Flame of Araby
Cast & Crew
Charles Lamont
Maureen O'hara
Jeff Chandler
Maxwell Reed
Lon Chaney [jr.]
Buddy Baer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Bedouin sheik Tamerlane and his two servants, Basra and Yak, search the Arabian desert for its finest wild stallion, Shazada. As soon as Tamerlane traps the horse, however, a beautiful redhead runs into his path, forcing him to release Shazada in order to save her. After the young woman haughtily presents him with a scarf, he spanks her for getting in his way, only to discover later that she is a Tunisian princess named Tanya. Tanya returns to her palace, where she discovers that the rival Corsair lords, brothers Borka and Hakim Barbarossa, have invaded and that her father has been poisoned. Although the dying king warns his successor, Prince Medina, that Tanya must be protected from the Barabarossas, Medina nonetheless offers the princess as a gift to his rivals in exchange for peace. Tanya counters by agreeing to marry the winner of the Grand Tayifa horse race, a challenge the Barbarossas readily accept, as they always win the race with their prize stallions. Later, when Tamerlane brings a wild mare to trade at the Barbarrosas' debauched marketplace, the brothers bait him into fighting and killing one of their men, an act punishable by death. Tamerlane is forced to flee to the palace, where he shows Tanya's scarf and asks for protection. She allows him food and horses, secretly planning to follow him as he tracks Shazada, so she can then steal the horse and enter it in the Grand Tayifa to win her freedom. Over the next weeks, Tanya camps near Tamerlane, waiting for him to capture the stallion. After he catches Shazada, she attempts to talk Tamerlane into racing the horse for her, and then tries to seduce him, but the fiercely independent sheik refuses her advances. The two are both attracted to and infuriated by each other, and as Tanya watches Tamerlane tame Shazada, her admiration for him grows. Soon after, the Barbarossas capture Tanya, and when Tamerlane learns from his servants how bravely she fought against them, he applauds her spirit and decides to risk his life by entering Shazada in the Grand Tayifa. To safeguard his life, Tamerlane appears at the race at the last possible moment, and then wins easily. Although he flees Tunisia immediately after the race, Tanya, who can now marry anyone she chooses, chases after him and declares her love, as the Barbarossas trample Medina to death.
Director
Charles Lamont
Cast
Maureen O'hara
Jeff Chandler
Maxwell Reed
Lon Chaney [jr.]
Buddy Baer
Richard Egan
Dewey Martin
Royal Dano
Susan Cabot
Judith Braun
Henry Brandon
Neville Brand
Tony Barr
Frederic Berest
Cindy Garner
Norene Michaels
Richard Hale
Virginia Brissac
Dorothy Ford
William Tannen
Andre Charlot
Joe Kamaryt
Leon Charles
Chuck Hamilton
Barry Brooks
Lillian Ten Eyck
Eric Alden
Crew
Gerald Drayson Adams
Harold Belfer
Hilyard Brown
Leslie I. Carey
Leon Charles
Richard Deweese
Oliver Emert
William Fritzsche
Russell A. Gausman
Joseph Gershenson
Leonard Goldstein
Bernard Herzbrun
Ross Hunter
Ted J. Kent
Lew Leary
Russell Metty
Jack Rixey
Matamaud Shaikhaly
Frank Shaw
Joan St. Oegger
Bill Thomas
Bud Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Flame of the Desert. Judith Braun, Noreen Michaels, and Cindy Garner made their motion picture debuts, and British film star Maxwell Reed made his American film debut, in Flame of Araby. Although Leslie I. Carey and Richard DeWeese are credited onscreen with sound direction, a Hollywood Reporter news item lists Jack Rixey and DeWeese as the sound men. Hollywood Reporter news items also list Jack Reitzen as a cast member, but he was not in the released film. Some scenes were shot on location at Lone Pine, CA.
