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 beautiful mystery who becomes intertwined in the plot. Pollock needs her help, but she repeatedly double crosses him in one escapade after another, he can't decide on who she is working for. Ultimately working together, Pollock and Yasmin decipher the message 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:

Ultra mod, ultra mad, ultra mystery

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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

Last feature of John Merivale.

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Goofs

When Peck/Loren are escaping from a helicopter, the filming crew is clear visible on the right side of a bridge (in the helicopters' POV)

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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

Featured in American Masters: A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999)

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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

carried by Peck and Loren

Sometimes it's difficult to say why one likes a film.

Undoubtedly, what is most memorable about this film is Sofia Loren (as with any of her films). She remains beautiful and charming regardless of the script's worth Admittedly, the script isn't worth much; Peck's character is given all these imitation-Bond one-liners that are like listening to a relative speak only in bad puns, as some of my relatives do. The plot is only fair, and some of the plot-twists absurd. The film is over-long and wallows in its own cleverness. Undoubtedly, some of the visuals in this film are just experiments in '60s psychedelic 'hip' - occasionally confusing, utterly annoying.

But the film gets carried by Peck, hammy but companionable, and Ms. Loren. It's definitely entertaining, and more than one scene may stick with you for some years - although I find it difficult to say just why. My suspicion is that the glittery surface of the film, which is very light, is used to make palatable realities that are very dark - like the drowning of the killer in the aquarium. Ultimately the film feeds on the ambivalence of the audience, because in part it generates this ambivalence intentionally.

Hardly a great film, in some ways a bad film, but worth a couple hours entertainment.