Rope of Sand (1949)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Walter Doniger (story)
Walter Doniger (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A man abused by a sadistic mining company cop before he could tell where on their desert property he'd found diamonds decides to steal them instead.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Adventuress | Beautiful Woman | Intrigue

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Michael (Mike) Davis
Paul Henreid	...	Commandant Paul G. Vogel
Claude Rains	...	Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
Peter Lorre	...	Toady
Corinne Calvet	...	Mademoiselle Suzanne Renaud aka Aniseneletette Duringreaud
Sam Jaffe	...	Dr. Francis Kittridge Hunter
John Bromfield	...	Thompson (guard)
Mike Mazurki	...	Pierson (guard)
Kenny Washington	...	John
Edmund Breon	...	Parker, Chairman of the Board
Hayden Rorke	...	Ingram
David Thursby	...	Henry (bartender)
Josef Marais	...	South African Veldt Singer
Miranda Marais	...	South African Veldt Singer (as Miranda)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Afrikaans

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: This part of the desert of South Africa, where only a parched camel thorn tree relieves the endless parallels of time, space, and sky, surrounds like a rope of sand the richest diamond-bearing area in the world -- an uneasy land where men inflamed by monotony and the heat sometimes forget the rules of civilization.

Diamonds and dust.

Slow-moving adventures yarn,with a shaky script ,sometimes looking towards "Casablanca".I do not think,like the precedent user that Henreid 's character is in love with Lancaster's,but if one can go as far as to say that ,it's because of the lack of a strong female counterpart:Corinne Calvet is not Ingrid Bergman ,by a long shot.

This story,which revolves around diamonds which Lancaster hid somewhere -And Henreid lets his sadism flow to get these "girl's best friend" as Marylin would say".Peter Lorre and Claude Rains are almost wasted in predictable parts,and the plot meanders in the implausibilities (Calvet charged with murder,for instance).

The best scene remains the fight Lancaster/Henreid in the desert:the desolate landscape is almost lunar ,and the violence very intense for the time.

It's not one of the best Dieterle I've seen though.