Sirocco (film)
Encyclopedia
Sirocco is an American
film noir
directed by Curtis Bernhardt
and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel
. The drama features Humphrey Bogart
, Märta Torén
, Lee J. Cobb
, among others.
, the natives are engaged in a guerrilla war against the French rule of Syria
. Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart) is an amoral American black marketeer secretly selling them weapons. As the situation deteriorates, French General LaSalle (Everett Sloane
) orders that civilians be executed each time his soldiers are killed, but his head of military intelligence, Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb), persuades him to rescind the plan. Feroud presses for negotiations with rebel leader Emir Hassan (Onslow Stevens
) instead. LaSalle reluctantly lets him try to arrange a meeting, but refuses to let Feroud make contact directly. The young officer sent in his place is later found with his throat cut.
To complicate matters, Harry makes a pass at Feroud's unhappy mistress, Violetta (Märta Torén), but she rejects him. Later, she informs Feroud she wants to leave him, but he refuses to let her go.
By applying pressure to Balukjian (Zero Mostel
), one of Harry's friendly rivals, Feroud finds out about Harry's gun running. Harry is tipped off, just as Violetta shows up and begs him to take her back to Cairo. Needing to flee himself, he agrees to take her along. However, a French patrol nearly captures Harry. He barely gets away, but has to leave behind his money, and without that, he is soon betrayed to the French.
Facing execution, Harry agrees to help Feroud meet with Hassan. Hassan calls the colonel a fool and dismisses his plea for negotiations, but decides to spare his life when Harry and Feroud's aide Major Leon (Gerald Mohr
) show up offering a 10,000 pound ransom. The officers are allowed to leave; Harry is not so lucky. The rebels are angered that he has revealed the location of their headquarters to the French and fear he has sold them out, so they kill him. As Feroud and Leon walk back, they notice that the incessant gunfire and explosions have stopped. Feroud wonders aloud if he has convinced Hassan to be as big a fool.
lambasted the film and wrote, "Except for a few moody moments in a plaster night-club, called the Moulin Rouge, and some shadowy shots of sloppy Syrians lying around in dingy catacombs, the scene is no more suggestive of Damascus than a Shriners' convention in New Orleans, on which occasion you would see more fezzes than ever show up in this film. For the most part—indeed, for the sole part—Sirocco wafts a torpid tale of a slick, sneering gun-runner proving a painful thorn in a nice French colonel's side."
Critic Leonard Maltin
gave the film a mixed review, writing, "I’d always read that it was a half-baked attempt to rekindle some of the ingredients that made Casablanca
such a success, and that’s true. The setting is Damascus in 1926, when the French Army is battling Syrian insurgents...Sirocco is strictly formula stuff, but it’s a perfect example of how Hollywood could take ordinary material and still make it entertaining, through sheer professional polish in the writing, staging, art direction, and casting. Zero Mostel, Gerald Mohr, and Nick Dennis head the colorful supporting cast, who perform well under Curtis Bernhardt’s direction."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel was a French journalist and novelist.He was born in Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina, because of the constant journeys of his father, a Lithuanian doctor of Jewish origin. Joseph Kessel lived the first years of his childhood in Orenburg, Russia, before the family moved to France...
. The drama features Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Märta Torén
Märta Torén
Märta Torén was a Swedish stage and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Torén began her career on the stage and from 1947 she appeared in films. She appeared on the cover of the June 13 issue of Life Magazine in 1949....
, Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
, among others.
Plot
In 1925 DamascusDamascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, the natives are engaged in a guerrilla war against the French rule of Syria
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
. Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart) is an amoral American black marketeer secretly selling them weapons. As the situation deteriorates, French General LaSalle (Everett Sloane
Everett Sloane
Everett Sloane was an American stage, film and television actor, songwriter, and theatre director.-Early life:...
