Flame of Stamboul (1951) User Reviews (5)

Moderately enjoyable...but no more.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 27 January 2020]

Richard Denning is an actor mostly forgotten today. Back in the day, he was famous for the TV show "Mr. and Mrs. North" as well as playing the Governor throughout the run of the original "Hawaii Five-O"...as well as a variety of relatively low-budget films. Here in "Flame of Stamboul" he plays a spy...and a heroic one at that!

The story begins with Larry Wilson (Denning) arriving in Istanbul. He's working for the US government and his job is to ensure the safety of an upcoming conference. But an unknown baddie nicknamed 'The Voice' (because no one has seen him, reportedly) is out to do bad things....and part of his plan includes replacing a famous belly dancer (the titular character in this story) with a double. But why?

This one never is boring....though it also rarely is all that exciting as well. It lacks some of the sensationalism you'd find in many spy films of the 50s but is still worth seeing.

"We need a piano player here for a few days"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 22 November 2020]

The exotic dancer 'Flame of Stamboul' is murdered and Lynette Garay takes her place and goes to Cairo to work for 'The Voice' who wants her to steal some jewels belonging to Sadik Raschin by charming his son Ahmed Raschin. But there's more to it than meets the eye. Will sturdy Larry Wilson, an American agent, foil the plot assisted by Joe Octavian and Louie Baracca? There's a lot of plot and it just about works but could have been more exciting.

Taking the acting honours is Norman Lloyd as Louie, a bit of a rogue but a likeable one. Mr Lloyd puts a lot of depth into his character transcending the routine script. George Zucco isn't in it much but has the ideal silky villainous voice of course for 'The Voice.' The other players are adequate. The exotic dancing is regrettably tame.

A spy flick that never ignites

[gerdeen-1 · 15 May 2010]

"Flame of Stamboul" begins in Istanbul but is mostly set in Cairo, Egypt. It was made just before big social and political changes swept the Middle East, and this film has a kind of 1940s feel to it. But unlike the '40s spy classics, it lacks suspense.

The "Flame" in the title is a nightclub dancer who agrees to take part in a big jewel heist, never guessing that it is really an espionage operation. She also doesn't realize that American agents are on her trail.

The beginning of the movie is the best, when things are still murky enough to be intriguing. But once it becomes clear what's going, the plot just kind of unfolds, without any interesting twists. And the dancing is unimpressive, even though the "Flame" is supposed to be the hottest entertainer in the Levant.

George Zucco plays the master spy known as "the Voice." This was one of his final films before he retired for health reasons, and he looks sluggish and frail. You could say the same about the movie.

The wick is wet on this flame.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 27 December 2017]

A ridiculous black and white adventure has French girl Lisa Ferraday framed for killing a dancing girl so she can take her place and get secret documents out of Cairo. This is so unadventurous and boring that necessary gun shots come out of nowhere to make sure that the audience is still awake. Handsome but dull Richard Denning has no spark with the beautiful but blank Ferreday whom he falls in love with while trying to find evidence against her. This is the type of film I might have liked as a kid (like "The Magic Carpet" with Lucille Ball as a flaming red headed Arab princess), but this has the audacity not to even be camp. At least that was in Technicolor; this was in black and white in spite of being made afterwards. The aging George Zucco is heavily shadowed as "The Voice" and escapes embarrassment by giving the bulk of his performance from a hidden microphone. Fellow villain Nestor Paiva is not so lucky. Slow editing and cheap production values are so obvious. It's films like this that would keep kids at home on a Saturday morning watching old westerns and eventually cartoons.

Intrigue in the Orient

[searchanddestroy-1 · 13 March 2008]

A rare but pretty boring little movie which takes place between Turkey and Egypt. A very talkative film with little action, and a story which nobody cares of.

A mix up of espionage and adventure, intrigue among the Eastern spell.

Lisa Ferraday and Richard Denning bring not enough help to stay you awake.

Anyway I am glad to have it in my collection. When you're a movie addict, you must accept all kind of features. But I must admit that the producer - Wallace Mc Donald - has done better in his career. I saw others of his movies - I don't remember the titles, sorry - but they were far more interesting.