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IMDbPro

L'aigle du désert

Original title: The Desert Hawk
  • 1950
  • Approved
  • 1h 17m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
353
YOUR RATING
Yvonne De Carlo, Lois Andrews, Lucille Barkley, and Richard Greene in L'aigle du désert (1950)
ActionAdventureRomance

A desert guerilla, with flashing scimitar, opposes a tyrannical prince and marries the caliph's daughter.A desert guerilla, with flashing scimitar, opposes a tyrannical prince and marries the caliph's daughter.A desert guerilla, with flashing scimitar, opposes a tyrannical prince and marries the caliph's daughter.

  • Director
    • Frederick De Cordova
  • Writers
    • Aubrey Wisberg
    • Gerald Drayson Adams
    • Jack Pollexfen
  • Stars
    • Yvonne De Carlo
    • Richard Greene
    • Jackie Gleason
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    353
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Frederick De Cordova
    • Writers
      • Aubrey Wisberg
      • Gerald Drayson Adams
      • Jack Pollexfen
    • Stars
      • Yvonne De Carlo
      • Richard Greene
      • Jackie Gleason
    • 10User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos71

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    Top cast67

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    Yvonne De Carlo
    Yvonne De Carlo
    • Princess Scheherazade
    Richard Greene
    Richard Greene
    • Omar - aka The Desert Hawk
    Jackie Gleason
    Jackie Gleason
    • Aladdin
    George Macready
    George Macready
    • Prince Murad
    Rock Hudson
    Rock Hudson
    • Captain Ras
    Carl Esmond
    Carl Esmond
    • Kibar
    Joe Besser
    Joe Besser
    • Prince Sinbad
    Anne P. Kramer
    • Yasmin
    • (as Ann Pearce)
    Marc Lawrence
    Marc Lawrence
    • Samad
    Lois Andrews
    Lois Andrews
    • Maznah
    Frank Puglia
    Frank Puglia
    • Ahmed Bey
    Lucille Barkley
    Lucille Barkley
    • Undine
    Donald Randolph
    Donald Randolph
    • Caliph
    Ian MacDonald
    Ian MacDonald
    • Yussef
    Robert Anderson
    Robert Anderson
    • Judah
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Ansara
    Michael Ansara
    • Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Jan Arvan
    Jan Arvan
    • Merchant
    • (uncredited)
    Shirley Ballard
    Shirley Ballard
    • Naga - Slave Girl
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Frederick De Cordova
    • Writers
      • Aubrey Wisberg
      • Gerald Drayson Adams
      • Jack Pollexfen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    5.5353
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    10

    Featured reviews

    6sonoioio

    Arranged (5.6)

    Established by mutual agreement, even by third parties. Like the deceitful marriage between the two protagonists. The princesses, although against a marriage arranged by her father, is won over by the boldness and noble motivations of the deception. The disguise also serves to fight the tyrannical power of the prince, for the freedom of his starving people.

    Princess Scheherazade (Yvonne de Carlo) agrees to marry Prince Murad, arranged by the caliph, her father. In reality she marries the bandit Omar (Richard Greene), nicknamed the Desert hawk, accompanied by his attendant Aladdin (Jackie Gleason) and his gang. When the real Prince Murad (George McCready) arrives at the camp protected by the garrison of Captain Ras (Rock Hudson), he reveals the deception.

    Director Frederick de Cordova (6.0) gives a good adventurous pace to the film; the screenplay (6.0) is linear and fluid enough to flow quickly; from a technical point of view (5.5) one can appreciate Russel Metty's elegant photographic work; the acting (5.5) of the secondary roles is just sufficient, including Greene and Gleason, who work well within their comfort zone, while de Carlo's work in a complex and multifaceted role, an assertive and fascinating heroine, is more in-depth.

    Best moments: in the casbah you can find excellent deals, obviously knowing how to judge the merchandise well: "Strong hair, thick skull... well-shaped ear. Clean, without warts... Show me your teeth". A must-see for fans of cloak and dagger and exotic settings.
    3bkoganbing

    A beheading offense

    Once again Universal getting out of those sets that they created for Maria Montez and her films creates The Desert Hawk with romantic bandit leader Richard Greene romancing the Princess Scherazade played by Yvonne DeCarlo.. Fortunately Greene has two villains to contend with George MacReady and evil prince and Carl Esmond leader of a cult of assassins who work at cross purposes.

    To keep DeCarlo from marrying MacReady in an arranged marriage Greene pretends to be MacReady and he has a clergyman in his gang marry them. These days we'd go to court for an annulment, but back then this is a beheading offense.

