weezeralfalfa Review of Flame of Araby

Flame of Araby (1951)

Bedouin's horse vs. Barbarossa's horses to determine Maureen's husband

[8/10 · 11 April 2018]

One of many Universal B films of the '40s and '50s, shot in Technicolor, with the theme of exotic locals and stories, or westerns. This one has the style of an Arabian Nights story, but more earthy. It stars Jeff Chandler, as the Bedouin chief Tamerlane, and flaming-haired Maureen O'Hara as the Tunisian princess Tanya, whom her cousin, the new king of Tunisia, wanted to auction off to one of the piratical Barbarossa brothers, who headed a long-established sizable enterprise of pirate ships in the Mediterranean and beyond......I find the choice of Tamerlane as Chandler's Bedouin name curious. The historical Tamerlane, of course, was a quasi-Mongol of west-central Asia, with the ambition of conquering as much territory as he could in one lifetime. ......Some reviewers criticize the acting and dialogue as wooden. The dialogue of the principals is somewhat stilted, in the style of The Arabian Nights, but that's also the way Maureen and Chandler talked in most of their films......There has been some discussion as to whether Tanya's red hair was appropriate for a Tunisian princess. Unexpected, but perhaps her mother was Irish. You should note that the beards of the 2 main Barbarossa chiefs were slightly or clearly reddish. In fact, Barbarossa means 'with red beard' in Italian.......Tamerlane and Princess Tanya spend the better part of the film trying to decide if they hate or love each other. The fact that they had been brought up in such disparate circumstances didn't help their sometimes attraction to each other. Supposing they did marry, where would they reside? Tamerlane flat out told her that he was not going to live in her palace. On the other hand, Tanya wasn't sure she could hack the typical life of a Bedouin wife, giving up her luxurious lifestyle. Finally, she decided her love and respect for Tamerlane trumped her fear of a culture shock. These 2 spent much of the film arguing who would be the owner of the superfast wild black stallion Shahzada, assuming that Tamerlane and aids captured him. Tanya claimed she needed a horse which would win the annual horse race, because it was decided that the owner of the winning horse would have the honor of naming her husband. She didn't want to marry either of the Barbarossa brothers, whose horses usually won. Finally, she relented, and agreed to allow Tamerlane, on Shahzada, to race, with the understanding that Tamerlane would name himself, if he won...... I think Shahzada merited a special acting award, as he progressed from the leader of a herd of horses, to being roped, to being tamed, to accepting a saddle and rider, to becoming a race horse, all in a few days. Or did they use different all- black horses for the various stages in his domestication?.......Tiny Susan Cabot(Clio), on screen for only a short stretch, acts as a dancing slave girl for one of the Barbarossa clan: Malik, who gets jealous when she flirts with Tamerlane He challenges Tamerlane to a dual with weapons, and loses. Clio then leads a mob to tear Tamerlane apart., which he survives......I thought the film was rather fun, if a tad unrealistic. It had an interesting screenplay, and interesting landscapes , often with big boulders, or very narrow canyons, and even a hidden tunnel behind a waterfall, that perplexed everyone hunting for Shahzada. Seems unlikely that Tamerlane, as a Bedouin chief, would be unmarried. Perhaps he was allowed 2 wives? From photos I've seen, Maureen might have trouble competing with some of the more beautiful Bedouin women. See it at YouTube