Starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Myrna Loy, and Johnny Arthur
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Otto Haurbach and Frank Mandel
This week we dive into the romantic, swashbuckling world of operetta, where every romance is a rhapsody, every duel a symphony. The Desert Song, inspired by the actual Riff tribe uprisings in North Africa, was a huge hit on Broadway in 1926. Warner Bros thought it would be perfect for their first all-talking, all-singing film and pulled out all the stops. There's lavish costumes and scenery, then-up-and-coming John Boles as the Red Shadow, most of those gorgeous songs recorded onto live Vitaphone discs, and originally, blazing two-strip Technicolor. While the color prints don't survive, how does the rest look in black and white today? Let's begin with "The Riff Song," as we see the tribes riding in the desert, and find out...
The Story: The Red Shadow (Boles) is the mysterious Robin Hood-like leader of the Riffs. He is in reality Pierre Birabeau, the son of the French General Birabeau (Edward Martindel) who came to Morocco in an attempt to impress Margot Bonavalet (King), a girl at his father's outpost. He took over the Riffs and now pretends to be a weakling in order to hide his secret identity. Margot is engaged to the General's dashing right-hand man Captain Fontaine (John Miljan), but she yearns to be romantically swept into the arms of some desert sheik.
She gets her wish when the Riffs attack the outpost and take her, Pierre's friend Benny Kidd (Arthur), and Benny's female friend Susan (Louise Fazenda) to their camp. Susan and Margot are quite surprised when the Red Shadow treats them with every Western courtesy. Margot eventually falls for the Red Shadow, while Benny dresses as a woman to escape and get help. The General comes to rescue Margot and challenges the Red Shadow to a duel, but Pierre can't harm his own father. Meanwhile, Captain Fontaine is told the location of the Riffs by jealous dancing girl Azuri (Loy), and Benny and Susan end up having their own fun when they get lost in the desert.
The Song and Dance: Oh boy, this was fun. The archaic stiffness of most early operetta is replaced by some of the hammiest acting I've ever seen in a major film musical. It's clear everyone knew darn well they were in a hoary old melodrama and just ran with the lunacy. Boles might be a little bit better as supposedly spineless Pierre than the dashing Red Shadow, but he and King do more than justice to their songs. Check out King's incredible high note on "The Sabre Song!" Some of the supporting cast works too, including Loy as the traitorous Azuri and Roberto E. Guzman as the Red Shadow's second-in-command Sid El Kar.
The Numbers: We open with "The Riff Song" as they explain who they are and why they follow the Red Shadow. "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "French Military Marching Song" are Margot and the women of the barracks' lament that their men are perpetually away fighting. Margot has modern dreams of romance, but Pierre's are more courtly. "Then You Will I Know," he tells her after she explains her dreams of being swept off her feet. "Why Waste Your Time?" The Red Shadow wonders, before he and Margot go into the rapturous title song. One of his men, Sid El Kar, sings "Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand" as Azuri and her girls dance in traditional Arabian garb. Margot and The Red Shadow reprise the title song when she's being abducted to end the first half.
The second half starts with Spanish dancers performing "My Little Castagnette." Clementina, the lead Spanish dancer, also performs "Song of the Brass Key." Head of the Riffs Ali Ben Ali (Jack Pratt) tells the Red Shadow to "Let Love Go." This goes right into Sid's big ballad, "One Flower Grows Alone In Your Garden." Red Shadow counters with one of the big standards from this, the ballad "One Alone." The Red Shadow insists to Margot when she complains about the desert that "I Find the Simple Life Entrancing." "The Sabre Song" is Margot's soliloquy as she wonders about the Red Shadow and who he really is. "You Love Me" Margot and the Red Shadow declare before going into another reprise of the title song. The Red Shadow sings "One Alone" before going off into the desert...and it's how Margot knows it's really him when he sings it in the finale.
Trivia: Though this was completed in late 1928, it was held back until May 1929 due to Warners' release schedule at the time. It was a hit when it came out, but critics thought it stilted compared to movies that had been released in the interim like The Broadway Melody.
What I Don't Like: First of all, though this is probably the most complete version of this show on film or TV, there's still a few songs missing, notably Margot's solo "Romance" and Benny's two comedy numbers. Second, Warners really needs to take a crack at restoring this, even if they can't find the color. The black and white copies on YouTube are horribly blurry. Third, this is not for those who want their musicals quieter or more subtle. This is a romantic adventure drama where everyone shouts their lines to the non-existent balconies.
King sounds better than she acts. She's stiff as a board in the first half unless she's singing, until she really gets into "The Desert Song" and "The Sabre Song." There's this being an early talkie, too. People do stand around and just sing a lot. We also have all your attendant Arab stereotypes, mixed in with your obvious gay stereotypes with Benny (how he ultimately ended up with Susan I will never know).
The Big Finale: Great for early talkie enthusiasts and operetta and action fans like me who may be willing to sit through some of the baked ham to enjoy some truly fine singing.
Home Media: Best place to find this one is on YouTube.
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