Arabesque (1966)

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

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Julian Mitchell (screenplay), Stanley Price (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient Arabic hieroglyphics. A Middle Eastern Prime Minister convinces Pollock to infiltrate the organization of a man named Beshraavi, who is involved in a plot against the Prime Minister. The nature of the plot is believed to be found in a hieroglyphic code. Beshraavi's mistress, Yasmin Azir is a mystery intertwined in the plot. Pollock needs her help, but when she repeatedly seems to double cross him in one escapade after another, he can't decide on whose side she is working. Ultimately working together, Pollock and Yasmin decipher the plot and set out to stop an assassination of the Prime Minister.

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Plot Keywords:

arab | cipher | professor | spy | london england | 

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Taglines:

From the Man Who Made "Charade"

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

Stanley Donen's Arabesque

Filming Locations:

Hurley, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stanley Donen Films,Stanley Donen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming Gregory Peck gave a surprisingly frank interview on the declining state of his career and the film industry in general.

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Goofs

The interior of the Rolls Royce at the beginning changes between shots.

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Quotes

Journalist: [Prime Minister has arrived, weather is quite rainy] What are your first impressions?
Hassan Jena: We could use some of your English rain in our dry country. In our country, there's a great deal of oil and very little water. A highly inflammable situation.

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Alternate Versions

In the original UK release Gregory Peck sings "Candy! I Call My Sugar Candy!" while in the US version he sings "Candy! I Keep My Candy Handy!". The US version is obviously dubbed while the UK retains the original line.

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Connections

Referenced in The Six Million Dollar Man: Walk a Deadly Wing (1978)

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Soundtracks

""The Fountain in the Park" (aka "While Strolling Through (or Thru') the Park One Day")
Written by Ed Haley
Heard when Pollock is pushed out of the van

User Reviews

Charade 2

Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck team up in this virtual re-make/sequel to director Stanley Donen's Charade, made three years earlier. Then it a glamorous couple being chased around Paris. Here it is an equally glamorous couple being chased around London, with the Zoo and Ascot races playing the backdrop to the film's key action sequences. Like the Grant character in Charade, it is impossible to work out just which side Loren is on until the film's final stages. The plot (in which Egyptology Professor Peck tries to unscramble a hieroglyphic for madman Alan Badel and Israeli agent Kieron Moore) is as dispensable as Charade's was. This is not quite up to the standard of the earlier film, but never mind, the action is breathtaking, the finale genuinely surprising, and the Mancini score is riveting.