In the African desert, a British soldier romances a native chief's daughter and helps the tribe fight off a German attack.In the African desert, a British soldier romances a native chief's daughter and helps the tribe fight off a German attack.In the African desert, a British soldier romances a native chief's daughter and helps the tribe fight off a German attack.
André Morell
- Sheik Salem ben Yussef
- (as Andre Morell)
Bryan Forbes
- Dying Soldier
- (scenes deleted)
Alan Coleshill
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Nanette Newman
- Mabrouka
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaArt Director George Provis had designed a pool for the nuptial bathing scene, the location oasis having only a small well. Producer William MacQuitty was aware that the pool would ever after be a useful water supply for the Bedouin and instructed that it be built sturdily for permanency. The village headman saw the producer's generosity differently--he saw the pool as desecrating the oasis and insisted that it be removed. It was, and the Sahara Desert regained 100 square meters of lost sand.
====NOTE: The following isn't a Trivia item as much as it is reminiscences from a member of the cast, but that person is never identified. He or she needs to be, otherwise there is no way to determine if this information is true or not.====
I had the good fortune to be involved in the filming. I was sixteen and had gone to Libya as a young actor for desert location scenes prior to shooting interiors at Pinewood Studios .
I recall that tragic circumstances made the off-camera events as memorable as those fly-blown Sahara shooting-days. A couple of days after my arrival at Idris airport the once-daily flight from London's Heathrow ended in tragedy when a BOAC DC4 Argonaut crashed in flames on landing killing fifteen and badly injuring many of the forty-seven on board. Idris facilities were about what you'd expect of one of the world's poorest nations with an international terminal that looked like it was the film set from Bogart's 'Casablanca' and the boys and girls at the Wheelus Field USAF base the other side of Tripoli had mobilized immediately, with helicopters ferrying the injured to the military hospital.
A few days later, at a break in the filming schedule, I visited the base with a young woman survivor of the crash.. Tearful eyes all round, including those of the chopper-boys, filled with laughter when Rosemarie discovered the bouquet they had given her was swarming with ants which had joined the blooms somewhere locally. An international incident was narrowly avoided when this naive British visitor took a photograph of his beautiful companion. I had not noticed that the background included some tents and several large aircraft. I still have the Zeiss camera which I had bought cheaply a couple of days before, just a museum piece now in our age of digital photography, but I always remember that day when I had to hand over the film to the fierce military policeman declaring us off-limits. Actually, he turned out to be quite an affable sort, who having executed his official task seemed more than happy to assist my companion who had discovered that the ants were now invading her blouse. Uncle Sam's Military Police are clearly up to anything the day throws at them and the Snowdrop produced some magic mosquito cream which he applied liberally to her neck. His enthusiasm for the task knew no bounds and soon it was the turn of the visitor gently, to point out what was off limits. Apart from the loss of my pictures, it was a memorable day with hospitable hosts, an air-conditioned day that offered a welcome contrast to the sweltering Sahara filming days that lay ahead. Happy days! All captured in Love, Life and Moving Pictures, tales of the Black Tent location. Find it at Amazon.
- GoofsSabratha, the Roman ruins are by the sea, whereas it is established that the Bedouin camp is in the desert.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Michael Craig (2022)
Featured review
Well it's more multi-coloured than black.
But I'm just being facetious!
Brian Desmond Hurst directs, Anthony Steel and André Morell star, Bryan Forbes and Robin Maugham write, William Alwyn scores the music and Desmond Dickinson photographs in VistaVision Technicolor.
It looks lovely, the Libya locations amazing, yet it's a dull and uneventful movie. Story concerns Capt. David Holland (Steel), who during WWII in the North African campaign gets injured and winds up being nursed by some Bedouin natives. He promptly becomes part of the crowd, falls in love with the Sheik's daughter and instigates a repel the Nazis front with the natives. But what happened next? Holland's brother, Col. Sir Charles (Donald Sinden), travels to Libya to find out.
What he finds is obviously what we find out, that there's an inter racial romance at the heart of the story, some mistrust, loyalties born, a small scale battle and a double edged sword of a finale. It's all very contrived and mismatched, while some of the acting comes dangerously close to being parody supreme. Not good really and the tech guys deserve a better movie, and so do we. Oh well, if nothing else it obviously inspired Lawrence of Arabia. Hee hee hee. 5/10
Brian Desmond Hurst directs, Anthony Steel and André Morell star, Bryan Forbes and Robin Maugham write, William Alwyn scores the music and Desmond Dickinson photographs in VistaVision Technicolor.
It looks lovely, the Libya locations amazing, yet it's a dull and uneventful movie. Story concerns Capt. David Holland (Steel), who during WWII in the North African campaign gets injured and winds up being nursed by some Bedouin natives. He promptly becomes part of the crowd, falls in love with the Sheik's daughter and instigates a repel the Nazis front with the natives. But what happened next? Holland's brother, Col. Sir Charles (Donald Sinden), travels to Libya to find out.
What he finds is obviously what we find out, that there's an inter racial romance at the heart of the story, some mistrust, loyalties born, a small scale battle and a double edged sword of a finale. It's all very contrived and mismatched, while some of the acting comes dangerously close to being parody supreme. Not good really and the tech guys deserve a better movie, and so do we. Oh well, if nothing else it obviously inspired Lawrence of Arabia. Hee hee hee. 5/10
helpful•111
- hitchcockthelegend
- Mar 9, 2015
Details
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
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