June 6, 2022

Refined and pretty William Boyd ("Phelps") and his rough and ready sergeant Louis Wolheim ("O'Gaffney") are a couple of front-line American squaddies captured by the Bosch during the Great War. Taken to a POW camp, they mange to escape and find themselves, after quite a series of adventures, out of the frying pan and into a fiery desert.... That's where they save the gorgeous "Mirza" (Mary Astor) from drowning. Young "Phelps" is immediately head … read the rest.

Refined and pretty William Boyd ("Phelps") and his rough and ready sergeant Louis Wolheim ("O'Gaffney") are a couple of front-line American squaddies captured by the Bosch during the Great War. Taken to a POW camp, they mange to escape and find themselves, after quite a series of adventures, out of the frying pan and into a fiery desert.... That's where they save the gorgeous "Mirza" (Mary Astor) from drowning. Young "Phelps" is immediately head over heels, but when they establish that she is the daughter of the Emir, and also betrothed to the menacing "Shevket" (Ian Keith) they must stay free (and alive) long enough to rescue her from her father's palace and from her unwanted nuptials. This is quite a fun story - the soldiers, initially wary of each other, overcome their suspicions and end up pulling well as a team which makes their escapades fun to watch. The comedy is simple, but plentiful and the production standards are pretty high - the lighting particularly, given so much of this is quickly paced and set out of doors. Maybe it is too long - the characters run out steam a little after 70 minutes, but it's still cracking watch after all these years - and an Oscar winner (for director Lewis Milestone) too!

show less