La princesse de Samarcande

Where can we begin? This is the worst film of all time having anything to do with Genghis Khan. It is even worse than the Conqueror, the hilarious joke of a film trying to pawn off John Wayne as an Asian. It took a tremendous effort to be worse than that turkey, but this film achieves it. There will never be a film about the Mongols as bad as this in the history of cinema. My sides were splitting from the howls of laughter from the sublimely destitute dialogue. The conversation with the princess during a duel with a mongol was one of the silliest scenes I have ever seen on the big screen. It left me speechless; and that is a very hard thing to do.

I saw this about five years ago and don't remember the specifics, but I thought that Ann Blyth, whom I've always liked a lot, was very interesting in this role, as a very strong and forthright princess. She also looked beautiful in the costumes. I think she was far superior to the generally frazzled and annoyed Maureen O'Hara, and of course a better actress than campy Maria Montez, and should have been in perhaps a couple more costume dramas/exotic fantasies since she showed here that she had the capabilities of bringing such a character to life.

This great and hokey adventure of all the ages is set in 1220 when the Genghis Khan armies invading Persia and leading to the gorgeous city of Samarkand in Central Asia. In Samarkand rules a beautiful princess called Shalimar, Anne Blyth. Just as the town is threatened by the cruel hordes of Genghis Khan there shows up a two-fisted knight from the East. Then the stubborn princess join forces a brave Crusader, David Farrar, and his underlings : Richard Egan, among others, against the Genghis Kan's son : Henry Brandon and other Tartars tribes led Tugluk : Howard Petrie.

It is a passable, fast moving and ordinary adventure movie that has not historical perspective and bears little relation to the authentic historic facts. Anne Blyth gives an acceptable acting as the lovely princess along with David Farrar as the valiant Crusader Sir Guy who wants to put up a rough battle against Tartars to impede Samarkan encroachment . Support cast is pretty good such as Richard Egan in a secondary role previous his successful appearance as a big star, Henry Brandon as Genghis's son, George Mcready as the cunning, treacherous Raven the Shaman, the wonderful Peggie Castle who died early, Howard Petrie as the leafer of the Kalmucos , Poodles as a Friar , Gregg Barton , George J Lewis, and Marvin Miller as Genghis Kahn, the greatest conqueror of all times.

It contains a rousing and thrilling musical score by Hans J. Salter, Universal's regular. It packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor by Russell Metty, filmed on location in California deserts. This is a typical spectacle financed by Universal International Pictures in its usual style, being well produced by Howard Christie and Robert Arthur. The motion picture was professional though uneven shot by George Sherman. He was a prolific and skill craftsman with a long career. At his starts he worked as a director assistant for Warner Brothers. He went on directing low budget 3 Musketeers series for Republic Pictures . He made all kinds of genres as Noir and thrillers : Jonny Dark, Target unknown , Westerns : Chief Crazy Horse, Comanche, Treasure of Pancho Villa, Dawn at Socorro, War arrow, Relentless, Calamity Jane, Cyclone Kid , Renegades, Daniel Boone TV series and his greatest hits as Big Jack and Comancheros with John Wayne. He also made some adventure movies such as The Son of Robin Hood, Against two flags, The veils of Bagdag and this The Golden Horde. He even made some films in Spain as Joaquin Murrieta, Buscame esa chica, and La nueva Cenicienta with Robert Conrad and Marisol . Rating 5.5/10. Passable, acceptable but mediocre.

I was only vaguely familiar with this colorful (albeit low-budgeted) epic from Universal dealing with Samarcand's resistance to the onslaught of the titular army, commandeered by the legendary Genghis Khan. The plot is unusual in that their come-uppance occurs largely through a woman's shrewdness; in fact, while the expected skirmishes are certainly there, the hero is not very flatteringly depicted: he is boorish Crusader David Farrar who arrives upon the scene with his men (chief among them a pre-stardom Richard Egan) presumptuously intent on taking charge of the situation – since the city is ruled by a girl (Ann Blyth, petite but effective nonetheless in portraying her character's iron-willed disposition)!

Her plan is to have the Khan's two envoys (one of them his own son) clash when she offers herself to one of them as ransom for the city's deliverance!; while an accompanying Shaman (played by genre regular George Macready, but almost unrecognizable behind the almond-eyed make-up!) tries to calm the waters and make them see the wiliness of her proposal, like Farrar himself, they are too obstinate and proud to act sensibly! Typically, the protagonists themselves start off on the wrong foot (early on, he admonishes Blyth's male subjects for even accepting to be subservient to a member of the opposite sex and, what is more, openly considers her suggestions of what action is to be taken as "half-witted"!) but, before long, predictably (or, if you like, as dictated by Hollywood in those times) they find they cannot live without one another!

For good measure, Blyth's castle is fitted with a variety of secret passages which are, subsequently, often resorted to in order to save the battered hide of Farrar's knights (needless to say, though brute force takes the upper hand at first, eventually it has to accede to the hidden powers – and not just the obvious physical attributes – that a female, invariably, is better equipped to supply)! In the end, the Khan decides that Samarcand is not for him (thanks also to a prophecy that forbids him personally physical entrance into the city?) and takes it on the lam. The film looks good (belying its humble pedigree) and, at just 73 minutes, certainly does not overstay its welcome; however, the repetition pertaining to Farrar's pig-headedness and the two deluded romantic contenders' squabbling does tax one's patience somewhat on occasion...

At the onset, you must know that I am not saying this because I am Mr. Political Correctness. No, my gripe about having white actors playing everyone in this movie is simply that they look nothing like Mongols or Uzbekistanis! And, the last time I remember seeing an epic about this material, John Wayne himself starred as Genghis Khan ("The Conqueror")! Here, Marvin MIller plays Khan...and Ann Blyth plays an Uzbekistani princess! It's simply a matter of bad casting and believability...and having all these white Americans in every role does harm the overall film...and it can't help but do this. So, apart from this, is it a good movie?

The story begins with Sir Guy (David Farrar) arriving at the Uzbek capitol, Samarkand, to meet the Princess (Blyth). It seems Genghis Khan's horde are on their way and he offers his assistance. Now, if you think about it, an English knight could have offered no help against Khan...none...as Khan controlled the largest and most dominant army of all time. She rejects his offer...which isn't a bad thing. Soon emissaries of Khan arrive and you wonder with whom, if anyone, the princess will make an alliance.

Much of this movie makes the mistake of being talky instead of action-packed. This doesn't mean I'm a great fan of just action, but here it would have been appreciated. I'm guessing most people watching the movie don't care about the machinations and talk....so I'm probably not alone here. The worst part about all the talk was Sir Guy...who always was yelling or sounding like a man with a bad case of gout. But others manage to come off pretty badly due to the stilted dialog.

Overall, while the film looks expensive, it's dreadfully dull, badly written and a historical mess. Watch it if you want...but I think it's more an ordeal than fun to watch.