La schiava del sudan

SUDAN (1945) was the sixth and final film in a series of Technicolor costume adventures made by Universal Pictures from 1942-45 which starred the duo of Jon Hall and Maria Montez. The formula for these films included a lot of action, some comedy, a smattering of romance, and an exotic setting created on the Universal backlot. The earlier films were ARABIAN NIGHTS (1942), WHITE SAVAGE (1943), ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944), COBRA WOMAN (1944), and GYPSY WILDCAT (1944).

SUDAN stars Montez as Naila, the daughter of the monarch of a small Egyptian city on the Nile who takes over after her father is murdered. She goes on an undercover mission to find Herua, the rebel leader who is blamed for the murder. She's captured, branded with the "S" mark of a slave (who knew the Ancient Egyptians used the Roman alphabet?), and sold to a slaver. There's a lot of escape, recapture and release in this one. At some point she is aided by two pickpockets, Merab and Nebka, played by Jon Hall and Andy Devine, one of whom (Hall) falls in love with her. She races her speedy golden stallion in a horse race and beats the handsome challenger (Turhan Bey) who also falls in love with her and takes her to his secret outpost in the mountains, a haven for escaped slaves. When she learns his identity, she has a crisis of conscience. Little does she know (as the viewers have known practically from the start) that her father's "trusted" adviser, Horadef (George Zucco), has been behind the evil doings all along, eager to get his hands on the throne and get rid of the young queen. At one point, Merab is imprisoned by Horadef and tortured by being bound to a large wheel and slowly "stretched." It looks less like torture than a simple chiropractic exercise and Hall comes out of it quite relaxed and seemingly sorry it ended.

There's quite a lot of action in this, with excellent second unit work shot on desert and mountain locations in the dry regions of southern California far to the east of Los Angeles and made to resemble Egypt's deserts and locations along the Nile. There's an exciting and well-staged horse race that may not rival the chariot race in BEN-HUR, but offers ample thrills for a comparatively low-budget film like this. The illusion of Ancient Egypt is further created by expert matte paintings used to supplement the studio sets. The illusion is, however, sometimes shattered by Andy Devine's comic antics, which would seem more at home in a western.

Montez is pretty and glamorous and seems unusually tolerant of the sweet nothings continually uttered to her first by Hall and then by Bey. The resulting romantic triangle has a rather startling resolution given the pattern established by the previous five outings for the starring team. George Zucco makes a suitably oily villain and familiar character actors pepper the proceedings, including the Three Stooges' constant foil, Philip Van Zandt, who plays one of Zucco's weasel-like henchmen. Tor Johnson, a famous wrestler and member of Ed Wood's notorious stock company, is listed in the cast as a "slaver" and is recognizable only by his bulk in one scene. The man credited as the film's Dialogue Director is none other than Stacy Keach, the father of the actor famous for playing Mike Hammer on TV in the 1980s.

This may not have the sheer copious entertainment value of ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES and COBRA WOMAN, but it's a novelty item that certainly deserves a look. It may not have the budget of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and LAND OF THE PHARAOHS, but it certainly deserves to be grouped with them as one of Hollywood's rare forays into the most ancient of mankind's advanced civilizations (at least among the ones acknowledged by establishment historians). If there's a scene that explains why the film is called SUDAN, after Egypt's southern neighbor, a locale that never figures in the plot, it wasn't included in the print I saw.

I've seen four of the five earlier Hall-Montez teamings. I'm only missing WHITE SAVAGE, which, for some reason, never got revived on television when I was watching (and taping) all the others.

Ostensibly set in the Arabian desert, the third in a series of highly profitable films produced by Universal with Maria Montez, Jon Hall, and Turhan Bey (the other two being ARABIAN NIGHTS (1942), and ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944), SUDAN is a formulaic romance with a disguised princess sold into slavery (Montez), a rebel leader suspected of killing her father (Bey) and a pickpocket with romantic intentions (Hall) aided and abetted by his comic sidekick (Amdy Devine). Add to that George Zucco in one of his hissable villain roles - and ludicrous costumes - and you have all the ingredients for another rip-roaring epic with plenty of fights and a rousing musical score (by Milton Rosen).

