Am I Missing Something?

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I watched this because it came on after a movie I watched on purpose. I meant to turn it off, especially because it looked so incredibly low-budget right from the get-go... but I didn't turn it off and, five minutes in, just couldn't stop watching. There are so many snarky, clever, laugh-out-loud lines! There is also as much intrigue and eccentric characters as in Casablanca (and some of the same actors as well). You will need to know a bit about the history of the time to get the plot, but all you'll need to like the film is to listen and drink in George Sanders absolutely awesome performance - this is my favorite of his films. It's low budget and a bad print, but the perfectly-cast Sanders and the hilarious one-liners make it worth the watch.

Blandly entertaining WWII spy story about George Sanders getting involved with Nazis and intrigue in Damascus. Although filmed near the end of the war, the story takes play at the outset of WWI, with the Allies and Nazis both vying for Arab support. Petty low budget and nothing all that special except for the presence of the effortlessly suave Sanders, who manages to make this film worth checking out.

In the Arab world there is a saying that Allah grants wisdom but only the foolish ignore it. In this movie, The vast area of the Middle East is slowly being foolishly drawn into the second world war and both sides are doing their level best to secure the help of all the tribes. In this Philip MacDonald story George Sanders plays American News Correspondence Michael Gordon who arrives in Damacus with a colleague who is soon murdered. Directed by Leonide Moguy, our hero is unable to understand why. Because he is a newsman, Gordon is Keen to discover the reason. Unfortunately, the police and several interested officials wants him to leave on the next day's flight. In the meantime, he ties into the local network of Spys, counter spies and assassins, each with their own agenda towards their approaching war. This Black and White movie has all the traditional mystery and drama who with it's plethora of exciting cast members, such as Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart and Robert Armstrong makes for a great film. ****

Basically, this is a Casablanca rip-off by RKO about passion and hidden Nazi sympathies in World War II Damascus. Ex-Simon Templer ("The Saint!") star George Sanders is on impeccable form as a New York reporter (with a British accent) on the trail of Nazi sympathisers in the desert. When his fellow reporter is murdered, Sanders (in a white dinner-jacket that predates Sean Connery's wearing of it in Goldfinger by some 20 years) sets off coolly to track down the killers, uncovering a plot in which the Nazis aim to unite the Arab tribes against the Allied forces. The story is pure hokum, but never mind. Some of the action and the audacity of the plot are breath-taking and anyone who enjoys The Saint or The Falcon films, or Casablanca, will probably enjoy it. It's only a pity Sanders didn't make more films as the hero -- this was his last. After this, he would only play the sneering villain and, eventually, become a real-life parody of his own screen persona. A pity, as he really could have been more hero than cad when the fit took him. If you like this movie, check out the novel by George Sanders (actually ghosted by Falcon screenwriter Craig Rice) called "Crime on My Hands" in which Sanders has to solve a muder on a film set. It's light, amusing and reminiscent of the Saint/Falcon films that made Sanders a star in the first place.