) orders that civilians be executed each time his soldiers are killed, but his head of military intelligence, Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb), persuades him to rescind the plan. Feroud presses for negotiations with rebel leader Emir Hassan (Onslow Stevens
Onslow Stevens
Onslow Stevens was an American stage, television and film actor.-Career:Born Onslow Ford Stevenson in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of character actor Housley Stevenson...
) instead. LaSalle reluctantly lets him try to arrange a meeting, but refuses to let Feroud make contact directly. The young officer sent in his place is later found with his throat cut.
To complicate matters, Harry makes a pass at Feroud's unhappy mistress, Violetta (Märta Torén), but she rejects him. Later, she informs Feroud she wants to leave him, but he refuses to let her go.
By applying pressure to Balukjian (Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
), one of Harry's friendly rivals, Feroud finds out about Harry's gun running. Harry is tipped off, just as Violetta shows up and begs him to take her back to Cairo. Needing to flee himself, he agrees to take her along. However, a French patrol nearly captures Harry. He barely gets away, but has to leave behind his money, and without that, he is soon betrayed to the French.
Facing execution, Harry agrees to help Feroud meet with Hassan. Hassan calls the colonel a fool and dismisses his plea for negotiations, but decides to spare his life when Harry and Feroud's aide Major Leon (Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
) show up offering a 10,000 pound ransom. The officers are allowed to leave; Harry is not so lucky. The rebels are angered that he has revealed the location of their headquarters to the French and fear he has sold them out, so they kill him. As Feroud and Leon walk back, they notice that the incessant gunfire and explosions have stopped. Feroud wonders aloud if he has convinced Hassan to be as big a fool.
Cast
- Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
as Harry Smith - Märta TorénMärta TorénMärta Torén was a Swedish stage and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Torén began her career on the stage and from 1947 she appeared in films. She appeared on the cover of the June 13 issue of Life Magazine in 1949....
as Violette - Lee J. CobbLee J. CobbLee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
as Col. Feroud - Everett SloaneEverett SloaneEverett Sloane was an American stage, film and television actor, songwriter, and theatre director.-Early life:...
as Gen. LaSalle - Gerald MohrGerald MohrGerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
as Major Leon - Zero MostelZero MostelSamuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
as Balukjiaan - Nick DennisNick DennisNick Dennis was an American film actor born in Thessaly, Greece. The supporting actor, who began in films in 1947, was known for playing ethnic types in films such as Kiss Me Deadly and the Humphrey Bogart film Sirocco...
as Nasir Aboud, Harry's assistant - Onslow StevensOnslow StevensOnslow Stevens was an American stage, television and film actor.-Career:Born Onslow Ford Stevenson in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of character actor Housley Stevenson...
as Emir Hassan - Ludwig DonathLudwig DonathLudwig Donath , was an Austrian actor who appeared in many American films.-Life:Donath graduated from Vienna's Academy of Dramatic Art and became a prominent actor on the stage in Berlin. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he returned to Vienna and was active there in theater and film and until the...
as Flophouse proprietor - David Bond as Achmet
- Vincent Renno as Arthur
Critical reception
Film critic Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
lambasted the film and wrote, "Except for a few moody moments in a plaster night-club, called the Moulin Rouge, and some shadowy shots of sloppy Syrians lying around in dingy catacombs, the scene is no more suggestive of Damascus than a Shriners' convention in New Orleans, on which occasion you would see more fezzes than ever show up in this film. For the most part—indeed, for the sole part—Sirocco wafts a torpid tale of a slick, sneering gun-runner proving a painful thorn in a nice French colonel's side."
Critic Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
gave the film a mixed review, writing, "I’d always read that it was a half-baked attempt to rekindle some of the ingredients that made Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
such a success, and that’s true. The setting is Damascus in 1926, when the French Army is battling Syrian insurgents...Sirocco is strictly formula stuff, but it’s a perfect example of how Hollywood could take ordinary material and still make it entertaining, through sheer professional polish in the writing, staging, art direction, and casting. Zero Mostel, Gerald Mohr, and Nick Dennis head the colorful supporting cast, who perform well under Curtis Bernhardt’s direction."