The Desert Song (1929 film)

The Desert Song
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roy Del Ruth
Written by	Harvey Gates Humphrey Pearson based on the play by Oscar Hammerstein
Starring	John Boles Carlotta King Myrna Loy Louise Fazenda Otto A. Harbach Laurence Schwab Frank Mandel Johnny Arthur Edward Martindel Jack Pratt
Music by	Irving Berlin Sigmund Romberg (music) Oscar Hammerstein II Otto Harbach (lycris)
Cinematography	Barney McGill (Technicolor)
Editing by	Ralph Dawson
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	April 8, 1929
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Desert Song is a 1929 American operetta film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring John Boles, Carlotta King and Myrna Loy. It was photographed partly in two-color Technicolor, the first film released by Warner Bros. to be in color. Although some of the songs from the show have been omitted, the film is otherwise virtually a duplicate of the stage production. It was based on the hit musical play by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and Otto Harbach, respectively. The stage musical opened at the Casino Theatre on Broadway on November 30, 1926 and ran for a very successful 465 performances.^[1][2]

Plot

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

To her surprise, Margot's mysterious abductor treats her with every Western consideration. When the Red Shadow comes face to face with General Birabeau, the old man challenges the rebel leader to a duel. Of course Pierre will not kill his own father, so he refuses to fight, losing the respect of the Riffs. Azuri, the sinuous and secretive native dancing girl, might be persuaded to answer some of these riddles if only she can be persuaded by Captain Fontaine. Meanwhile, two other characters, Benny (a reporter) and Susan provide comic relief. Eventually, the Red Shadow's identity is discovered, a deal is struck with the Riffs, and Pierre and Margot live happily ever after.

Warner Brothers color movies in order of release date

Pre-Code Sequences

After 1935, the original 1929 version became impossible to exhibit in the United States due to its pre-Production Code era content, which included sexual innuendo, lewd suggestive humor and open discussion of themes such as homosexuality (e.g. Johnny Arthur plays a character who is obviously gay).^{[citation needed]} Consequently, a cleaned-up remake was released in 1943, with a third version following in 1953.

Songs

Act One

• Riff Song
• French Marching Song
• Then You Will Know
• The Desert Song
• Azuri's Dance

Act Two

• Love's Dear Yearning
• Let Love Go
• One Flower
• One Alone
• Sabre Song
• The Desert Song Ballet

Preservation

The film exists only in a black and white copy. The film elements are missing from a small portion of one of the musical numbers but the complete soundtrack survives intact on Vitaphone disks.

See also

• List of early color feature films

References

External links

• The Desert Song (1929) at the Internet Movie Database