Matcollis
This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
SpunkySelfTwitter
It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.
Bea Swanson
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Sammy-Jo Cervantes
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
csteidler
Newspaper reporter George Sanders hurries through the airport--he's heading home from an assignment but is keeping his eyes open. In the first moments of his stay in Damascus, he encounters a number of questionable characters: Lenore Aubert, inscrutable and beautiful in an exotic outfit complete with tall head wrap. Virginia Bruce, who hangs around the hotel looking nervous and appears to have some connection with Gene Lockhart, a gambler with dubious morals. Robert Armstrong gets to the point as an American foreign service agent sent to keep Sanders from stirring up local mischief:"You're a troublemaker," Armstrong tells Sanders bluntly. Sanders replies: "That's what Herr Goebbels said about me once. I was deeply flattered."The plot is fairly straightforward. One of Sanders' colleagues is found murdered; Sanders sticks around to investigate. Soon Sanders realizes he is working to identify and thwart Nazi operatives. Determining who's who among the other players is neither simple nor safe.Sanders is excellent--suave, clever and tough, this character is more serious-minded than the Saint or Falcon. Some good aerial photography over the desert adds excitement as the action builds. Mystery, thriller, patriotic WWII picture....Overall, a solid and efficient production.
thinker1691
In the Arab world there is a saying that Allah grants wisdom but only the foolish ignore it. In this movie, The vast area of the Middle East is slowly being foolishly drawn into the second world war and both sides are doing their level best to secure the help of all the tribes. In this Philip MacDonald story George Sanders plays American News Correspondence Michael Gordon who arrives in Damacus with a colleague who is soon murdered. Directed by Leonide Moguy, our hero is unable to understand why. Because he is a newsman, Gordon is Keen to discover the reason. Unfortunately, the police and several interested officials wants him to leave on the next day's flight. In the meantime, he ties into the local network of Spys, counter spies and assassins, each with their own agenda towards their approaching war. This Black and White movie has all the traditional mystery and drama who with it's plethora of exciting cast members, such as Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart and Robert Armstrong makes for a great film. ****
blanche-2
George Sanders experiences some "Action in Arabia" in this 1944 RKO film that also stars Virginia Bruce. Sanders is a reporter in Damascus who wants to find the killers of a fellow reporter. He uncovers a Nazi plot of the Germans attempting to turn the Arabs against the Allies.It's not much, but there's some great action, and if you're a fan of George Sanders, he's at his elegant best in this, beautifully dressed and very smooth.There are nice performances from an able supporting cast that includes Gene Lockhart, Alan Napier (that's Alfred the Butler on Batman), and H.B. Warner.A small propaganda film, reminiscent in its way of Casablanca, but pleasant enough.
ksf-2
Action in Arabia opens with an introduction by the narrator, while displaying a boundary map of Africa, europe, and the middle east as of 1944. Starring the dashing George Sanders (from All About Eve) and Gene Lockhart, we go running around Syria looking for those Nazi's during WW II. Also look for H B Warner (who had played the great "Chang" in Lost Horizon, and JC in "King of Kings"). There has to be a lovely lady at the center of these things, and here its Virginia Bruce playing Yvonne Danesco, the wife of a crooked gambler, at the very least. People start getting knocked off, and away we go! Because we're off in a far away land, and chasing spies, its quite exotic, but according to IMDb, its mostly all filmed in LA. Scoping out the cast list, apparently Bud Wiser played "the man"...... actually, the beer WAS first; it has been around since 1883! Directed by Russian turned Frenchman Leonide Moguy, this was only one of the three English speaking films he did between 1936 and 1961. With some arabic ,german, and french language thrown in, a fun war-time adventure.