The Desert Song (1943 film)
Encyclopedia
The Desert Song is a 1943 epic musical film
. It was directed by Robert Florey
and starred Dennis Morgan
, Irene Manning
and Bruce Cabot
. It is based on the 1926 operetta
with music by Sigmund Romberg
. It was nominated an Academy Award for Best Art Direction
(Charles Novi
, Jack McConaghy
).
This film version of the operetta is, like the 1929 film version
, almost never seen today and copies are hard to come by, although it is technically more sophisticated than the earlier film due to its large budget. It tries to make the operetta topical in terms of World War II
, by having the outlaw hero with a dual identity fight the Nazis as well as Arabs. As in the 1953 film, the hero's name is changed to El Khobar, rather than the Red Shadow.
The 1943 Desert Song is perhaps the only instance in which a stage operetta of the 1920's has been updated to reflect topical concerns of the 1940's.
This is the first film version of The Desert Song to be made in full three-strip Technicolor.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
. It was directed by Robert Florey
Robert Florey
Robert Florey was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to Hollywood in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur....
and starred Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
, Irene Manning
Irene Manning
Irene Manning was an actress/singer.She was born Inez Harvuot in Cincinnati, Ohio in a family of five siblings. Her family loved to go on outdoor picnics where the featured activity was group singing. This family environment helped Irene to develop a keen interest in singing at a very early age...
and Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in King Kong . He is also known for his roles in films such as the sixth version of Last of the Mohicans, Fritz Lang's Fury and the western Dodge City.-Early life:Cabot was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in Carlsbad,...
. It is based on the 1926 operetta
The Desert Song
The Desert Song is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonial rule. It was also inspired by stories of Lawrence of...
with music by Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
. It was nominated an Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Charles Novi
Charles Novi
Charles Novi was an American art director. He was nominated an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The Desert Song.-External links:...
, Jack McConaghy
Jack McConaghy
Jack McConaghy was an American set decorator. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:McConaghy was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:* The Desert Song...
).
This film version of the operetta is, like the 1929 film version
The Desert Song (1929 film)
The Desert Song is a musical operetta film photographed partly in two-color Technicolor. This was the first movie released by Warner Bros. to be in color. Although some of the songs from the show have been omitted, the film is otherwise virtually a duplicate of the stage production...
, almost never seen today and copies are hard to come by, although it is technically more sophisticated than the earlier film due to its large budget. It tries to make the operetta topical in terms of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, by having the outlaw hero with a dual identity fight the Nazis as well as Arabs. As in the 1953 film, the hero's name is changed to El Khobar, rather than the Red Shadow.
The 1943 Desert Song is perhaps the only instance in which a stage operetta of the 1920's has been updated to reflect topical concerns of the 1940's.
This is the first film version of The Desert Song to be made in full three-strip Technicolor.
Cast
- Dennis MorganDennis MorganDennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
- Paul Hudson/ El Khobar - Irene ManningIrene ManningIrene Manning was an actress/singer.She was born Inez Harvuot in Cincinnati, Ohio in a family of five siblings. Her family loved to go on outdoor picnics where the featured activity was group singing. This family environment helped Irene to develop a keen interest in singing at a very early age...
- Margot - Bruce CabotBruce CabotBruce Cabot was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in King Kong . He is also known for his roles in films such as the sixth version of Last of the Mohicans, Fritz Lang's Fury and the western Dodge City.-Early life:Cabot was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in Carlsbad,...
- Col. Fontaine - Lynne OvermanLynne OvermanLynne Overman was a film actor in the 1930s and early-1940s who often played a sidekick.-Selected filmography:* Dixie * The Desert Song * The Forest Rangers...
- Johnny Walsh - Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
- Pere FanFan - Faye EmersonFaye EmersonFaye Margaret Emerson was an American film actress and television interviewer, known as "The First Lady of Television". She acted in many Warner Brothers films beginning in 1941...
- Hajy - Victor FrancenVictor FrancenVictor Francen , born Victor Franssens, was a Belgian-born actor with a long career in French cinema and in Hollywood....
- Caid Yousseff - Curt Bois - François
- Jack La RueJack La RueJack La Rue was an American film and stage actor.Born as Gaspere Biondolillo, he worked on the New York stage from 1923 to 1931. He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films...
- Lt. Bertin - Marcel DalioMarcel DalioMarcel Dalio was a French character actor. He had major roles in two of Jean Renoir's most famous films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game.- Biography :...
- Tarbouch