La princesse de Samarcande

The marauding Mongol hordes set their sights on the ancient city of Samarkand. The son of Genghis Khan (Harry Brandon) and Howard Petrie as "Tugluk" are despatched in the advance guard to wrest the city from the beautiful Princess - Ann Blyth. They don't reckon on a troop of passing Crusaders led by the gallant "Sir Guy of Devon" (David Farrar) and so a bit of a tussle ensues. It's a melodrama with sand and costumes; Blyth looks great - though she, and Farrar are as wooden as usual. The best character is that of the "Shaman" - an over-the-top George Macready - causing mischief as he whispers poison into the ears of the Khan. It's hampered by the sound stage setting - some of the fight scenes are a little too rigid, and the dialogue is pretty stilted, but it is still a decent enough watch.

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 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.

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...

I was at first surprised not to see Maria Montez in this Universal Studios production, an adventure costume film usually starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez. But the cast, even without those two, is absolutely flawless, the photography excellent and the action sequences terrific, tense, no matter the lack of historical accuracy. It is a superb movie for movie buffs in search of old fashioned films of this period. Production design, settings, score, nothing to complain about. You can't get tired of this kind of production, which is pure magic and nostalgia, no matter the naive story nor the expected ending.