2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

JohnHowardReid An old novel (Coup de Grace, 1931) offered Humphrey Bogart the type of tough Casablanca role that made his name. In fact, Bogey even wears his Casablanca trenchcoat. Alas, the character here doesn't have the redeeming virtues of Rick, despite his last-minutes change of heart. The resemblance, and the character himself, is too superficial. His end is a disappointment too. As the hero, co-star Lee J. Cobb cannot carry the film at all. In fact, he is miscast. He is too heavy, too dull. Producer Robert Lord had made good use of Bogey in The Black Legion but in this Sirocco he is totally wasted. On the other hand, the film does feature Marta Toren. Any movie with Marta Toren is a must-see movie in my book. Zero Mostel and Everett Sloane are present in this one too.

zsenorsock There's a general rule to follow about Bogart films: if he's wearing a bow tie, its going to be a disappointment. "Sirocco" is no exception.Even Bogart himself called this film "a mess". He wasn't wrong. There's a lot of pieces here that sound great--Bogart as Harry Smih, an arms merchant in Damascus--Everett Sloan as the French commandant--Lee J. Cobb as the French officer who's trying to bring peace while losing his woman to Bogart--catacombs, mysterious events--but it never comes together.The script is just a confusion of parts and after watching it again, Bogart seems to be playing second fiddle to Lee J. Cobb. Never heard of Marta Toren? There's a reason. She may sound like Bergman, but she does not have any of Bergman's charm, talent or magnetism. She actually gets a bit grating at times. As for the direction, I can only say this director also directed "Conflict" another third rate Bogart film.There is no romance, no heart to what happens to Harry Smith at the end of this either. If at least he would have had a meaningful exit, this film might have been worth watching. But instead, it fulfills the bow tie rule quite nicely and is not recommended for anyone but the most hard-core Bogart fans who have to watch everything he's in...(sigh)...like me.

bsmith5552 "Sirocco" takes place in 1925 Damascus where French troops are occupying the city and fighting against rebel insurgents. (Hmmmm...that sounds familiar).Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart) and his pal Nasir Aboud (Nick Dennis) are running guns to rebel leader Emir Hassan (Onslow Stevens). French General LaSalle (Everett Sloane) wants "an eye for an eye" after another of his patrols is ambushed. His Head of Intelligence Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) wants to negotiate with Hassan. He gets the General to agree to send in an emissary, Lt. Collet (Harry Guardino) to meet with the rebels and start peace negotiations.When Collet is found murdered, Feroud rounds up the usual arms dealer suspects including Smith and forces them to sell their wares to the French. Harry agrees but as a measure of revenge, sets his sights on Violette (Marta Toren) who is Feroud's lady friend. Harry meets with Hassan's man to collect his last payment but is told not to return as his "services" are no longer required.Harry attempts to leave Damascus with Violette but their bus is stopped. Harry escapes and Violette is captured. However, Feroud releases her and gives her a pass out of the city. When an informer Balukjian (Zero Mostel) obtains proof the Harry is supplying arms to the enemy, Harry becomes a wanted man.Despondent over the loss of Violette, Feroud offers Harry a pass out of Damascus if he will arrange a meeting between himself and Hassan without LaSalle's knowledge. Feroud realizes that this will certainly result in his death. LaSalle learns of the scheme and implores Harry to arrange for Feroud's release for $10,000. Harry has plans to leave the city with Violette but reluctantly agrees to undertake the mission.Together with Major Leon (Gerald Mohr) Harry approaches Hassan's headquarters and.............................................This "film noire" was produced by Bogart's production company Santana and reminds one somewhat of "Casablanca" (1942). Bogey is somewhat of rogue in this one with few redeeming qualities. Toren makes a good "femme fatale" ultimately destroying the two men that love her. The picture has a dark tone, playing for the most part, as it does, at night in the rain swept streets and damp underground catacombs of 1925 Damascus.Sloane and Mostel has appeared with Bogey in "The Enforcer" the same year. Cobb would appear with Bogey in "The Left Hand of God" (1955).Entertaining film, better than some would have you believe.

ecapital46 Just finished watching this movie after seeing the 2003 PBS documentary "Lawrence of Arabia: Battle for the Arab World," which adroitly lays out how in 1916 the French and British brokered a back room deal (known historically as the 'Sykes-Picot Agreement')during World War I which secretly 'decided' how ownership of the vast and varied Middle Eastern Arab ancestral homelands would be controlled by the European powers after the war. This deal was made by the British while they were simultaneously promising, thru its trusted Military Officer in Arabia, T.E. Lawrence, independence to the Arab freedom fighters after the war. The Brits promise was as reliable as those made by the US in American Indian Treaties. After the Arabs defeated the Ottoman Army and won their freedom in the Middle East, the British and French moved in and took control of Arab lands at the close of WWI. France was given "ownership'of Syria among other Arab territories at the post-WWI peace conference, setting the stage for the period of this movie in 1925, when the Syrian freedom fighters are fighting the invading French terrorists for control of its homeland and Bogart plays a Halliburton-like character (a young Dick Cheney maybe?) engaged in profiteering from the conflict.There are two major flaws in the script that have been alluded to in some of the reviews included herein. One reviewer writes that he is "impressed by the way 'Sirocco' refused to overtly side with either the French or the Syrians." Nonsense. In the film, it is the Syrians who do not honor their word and in a coy double-cross, kill our cinema hero Bogart in the end. In a previous scene, the French are portrayed as honoring their word by giving Bogart the travel Visa he was promised despite him admitting to brokering a secret and dangerous meeting between the Syrians and the head French Intelligence Officer (Lee J Cobb). This is a coy way of the movie siding with the French since the subliminal (and not so subliminal) takeaway is that the Arabs word can't be trusted. You are expected, of course, to disregard who's in whose fruggin' country anyway causing the problem.Several other reviewers here have made reference to how at the end of the film the opportunist Bogart still manages to "do the right thing" or support "the right cause." This is more nonsense. What they are referring to is Bogart's decision to lead the French to Syrian headquarters to attempt to negotiate the 'release' of the French intelligence officer who had voluntarily traveled to Syria to attempt to initiate some kinda undefined "peace talks." The question to ask yourself is how is anything Bogart's character does to support the French in this movie considered "noble" or the "right thing?" It is 1925, and the French have invaded an innocent and non-threatening foreign people and their homeland. Supporting the invader isn't "nobel," its criminal. Supporting Syria is what would be nobel. The Syrians are not at fault in this conflict for defending their homeland from invasion. Another reviewer writes "Yes, its the Syrian's home, but their 'tactics' are sickening." That's an odd statement, since they use pretty much the same 'tactics' our Revolutionary 'founding fathers' used in America, and America wasn't even the founding fathers' ancestral homeland! Besides, I'd like to see what 'tactics' that reviewer would use if a foreign terrorist group burst in his home, killed several family members, and took ownership of his assets. I doubt that his 'tactics' would consist of cordial discussions over a cup of tea.