Flame of Araby (1951)

An Arabian-nights princess and a Bedouin chief contend over possession of a stallion, but unite to oppose the Corsair Lords.

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writer:

Gerald Drayson Adams

Stars:

Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler, Maxwell Reed

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Maureen O'Hara	...	Princess Tanya
Jeff Chandler	...	Tamerlane
Maxwell Reed	...	Prince Medina
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Borka Barbarossa (as Lon Chaney)
Buddy Baer	...	Hakim Barbarossa
Richard Egan	...	Capt. Fezil
Dewey Martin	...	Yak
Royal Dano	...	Basra
Susan Cabot	...	Clio
Judith Braun	...	Calu
Henry Brandon	...	Malik

Storyline

In a mythical, medieval North Africa (looking a lot like California) a Bedouin chief named Tamerlane is seeking to capture the magnificent wild stallion Shazada when he meets tomboyish Princess Tanya of Tunis. When the two meet again in Tunis, Tamerlane has run afoul of the barbaric Corsair Lords, one of whom Tanya's wicked cousin is forcing her to marry. To avoid this dire fate, Tanya must arrange for a "dark horse" to win the forthcoming great race...which means a battle of wits between Tanya and Tamerlane, taking romantic overtones...

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Plot Keywords:

stallion | wild stallion | arabian nights | horse | redheaded woman | 

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Taglines:

Adventure blazes across the burning sands !

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flame of the Desert

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While learning her moves for a dance scene, Susan Cabot told choreographer Harold Belfer that she didn't think she was moving her feet correctly. Beifer told her, "With a figure like yours, the only person who'll look at your feet will be Arthur Murray".

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Connections

Referenced in El crimen del cine Oriente (1997)

User Reviews

Not her Maureen's Best, but her beauty & presence is always a pleasure!

I am writing this because another wrote a throughly shoddy review which is undeserved; complaining about hair color & other unimportant things, whilst going on & on about Maria Montez, not that I am being disrespectful towards her, not at all, but as much as I too enjoyed the Jon Hall/Maria Montez movies, but ne'er could Maria Montez ever compare to Maureen O'Hara. I just this moment, finished watching the movie 'Bagdad', this other reviewer wrote a similar review for that movie also & it is just a pitiful.

I do not consider any of the parts overacted, nor do I find it odd for a Bedouin princess princess to have Flaming Red Hair. Where did it say that she was Bedouin, only a Bedouin princess. For all we know her mother could be Irish (like Maureen), just as Cleopatra VII had no Egyptian blood within her veins, or more currently, (1810) the current dynasty of Sweden (the Bernadottes) originally were French (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, a Marshall of France, during the time of Napoleon I), was elected heir to King Charles XIII of Sweden.

But aside from these justifications regarding hair color, we must remember that things like hair color are not important things to consider when reviewing a movie, but only whether or the the movie was entertaining. In that regard I can say that I shan't be clambering to see this one again, or 'Bagdad' either. The sets were beautiful, the costumes even more so, but the movie itself, just wasn't that good. But this is the fault of the script, not any other.