Il canto del deserto

I saw the 1943 production when I was just a young boy and fell in love with the movie. I saw it several times and always enjoyed it. The production starring Gordon McRea lacked quality acting and the music was not as good as the one starring Dennis Morgan.

Kathryn Grayson made some good musicals. Showboat was one of them, saw it many times also and have it in my video library. Irene Manning's soprano voice is much softer to the ear and much easier to listen to. Kathryn Grayson's voice is a very high pitched, sharp sounding voice. At times too sharp to listen to.

I'm no movie critic but I do know what I like. I do hope that eventually the 1943 production of "The Desert Song" will be available on video or DVD for old timers like me to enjoy the nostaglia of watching and listening to one of the truly great musicals from the early days of Hollywood.

The 1943 and 1929 version of the film have been shown on television - though only in black and white, and not for many years. In the 1950's when studios started to see television as a source of revenue - and a cheap one, at that, where they could make some coins by releasing what ever films they had not yet managed to destroy to this new "boob tube". The result was any number of films that should not have seen the light of day, were broadcast regularly - though in the case of many 3 strip tech prints - one of the strips was used to make a b&w 16mm neg - and the prints hat are available are from that source. The 1929 & 1943 versions of the desert song have been circulating for years and if you look hard enough - you'll find them - the quality varies, and they are always in B&W, but its better than nothing (there's even a B&W DVD on the market of the Nelson Eddy version). BTW another film that was release to TV, that should not have been was Richard Dix's Ghost Ship - though recently the rights to that have been sorted out.

As to why this film is not available, my sister who formerly lived in California thought this movie was privately owned by Irene Manning's and/or her husband and that is why it has not been released to the general public. I was very young when I saw this but remember the beautiful technicolor and music. When video came to be, I looked and looked but never saw anything about the movie and not even about the main stars Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning. I assumed that the decision not to put it on video and TV might have been a commercial one.

I fell in love with the Desert Song movie with Dennis Morgan & Irene Manning when I was young and years later I was a hairdresser and did Irene Manning's hair. She gave two of us operators a copy of the movie on a VHS tape and I have had it ever since. I am sure it would be illegal to copy it or sell it or anything else but when I see the comments of people who would love to see it again it frustrates me. It is not as clear as modern Technicolor but still a great movie and the music is wonderful;. I have no idea as to the added song or which one it was, but the film is still exciting to see and I am 78 years old. It is pure nostalgia and I with all of you would like to see it released to the public.......... Patricia

The various commentators on the 1943 version of The Desert Song cleared up (and confirmed?) the suspicions of a 9-year old boy who thoroughly enjoyed the movie in 1944. It was only after many years and reminiscences (in addition to a fascination with the history of World War II) that I began to wonder why this movie never appeared in public again.

MY suspicions were confirmed by briantaves of Washington, DC in his comment on The Desert Song; viz., that the politics of North Africa and Vichy French were involved. Considering the time-line of the filming and release (1943-1944), it would appear that the American invasion of Morocco in November of 1942 was involved in the original planning. Our troops were actively resisted by the French troops in Morocco (under the control of the Vichy French (collaborators with the Nazis). A tricky situation considering that the "Free French", led by Charles DeGaulle in London, were our allies.

As for the copyright issues regarding one song (that keep the movie from being viewed once again), fuggedaboutit! Even as a 9-year old, I knew it was a good movie.