Adventure in Iraq

The Usually "Nervous" Over-Lords and Protectors of "Citizens" Against Anything They Saw as Offensive, or Anything that Violated "The Code"...

Were Now on "High-Alert" During WWII and Dictated to Hollywood that in this War-Time Movie the British Received a Few Lines of "Criticism" and the Arab World, Specifically Iraq Wouldn't Take Being Called "Devil-Worshipers" Lightly and We Americans could Use All the Allies We Could Get.

Also, Mentioned, as per Usual, was the Females Exposing "Skin", and for the "Holier Than Thou" "Code" and its Gate-Keepers, that was a Firm No-No.

So, even though, its 1943 and the World was at War...Concern about Protecting the Public from Titillation was Still On Their Minds and were Ready to Power-Play Films that had a "Hint" of the "Forbidden" and Strayed an Inch from the Required Restraint.

This Bit of Behind-the-Scenes Machinations is just a Reminder of How Stringently Enforced "The Code", that Began in Earnest in 1934, was Still, 10 Years Later, while the World was On-the-Brink, Would Die on a Hill of "Christian-Fundamentalism", Neglecting the 1st Amendment.

This Movie is a Low-Budget Warner-Brothers Back-Lot "Programmer" that is Played Mostly Tongue-in-Cheek, Witness Paul Cavanaugh's "Sheik".

The Film Tries to Make-Up for its Lack of "Adventure" in the Outdoor-Sense with a Love-Quadrangle,...

and an Aloof Attitude that Coats the War-Time Effort with Outrageous Jingoism On the Confinement of 2-Sets,

and a Calvary to the Rescue (Flying-Tigers) Ending that is Radio-Ready and Uses Over-the-Air Communications as "Weapons of Mass Destruction".

For Fans of B-Movies or Movies Set During War-Time, it's...

Worth a Watch.

This turkey has not aged well. It will be a tough bird to swallow. The Iraq in this film is from the backlot of some studio and the Sadaam of this Iraq is a silly British-speaking nincompoop, who looks like he got lost for the audition of a card-reading game on a boardwalk machine. (Like the one in Big). The final scene is a real hoot (if you last that long). Don't waste your time.

What a rather surprisingly pleasant way to spend 65 minutes. Who cares if the plot is a bit far-fetched? Who cares if this takes place in a part of Iraq that is not desert? The premise is rather simple. Three Allied citizens are flying a small plane towards Egypt. Of course, the plane runs out of gas and is forced to land in the wilds of Iraq. The trio is afforded the hospitality of a local sheik, who may not be in sympathy with the Allied cause. To me, the highlight of this film is Paul Cavanagh's acting as the sheik. It may have been hammy, but he has a few marvelous lines and is a delight to watch. The trio does survive, etc. Oh, can someone tell me how five soldiers can fly in what appears to be a two-seat plane? Minor detail!! Nice 'B' flick!

A cheap B-movie lasting one hour in length and about a group of downed US airmen stranded in the desert with only a sinister sheikh for company. Based on a stage play, so this is incredibly talky and almost singularly lacking in suspense or interest.

Paul Cavanagh's performance is enjoyable, but that is really all that makes this film watch-able. It is merely a dumbed-down version of William Archer's play "The Green Goddess"--previously filmed as an early talkie in 1930 and a few years before that as a silent in 1923, both versions starring George Arliss in the Cavanagh role. The story has been slightly updated and the setting has been moved from the fictional mountain nation of Rukh, just north of India, to Iraq (albeit a rather fictional version of Iraq--say what you will of Iraqis, but they are not devil worshipers). In my opinion, this version loses much of the originals' elegance even though it uses much of the play's dialog word for word. The American protagonists in this version are much more brash and far less noble than their English counterparts of the original. I found the Lux Radio version of "The Green Goddess" to be far superior to this WWII rip-off.