between 1936 and 1961. With some arabic ,german, and french language thrown in, a fun war-time adventure.

Two Western journalists are on their way home through Syria when they see a familiar face talk with the daughter of an Arab leader. When one follows the man later that night, he is found dead. His colleague Michael Gordon investigates and finds clues pointing to a plot to pervert the leadership of the tribes and lead them with the Nazi's against the allied forces.

I watched this film simply because the title caught my eye in the schedules. Given the fact that the screening occurred while other channels were covering the war on Iraq as part of their news cycle, I initially assumed it was a documentary of some sort. A look to see it was a film made decades ago suggested that the schedulers had maybe been guilty of bad taste. However watching it there was little to support this thought.

The film is set in the Middle East which, in this film, spreads from Iraq across into Africa ending in Morocco. The politics of the area are difficult now and were still complex when this film was made, so the plot decides to mostly ignore internal issues and focus on the bigger picture of the Nazi threat. By doing so it becomes a bit of propaganda that almost works quite well, but mostly means the plot becomes quite straightforward. The film focuses on the potential for the Nazi's to use the tribes to sweep through the Middle East and Africa and Gordon's investigation to stop it. Mostly the film is very talky and even the action scenes are quite pedestrian (despite the music played loudly thought them), this would be OK if it had a bit more twists and turns but really it goes where you expect it to. This is not to say it is bad – but it is pretty unremarkable.

Sanders plays it as usual – upright, tough and gentlemanly, he also is quite stiff and unanimated. This works well for the majority but I would have liked a little more heart in it. The support cast are all OK but are strangely (or perhaps not so strangely) made up of mostly white characters playing Arabs – only the crowd shots appear to use non-white faces. This isn't a major detraction but it is a distraction at times – esp when supposed Arab princesses are played by white women who would be more at home shopping in Manhattan.

Overall this is a sturdy little film that is short but still feels a little too long. The straightforward plot and talky nature make it feel a little dull at times but there is just enough going on to hold the interest.

Newspaper reporter George Sanders hurries through the airport--he's heading home from an assignment but is keeping his eyes open. In the first moments of his stay in Damascus, he encounters a number of questionable characters:

Lenore Aubert, inscrutable and beautiful in an exotic outfit complete with tall head wrap. Virginia Bruce, who hangs around the hotel looking nervous and appears to have some connection with Gene Lockhart, a gambler with dubious morals.

Robert Armstrong gets to the point as an American foreign service agent sent to keep Sanders from stirring up local mischief:

"You're a troublemaker," Armstrong tells Sanders bluntly. Sanders replies: "That's what Herr Goebbels said about me once. I was deeply flattered."

The plot is fairly straightforward. One of Sanders' colleagues is found murdered; Sanders sticks around to investigate. Soon Sanders realizes he is working to identify and thwart Nazi operatives. Determining who's who among the other players is neither simple nor safe.

Sanders is excellent--suave, clever and tough, this character is more serious-minded than the Saint or Falcon. Some good aerial photography over the desert adds excitement as the action builds.

Mystery, thriller, patriotic WWII picture....Overall, a solid and efficient production.

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.