In truth John Rawlins's production doesn't have much to do with the mystic East. Shot in and around Los Angeles, its chase-sequences, with horses galloping across the sun-drenched desert, have more in common with the Western. Likewise the shots of the lovers (Montez, Bey) embracing in the mountains at night, with the peaks stretching like fingers into cloudless skies.

The story has clear propaganda elements: at one point Bey's Herua talks about ridding the world of "evil hours" while ensuring that his people will make Naila (Montez) "forget what has happened." When the villains have been vanquished, and the lovers ride off into the sunset, a heavenly choir strikes up another patriotic song praising freedom that exists like "the wild wind," protecting a people "always proud and free," and "that's the way we will remain," "fighting together for ever." The two lovers might be non-white (in the accepted racial sense of the term), but Rawlins's film projects a transcultural message; in the peace following six years of bitter war everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, will be able to live together harmoniously.

This wish might be idealistic, but it provides a suitably climactic coda to a highly entertaining adventure that is more about America's future than elsewhere.

In the 1940s, Universal Studios discovered that placing Maria Montez and Jon Hall into wild adventure films really paid off at the box office. Their films were ridiculous in a way...utter fantasy and with over-the-top sets and scripts. While this sounds bad, they were very entertaining, such as their "Cobra Woman". Realistic? Not in the least...but big, colorful and fun. Such is also the case with "Sudan"...a film which is actually bad in several ways but still is well worth seeing.

First off, I must point out that this film about ancient Egypt probably took the writers and researchers at least 10 minutes to fact-check....maybe even 15 minutes! In other words, it is very little like ancient Egypt in look or style...it's all 1940s Hollywood kitsch. So, if you are a history teacher, archaeologist or are just reasonably intelligent, you'll realize all this very quickly. But, if you can manage to turn off your brain and just accept it for what it is, you might enjoy the movie.

The story finds the princess (Montez) betrayed by her evil advisor. Now, for audiences of the day, THEY knew that the advisor was evil, as he was played by the slimy George Zucco...who was wonderful playing villains, which he normally always did! She is actually sold into slavery by the guy and it all appears hopeless...until she meets up with two guys (Jon Hall and Andy Devine) as well as a handsome stranger (Turhan Bey). Do the quartet stand any chance to restore the princess to her throne?

Silly and occasionally nonsensical, it is also nice escapism and was filmed in color...because it was a real prestige picture for Universal.

That's one more example of what Universal Studios could provide during the forties, starring their best "home" actress Maria Montez, so beautiful, in this enchanted, colorful, exciting adventure and romance little masterpiece made in jaw dropping locations and terrific studio lots. What could we ask for, besides? And the score that makes you dream or remind your childhood. One brief amusing scene with a talking horse that could announce future Universal Studios productions: FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE. In the same kind, also with Maria Montez you had ARABIAN NIGHTS, ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES, WHITE SAVAGE...

After her monarch father of a small Egyptian city, is murdered, Naila becomes queen of the ancient Egyptian kingdom of Khemis and goes undercover so she can find Herua, the rebel leader, who is blamed for the murder. Through palace treachery shes captured and enslaved and branded with the mark of a slave and sold to a slave merchant.

After escaping, she ends up being aided by a couple of pickpockets, Merab and Nebka (Jon Hall and Andy Devine). They are going to help her find Herua, and one day at a horse race where her speedy golden stallion beats the handsome challenger (Turhan Bey), who also falls in love with her and takes her to his secret outpost in the mountains, a haven for escaped slaves, when she and the pickpocket are captured by the villainous Horadef (George Zucco).

When she learns that her rescuer is Herua, she is conflicted, but still lures him to be imprisoned. The Queen isn't too smart enough to realise who the true villain is- her father's "trusted" adviser, Horadef (George Zucco), who has been behind the evil doings all along, is eager to get his hands on the throne and get rid of the young queen.

Follows the same pattern as the Arabian Nights and Ali Baba the 40 thieves in terms of delivering pure escapism, splendour and sweep - the story is briskly told and its liveliness never falters and ends with a stunning finale; rocks falling on to the soldiers led by Zucco. The surprising aspect is that Jon Hall -as expected - doesn't get the Queen, but Turhan Bey does. I can really imagine the audiences - who lived during the wartime - lapped this up, finding solace in the desert scenery, pulpish dialogue and its romanticism.