The Desert Song (1943)

Warner Bros, 1943
Starring Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning, Bruce Cabot, and Gene Lockhart
Directed by Robert Florey
Music by Sigmund Rombert; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto A. Haurbach, and Jack Scholl

Like Show Boat, The Desert Song was first filmed in the early talkie era. It was, in fact, Warners first flat-out musical in 1929, a huge epic featuring John Boles as the mystery man of the desert, the Red Shadow. While that version does exist, it's very hard to find today. The 1943 version was also hard to find until very recently, thanks to a load of legal red tape. Now that it's back in the public eye, how does the wartime version of this romantic operetta look now? Let's head to Geneva, Switzerland in 1939 to find out...

The Story: The Nazis have invaded North Africa. They've captured the Riff tribes, using them to build a railroad that'll bring supplies to their garrisons. The Riffs fight back by blowing up tracks and trains. They're lead by the enigmatic El Khobar...who is actually Paul Hudson (Morgan), a pianist and reporter who respects the Riffs and their way of life. He works in an Arabic cabaret owned by Peter FanFan (Lockhart) and lives with perpetually drunk fellow writer Johnny Walsh (Lynne Overman). Paul falls for beautiful singer Margot (Manning), but she's in love with Colonel Fontaine (Cabot) of the French Army. Paul has to dodge the Nazis and bring Fontaine and Margot on the same page, before the Nazis build that train and destroy the Riffs' way of life.

The Song and Dance: Morgan makes an especially charming freedom fighter in this swashbuckling World War II adventure. He's surrounded by a nice cast of character actors, including Lockhart as the head of the cabaret where the Riffs hang out and have their headquarters, Cabot as Paul's stoic rival for Margot's affection, and Overman as Paul's cynical roommate who just wants to know who this El Khobar guy is, anyway. Some of the changes to the story are fascinating, especially how the Riffs are treated by the Nazis and how they finally rebel. There's some lovely Technicolor camera work, especially in the beginning on the desert.

Favorite Number: Most of the big numbers are performed as part of the cabaret show. Margot's "French Military Marching Song" is especially fun and colorful. Morgan and Manning do a lovely, simple duet to "One Alone" when they're covering the Riffs escaping the cafe before the Nazis arrive. "The Riff Song" gets a nice run-through in the opening by Morgan and the chorus just after they attack the Nazis.

What I Don't Like: Manning lacks her male co-stars' charisma and looks stiff and bored as the singer turned spy. I didn't mind the topical story changes, but I really wish they let the songs tell the story as they originally did, rather than relegating them to nightclub numbers. This feels more like an action movie with songs.

The Big Finale: If you don't mind the story changes and love the cast or World War II adventure films, you'll want to ride out into the desert and give this tale of "Romance" a look.

Home Media: Currently only available on DVD from the Warner Archives.

DVD