Arabesque (1966)

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Julian Mitchell (screenplay) &
Stanley Price (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 May 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Ultra mod, ultra mad, ultra mystery

Plot:

Story of international intrigue involving a university professor, an Arab prime minister, a ruthless businessman, a beautiful spy, and hieroglyphics.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Spy | Arab | Double | Code

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Prof. David Pollock
Sophia Loren	...	Yasmin Azir
Alan Badel	...	Beshraavi
Kieron Moore	...	Yussef Kasim
Carl Duering	...	Hassan Jena
John Merivale	...	Maj. Sylvester Pennington Sloane
Duncan Lamont	...	Webster
George Coulouris	...	Ragheeb
Ernest Clark	...	Beauchamp
Harold Kasket	...	Mohammed Lufti
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Bilton	...	Camera Shop Owner (uncredited)
Windsor Davies	...	Policeman in Car Crash (uncredited)
Jimmy Gardner	...	Hemsley (uncredited)
Gordon Griffin	...	Fanshaw (uncredited)
Harry Locke	...	(uncredited)
Malya Nappi	...	Ragheeb's Wife (uncredited)
James Payne	...	Driving the Kidnap Lorry (uncredited)
Robert Rowland	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Larry Taylor	...	Beshraavi's Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Donen

Writing credits
Julian Mitchell		(screenplay) &
Stanley Price		(screenplay) &
Peter Stone		(screenplay) (as Pierre Marton)
Gordon Cotler		(novel "The Cypher")

Produced by
Stanley Donen	....	producer
Denis Holt	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Christopher Challis

Film Editing by
Frederick Wilson

Art Direction by
Reece Pemberton

Makeup Department
W.T. Partleton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
David W. Orton	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Jordan	....	second unit director (as John M. Jordan)
Eric Rattray	....	assistant director
Stuart Black	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Terence A. Clegg	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Bill Dennison	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Roy Dorman	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
C. Le Mesurier	....	sound mixer (as C. Le Messurier)
John W. Mitchell	....	sound mixer
Don Sharpe	....	dubbing editor
Archie Ludski	....	additional dubbing editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Wally Armitage	....	special effects foreman (uncredited)
Jim Hole	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)
Garth Inns	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Jimmy Ward	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Charles Staffell	....	back projection (uncredited)

Stunts
Vic Armstrong	....	horse stunt double: Gregory Peck (uncredited)
Vic Armstrong	....	stunts (uncredited)
Pam de Boulay	....	stunt double: Sophia Loren (uncredited)
Jimmy Lodge	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Jimmy Lodge	....	stunt double: Gregory Peck (uncredited)
Jack Silk	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Austin Dempster	....	camera operator
Colin Corby	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Norman Gryspeerdt	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Thom Noble	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Douglas Gamley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Richard Nash	....	musician: trombone soloist (uncredited)
John Scott	....	musician: flute, saxophone (uncredited)

Other crew
Maurice Binder	....	title designer: main title
Arthur Carroll	....	production executive
Constance Willis	....	continuity
Jean Hall	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Maurice Landsberger	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents) (as Universal)
• Stanley Donen Films (as A Stanley Donen Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Universal Release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1970) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Trading Post (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Christian Dior  Miss Sophia Loren's wardrobe specially created by

Also Known As:

"Stanley Donen's Arabesque" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video rating) (2000) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Ascot, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Gregory Peck found the stunts particularly difficult because of an old leg injury due to horseback riding. So during the cornstalk scene Peck had to keep telling Sophia Loren to slow down because it looked as if she were rescuing him and not the other way around.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the man has been drowned in the fish tank, there are several shots of the actors with the tank in the background. In all but one of the shots, the drowned man is seen floating on the surface. In the goofed shot, the drowned man can be seen swimming toward the side of the tank.

Quotes:

David Pollock:Mrs. Ragheeb, I know this is a terrible time to trouble you, but I've got to know what that inscription means. I thought, perhaps, among your husband's notes... But he must have told you something. He must have mentioned where he got it, who gave it to him. We have to know.
Ragheeb's Wife:"We"? Who's "we"?
David Pollock:A girl. Her family's in great danger. Her mother and sisters, General Ali will kill them.
Ragheeb's Wife:Is the girl named Yasmin Azir?
David Pollock:Yes.
Ragheeb's Wife:And she told you that her mother and her sisters are in danger?
David Pollock:Yes.
Ragheeb's Wife:Yasmin has no such family, Mr Pollock. There is only her father. General Ali would never harm him.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Alfred Hitchcock Meets James Bond

If I had the impossible task of naming one film as "My Favorite Most Enjoyable Movie" this and it's bookend, "Charade," would be it.

It is Stanley Donen's near perfect blend of Alfred Hitchcock meets James Bond. Donen made two simply wonderful films in the Hitchcock mold. The first was Charade in 1963 with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Arabesque is the second. They make a marvelous bookend set.

Both films are light, breezy and loaded with wit and humorous dialog. Both feature classic Henry Mancini scores, stylish female ward-robing by the likes of Givenchy and Christian Dior and both feature memorable titles by 007's legendary title master, Maurice Binder.

But it's Arabesque's wildly inventive cinematography which sets it apart from virtually every other action film. The cinematography is pure art school. It's amazingly inventive use of reflection and shot within a shot camera work is what first interested me in the art of cinematography as a teenager. The cinematography in Arabesque fascinates me and entertains me no end to this day.

Gregory Peck's square yet hip college professor plays perfectly with Sophia Loren's chic spy - and Sophia was never more flat-out stunning. Wow! Check out Arabesque. It's two hours of great fun.