The Man from Cairo

The Man from Cairo (Italian: Dramma nella Kasbah/Avventura ad Algeri) is a 1953 British/Italian/American international coproduction film noir starring George Raft, who plays a man who, upon arriving in Algiers from Cairo (hence the film's title), is mistaken for a detective sent by the French government to find a stolen cache of World War II gold.[2]

The Man from Cairo
Directed byRay Enright
Written byEugene Ling
Phillip Stevens
Janice Stevens
Based onstory by Ladislas Fodor
Produced byBernard Luber
StarringGeorge Raft
Gianna Maria Canale
Massimo Serato
Irene Papas
Music byRenzo Rossellini
Production
company
Michael David Productions
Distributed byEros Films (UK)
Lippert Films
Release date
27 November 1953
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Italy
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$235,000[1]

The film was Raft's last with top billing and the last of three films that he made for Lippert Pictures.[3] It was also the final feature film of director Ray Enright and the American film debut of Irene Papas.[1]

Plot

The French government investigates the location of some bullion stolen during the war.

Tourist Mike Canelli, an ex-serviceman who served in Algeria during the war, is mistaken for a friend of his, an American agent assisting the French. The friend arrives in Algiers two weeks later, only to find Canelli about to depart, having already solved the case, caught the criminal, cleared the name of a French general suspected of the theft, and recovered the gold.

Cast
  • George Raft as Mike Canelli
  • Gianna Maria Canale as Lorraine Belogne
  • Massimo Serato as Basil Constantine
  • Guido Celano as Sgt. Emile Touchard
  • Irene Papas as Yvonne Le Beaux
  • Alfredo Varelli as General Dumont, also known as Professor Crespi
  • Leon Lenoir as Capt. Akhim Bey
  • Mino Doro as Major Le Blanc, assumed name of Emile Moreau
  • Angelo Dessy as Pockmark

Production

The film was produced by Bernard Luber, who had just made Loan Shark with Raft. It was shot on location in Algeria and Italy and was made for $155,000, with $80,000 in deferrals.[1]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Howard Thompson found the film to be formulaic but with "a sleazy, authentic-looking backdrop." Thompson wrote: "Lethargically directed by Ray H. Enright, the action soon levels off to a dull, unsurprising trot. ... Mr. Raft is Mr. Raft, still the same competent, brisk and unimaginative performer. ... [T]he rest go through their assigned motions. It takes all of them a long time."[4]

References
  1. Mark Thomas McGee, Talk's Cheap, Action's Expensive: The Films of Robert L. Lippert, Bear Manor Media, 2014 p 155
  2. Vagg, Stephen (9 February 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft". Filmink.
  3. Everett Aaker, The Films of George Raft, McFarland & Company, 2013 p 156
  4. Thompson, Howard (17 December 1953). "George Raft in 'The Man From Cairo' and a New Stage Bill Seen at the Palace". The New York Times. p. 52.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.