    The film also has Jackie Gleason and Joe Besser playing Aladdin and Sinbad. Not those two legends from Arabian Night but a pair of burlesque comedians of those times who look jarringly out of place. Gleason looks like he crash dieted for this film, God only knows why.

    Rock Hudson plays one of MacReady's henchmen and he was up and coming over at Universal at the time. Lucky this was early in his career or within two years he would have had the lead and this would be remembered as a Hudson picture.

    Definitely one of Universal's lesser homages to the Arabian Nights.
    5CinemaSerf

    The Desert Hawk

    A remarkably decent cast fail to enliven this rather verbose and dull Arabian Nights adventure based around the legendary character of "Scheherazade". This time she (Yvonne de Carlo) is the daughter of the Caliph who is tricked into marrying "Omar" (Richard Greene) in the belief that he is the Prince "Murad" (George Macready). Nobody is very impressed by this arrangement, the Princess demands the head of "Omar" and off we go on some colourful desert shenanigans during which the Princess realises that she might just have backed the wrong horse! Sadly, though, it is all just descends quickly into a routine sand and scimitar story as the men vie for her affections whilst pursuing wealth and power at the same time. It looks quite good, but the dialogue is pretty stilted and even with Jackie Gleason and a bit-part from Rock Hudson, it never really flows - indeed, much of the time it is just too meandering and lacklustre. Pity, though - better writing and direction could have made more of it.
    4F Gwynplaine MacIntyre

    Gleason and Besser save this movie

    'The Desert Hawk' is a bog-standard adventure epic (Arabian Nights subclass), sorely compromised by its extremely low budget but benefiting from an interesting cast. When I saw that Yvonne De Carlo was the female lead (in harem trousers, worse luck), I was worried this might turn out to be a Maria Montez-type campfest: fortunately, this film never sank to that level. Rock Hudson, in a prominent supporting role, is not as embarrassing as one might expect. Richard Greene, in his Robin Hood period, basically plays an Arabian version of Robin Hood here. De Carlo's character is named Scheherazade, but she isn't the famous Scheherazade of the 'Arabian Nights' tales: she's playing a different character with that same name.

    The best and most interesting performances here are given by Jackie Gleason and Joe Besser as Richard Greene's wily assistants. Confusingly, their characters are named Aladdin and Sinbad. I kept wondering why Aladdin didn't whip out his magic lamp and summon his genie (not to mention Widow Twanky), until I twigged that the 'Aladdin' and 'Sinbad' in this movie aren't the two famous characters: they're two completely different characters with the same names as those two.

    Jackie Gleason, as 'Aladdin', does well in a semi-serious role: his performance here doesn't resemble any of his well-known television characters. Joe Besser is a 'comedian' whose unfunny performances have almost always annoyed me, and who spent most of his career in supporting roles to comedians much more talented than Besser ... such as Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. In 'The Desert Hawk', Besser gives a genuinely impressive performance, with some dramatic ability. I was especially impressed by one scene in which Besser as Sinbad is put into a torture device (a vertical form of the rack), and stretched unmercifully. Based on Besser's other characterisations, I expected him to scream effeminately and have a tantrum ... instead, he remains stoic and endures his torture manfully. (A trivia note: Joe Besser and the famous caricaturist Al Hirschfeld lived in the same house in St Louis, Missouri during their respective childhoods ... but not at the same time.) Gleason and Besser are the two main points of interest in 'The Desert Hawk', but their screen time is quite brief.

    Michael Ansara and Nestor Paiva put their facial bone structures to good use in small roles. Ben Welden (an American actor who started his film career in England) is obtrusively American in a small role as an Arab. I'll rate 'The Desert Hawk' 4 out of 10. I'm grateful that this film wasn't very campy ... but I suppose that fans of Yvonne De Carlo and Rock Hudson will be disappointed that this film isn't MORE campy.
    6Sergiodave

    Silly but fun

    This is a fun movie starring Richard Greene, playing an outlaw helping his people in the Middle East who coincidentally years later would find his fame playing Robin Hood on TV. It's fun, Jackie Gleason and Joe Besser provide the laughs, it has beautiful damsels in distress and nasty villains, a good matinee movie. Amusingly this movie depicts Muslims 600 years before Mohammed, which is quite incredible.

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    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
    Action
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Yvonne De Carlo was upset when Universal-International cut her big musical number from this movie.
    • Goofs
      Characters are Muslims, 600 years before the time of the founder Mohammed.
    • Quotes

      Omar: Wench or princess, a woman is only a woman, and always needs a master.

    • Connections
      Featured in Man in the Shadows - Jeff Chandler at Universal (2023)

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    FAQ14

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 28, 1951 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Desert Hawk
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal International Pictures (UI)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 17m(77 min)
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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