 |  | Tamerlane & Princess Tanya |  |
While I would not call this movie excellent, or even great, it's really pretty good. I have to admire that they really didn't use a set, it was mostly shot outdoors. Yes, California had to substitute for Arabia, but oh well. I'm not a horse lover, but the horses were beautiful. The only thing I can say I didn't care for was the hero, Tamerlane, for much of the movie, appeared to be much more interested in acquiring & taming the black stallion, rather than acquiring & taming the heroine, Princess Tanya. She seemed to be the instigator of their relationship, poking & prodding him along the way. Funny thing, Arab princesses aren't typically flame haired, so I was surprised they didn't issue her a dark wig, since I don't think she's ever colored her hair a different color for a movie.
All in all, on the 1-10 scale, I'd put this movie at about an 8.5-9.0. Maureen's costumes were gorgeous (her costumes always were), the acting is adequate considering this movie had pretty basic plot, the horses looked amazing, and Jeff Chandler's build was stunning. Would like to have seen some swordfighting, some swashbuckling would have been in order. Thus the 4 star rating. See my review of 'Bagdad', the 'companion' movie to 'Flame'.
February 12, 2007 | | Consign this one to the flames | |
Regrettably, there's no provision for awarding this a zero. This film was a waste of Technicolor and an even bigger waste of the talents of its two principals. What were the directors thinking when they put two A stars, Chandler and O'Hara, in this B picture? In their utterly unconvincing and unengaging portrayal of Arabs all the participants are obliged to backwards-speak almost every line of dialogue ("How come you . . . .").
My wife got it right when she observed that any minute Danny Kaye will pop up and show us, yes, we were right, it was intended to be a comedy. But it wasn't. Now that's laughable.
December 22, 2006A suave and oh-so-manly Bedouin chief named Tamerlane (Jeff Chandler) in on the hunt for a magnificent wild black stallion, Shazada (played by Diamond), who's rumored to be the fastest in the Tunisian desert. A fiery, tomboyish redhead, Princess Tanya of Tunis (Maureen O'Hara) is also after Shazada - she wants the horse so she can outrun two brutal brothers (Lon Chaney Jr. and Buddy Baer), one of which she is being forced to marry. No one in the cast is an Arab - not even the horse - but Flame of Araby is fun 50s fantasy.
Staci Layne Wilson
December 29, 2004 | | CHANDLER gets my VOTE any day | |
Pretty mediocre stuff here. The best asset of this movie is the presence of Jeff Chandler. Chandler gets my vote any day, but not this film. If you like costumes deserts and horses you might otherwise enjoy this film. Gossamer filming at its best. Jeff Chandler was an American icon. Jeff Chandler was a rugged, virile leading man characterized by his steel gray wavy hair, high cheekbones and a muscular physique. He starred in action films from the late 1940s into the early 60s, often as American Indians, hoodlums and cavalrymen. Not an obliging star, Chandler often rebelled against Universal's mediocre action projects he was often relegated to and was suspended on several occasions. Chandler deserved better roles than he was given in the likes of "SIGN OF THE PAGAN" and "YANKEE PASHA." In his best roles Chandler was the introverted enigmatic and stoic leading man of high uncompromising character. This can be seen in his performances in "AWAY ALL BOATS," "FOXFIRE," "RAW WIND IN EDEN," "THE JAYHAWKERS," "RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE" and "MERRILL'S MARAUDERS." He left us much too early at age 42.
October 13, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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