THE DESERT SONG (1929) John Boles, Carlotta King & Louise Fazenda | Romance | B&W | Retro Movie

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The Desert Song is a 1929 American pre-Code sound (All-Talking) operetta film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Louise Fazenda, and Myrna Loy. It was photographed partly in two-color Technicolor, the first film released by Warner Bros. to include footage in color. The film included a 10-minute intermission during which music was played.

It was based on the hit musical play with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel, which opened at the Casino Theatre on Broadway on November 30, 1926, and ran for a very successful 465 performances. Although some of the songs from the show have been omitted, the film is otherwise virtually a duplicate of the stage production and extremely faithful to it.

On the basis of the success of The Desert Song, Warner Bros. quickly cast John Boles in an all-color musical feature called Song of the West, which was completed by June 1929 but had its release delayed until March 1930.

Synopsis

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

To her surprise, Margot's mysterious abductor treats her with every Western consideration. When the Red Shadow comes face to face with General Birabeau, the old man challenges the rebel leader to a duel. Of course Pierre will not kill his own father, so he refuses to fight, losing the respect of the Riffs. Azuri, the sinuous and secretive native dancing girl, might be persuaded to answer some of these riddles if only she can be persuaded by Captain Fontaine. Meanwhile, two other characters, Benny (a reporter) and Susan provide comic relief. Eventually, the Red Shadow's identity is discovered, a deal is struck with the Riffs, and Pierre and Margot live happily ever after.

Pre-Code sequences
The original 1929 version was a pre-Code production which contained content such as sexual innuendo, lewd suggestive humor, and open discussion of themes such as homosexuality (e.g. Johnny Arthur plays a character who is obviously gay). A cleaned-up remake was released in 1943, with a third version following in 1953.

Cast & Crew

John Boles as The Red Shadow
Carlotta King as Margot
Louise Fazenda as Susan
Myrna Loy as Azuri
Johnny Arthur as Benny Kidd
Edward Martindel as General Bierbeau
John Miljan as Captain Fontaine
Marie Wells as Clementina
Jack Pratt as Pasha
Otto Hoffman as Hasse
Roberto E. Guzmán as Sid El Kar
Del Elliott as Rebel

Directed by: Roy Del Ruth
Screenplay by: Harvey Gates
Story by: Otto A. Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel
Based on: The Desert Song (1926 play/book) by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Harbach, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab
Music by: Sigmund Romberg
Book & Lyrics by: Otto A. Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel
Cinematography: Barney McGill (part-Technicolor)
Edited by: Ralph Dawson, Furusawa
Music by: Irving Berlin, Sigmund Romberg
Lyrics by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: April 8, 1929 (New York City)
Running Time: 125 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $354,000
Box Office: $3,022,000