''Fort Algiers'' is a 1953 American
adventure film
An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
Lesley Selander
Lesley Selander (May 26, 1900 – December 5, 1979) was an American film director of Western (genre), Westerns and adventure film, adventure movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and dozens of TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to ...
and written by Theodore St John. The film reused action sequences from ''
Outpost in Morocco
''Outpost in Morocco'' is a 1949 American action adventure film directed by Robert Florey, starring George Raft and Marie Windsor. Paul Gerard (Raft), a Moroccan Spahi officer and his French Foreign Legion garrison, holds off attacks from the na ...
'' (1949) and starred
Yvonne De Carlo
Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and late ...
,
Carlos Thompson
Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, (7 June 1923 – 10 October 1990) was an Argentine actor.
Career
Of German and Swiss descent, he played leading roles on stage and in films in Argentina. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s ...
,
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''.
Burr's early acting career included roles ...
,
Leif Erickson,
Anthony Caruso,
John Dehner
John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...
, Robert Boon and
Henry Corden
Henry Corden (born Henry Cohen; January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was in the 1 ...
. The film was released on July 15, 1953, by
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
.
Plot
A female secret agent is sent to
French North Africa
French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...
posing as a night club singer to investigate the massacre of a
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
outpost. She discovers a treacherous leader planning an attack on strategic oil fields.
Cast
*
Yvonne De Carlo
Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and late ...
as Yvette
*
Carlos Thompson
Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, (7 June 1923 – 10 October 1990) was an Argentine actor.
Career
Of German and Swiss descent, he played leading roles on stage and in films in Argentina. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s ...
as Jeff
*
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''.
Burr's early acting career included roles ...
as Amir
*
Leif Erickson as Kalmani
*
Anthony Caruso as Chavez
*
John Dehner
John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...
as Major Colle
*Robert Boon as Mueller
*
Henry Corden
Henry Corden (born Henry Cohen; January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was in the 1 ...
as Yessouf
*
Joe Kirk
Ignazio "Nat" Curcuruto (October 1, 1903 – April 16, 1975), better known by his stage name Joe Kirk, was an American radio, film, and television actor who was best known for playing the role of Mr. Bacciagalupe on ''The Abbott and Costello S ...
as Luigi
*
Lewis Martin as Colonel Lasalle
*
Leonard Penn
Leonard Penn (13 November 1907 – 20 May 1975) was an American film, television and theatre actor.
Early life and education
Penn was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, to parents Marcus Penn and Eva Monson. He majored in drama at Columbia U ...
as Lt. Picard
*
William Phipps as Lt. Gerrier
*Michael Couzzi as Richetti
*Charles Evans as General Rousseau
*Sandra Bettin as Sandra
*
Robert Warwick
Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien, October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction ...
as Haroon
Production
In 1952 Yvonne de Carlo announced she and her agent Paul Kohner would form their own production company, Vancouver Productions. They said their first film would be an adventure story which would co star
Carlos Thompson
Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, (7 June 1923 – 10 October 1990) was an Argentine actor.
Career
Of German and Swiss descent, he played leading roles on stage and in films in Argentina. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s ...
, an actor de Carlo met on the set of a movie in South America and recommended him for the male lead.
In November 1952 it was announced the film would be called ''Fort Courageous'' and would be made by Atlantic Productions, the company of Joseph Armolieff. It was based on a story by Frederick Stephani and screenplay by Theodore St John. Filming started 15 December 1952. De Carlo said she had her own money in the film.
[Looking at Hollywood: Yvonne De Carlo to Do Film Concerning Foreign Legion Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 25 Nov 1952: a5.]
References
External links
*
''Fort Algiers''at
TCMDB
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...
''Fort Algiers''at BFI
1953 films
American black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
United Artists films
1950s action adventure films
American action adventure films
Films directed by Lesley Selander
Films about the French Foreign Legion
Films scored by Michel Michelet
Films set in Africa
Films set in deserts
1950s American films
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