The Garden of Allah (1936)

Director:

Richard Boleslawski

Writers:

Robert Hichens (novel)
W.P. Lipscomb (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They loved each other with the fierceness of those who have been denied love!

Plot:

The star-crossed desert romance of a cloistered woman and a renegade monk.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Oasis | Monastery | Secret | Monk

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Domini Enfilden
Charles Boyer	...	Boris Androvsky
Basil Rathbone	...	Count Ferdinand Anteoni
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Father J. Roubier
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Batouch
John Carradine	...	Sand Diviner
Alan Marshal	...	Capt. De Trevignac
Lucile Watson	...	Mother Superior Josephine
Henry Brandon	...	Hadj
Tilly Losch	...	Irena
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eric Alden	...	Anteoni's Lieutenant (uncredited)
Louis Aldez	...	Blind Singer (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	American Tourist in Hotel (uncredited)
John Bryan	...	Brother Gregory (uncredited)
Ann Bupp	...	Girl (uncredited)
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Gardener (uncredited)
Corky	...	Bous-Bous the Dog (uncredited)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Lector at Monastery (uncredited)
Marcel De la Brosse	...	Member of De Trevignac's Patrol (uncredited)
Barry Downing	...	Little Boris (uncredited)
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Nun (uncredited)
Irene Franklin	...	American Tourist's Wife (uncredited)
Robert Frazer	...	Smain (uncredited)
John George	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Ann Gillis	...	Convent Girl #2 (uncredited)
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Betty Jane Graham	...	Convent Girl (uncredited)
Bonita Granville	...	Convent Girl (uncredited)
Edna Mae Harris	...	Oasis Girl (uncredited)
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Convent Girl #1 (uncredited)
Jane Kerr	...	Ouled Nails Madam (uncredited)
Leonid Kinskey	...	Voluble Arab (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Coachman (uncredited)
Andrew McKenna	...	Mueddin (uncredited)
Louis Mercier	...	Member of De Trevignac's Patrol (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Proprietor (uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	Man (uncredited)
Maria Riva	...	Young Girl Sewing (uncredited)
Adrian Rosley	...	Mustapha (uncredited)
Marion Sayers	...	Oasis Girl (uncredited)
David Scott	...	Larby (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Member of De Trevignac's Patrol (uncredited)
Frances Turham	...	Oasis Girl (uncredited)
Betty Van Auken	...	Oasis Girl (uncredited)
Charles Waldron	...	Abbe of Monastery (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Boleslawski

Writing credits
Robert Hichens		(novel)
W.P. Lipscomb		(screenplay) and
Lynn Riggs		(screenplay)
Willis Goldbeck		(contributor to treatment) uncredited

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
W. Howard Greene		(uncredited)
Virgil Miller		(director of photography) (uncredited)
Harold Rosson		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Hal C. Kern
Anson Stevenson		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Sturges Carne		(settings)
Lyle R. Wheeler		(settings) (as Lyle Wheeler)
Edward G. Boyle		(settings) (uncredited)

Costume Design by
Ernest Dryden

Makeup Department
Sam Kaufman	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Stacey	....	assistant director
Otto Brower	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Chauncy Pyle	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Lansing C. Holden	....	color designer
Irving W. Sindler	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Earl A. Wolcott	....	sound recordist (as Earl Wolcott)
T.A. Carman	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Clarence Slifer	....	special effects cinematographer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
W. Howard Greene	....	photographer
Robert Carney	....	associate photographer (uncredited)
Wilfred M. Cline	....	associate photographer (uncredited)
Nelson Cordes	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Don Dickey	....	grip (uncredited)
Frank Leavitt	....	grip (uncredited)
Oran McPherson	....	electrician (uncredited)
Morris Rosen	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bill Bowman	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Jeannette Couget	....	costume maker (uncredited)

Music Department
R.H. Bassett	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Willis Goldbeck	....	assistant to producer
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color supervisor
Harold Rosson	....	photographic advisor
Joshua Logan	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Selznick International Pictures

Distributors

• United Artists (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Selznick Releasing Organization (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Hauser & Co. Filmverleih (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• ClassicLine (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

79 min | West Germany:75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Australia:G | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #2405)

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Dunes, Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

For the role of Capt. De Trevignac, David Niven, Cesar Romero and Ray Milland were tested before 'Alan Marshal (I)' was cast.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the abbot and the major are walking down the hall, the shadow of the boom microphone keeps pace with them on the lower left.

Quotes:

Count Anteoni:A man who refuses to acknowledge his god is unwise to set foot in the desert.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Milton Berle: Mr. Television" (????)

Soundtrack:

No One But God and I Know What is in My Heart

Fabulous camp!

I give this movie an A+ for the sheer camp of it! As Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva wrote in the book on her mother, "If one sees The Garden of Allah in the context of high camp, it can be very amusing." And how! I laughed with delight at the overwrought score and the astoundingly, ridiculously, fantastically melodramatic dialogue. Viewers who've read the accounts of Boyer's toupee (it kept coming unstuck in the heat) will snicker every time it makes an appearance.

Dietrich and Boyer rarely look at each other when giving their lines -- instead they gaze dreamily off into the distance, presumably so their faces can be photographed at the best angle and with the most advantageous light (if you're starring in a turkey might as well look good!). Dietrich's costumes are out of this world. As Riva notes in her book, Dietrich managed to steal Paramount's Travis Banton and have him design some of the most divine gowns, such as the chiffon beige dress & cape.

I heartily agree with the other reviewers who rave about the Technicolor. It really is hard to believe the film was done in 1936 -- the color is fantastic.

In short, if you watch The Garden of Allah with a lenient attitude and embrace its silliness, you can't help but enjoy it.