''Raiders of the Desert'' is a 1941 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

adventure film directed by John Rawlins and starring

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...

and Linda Hayes. The film was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. It features an early appearance by

Maria Montez María África Gracia Vidal (6 June 1912 – 7 September 1951), known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican motion picture actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume ...

. It was the first time she made a film set in the Orient.

Premise

Two adventurers, Dick and Andy, jump a ship in a

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

ern port, which is benefiting from the development by American businessman Jones. However some local Arabs, led by Sheikh Talifah, wish to take over. They try to assassinate Jone and succeed in killing the local Arab leader. However Dick and Andy lead a fight back which results in Talifah being killed. Dick marries Jones' secretary, Alice.

Cast

as Dick Manning *

as Andy McCoy * Linda Hayes as Alice Evans *

as Zuleika *Lewis Howard as Abdullah *

Ralf Harolde Ralf Harolde (born Ralph Harold Wigger, May 17, 1899 – November 11, 1974) was an American character actor who often played gangsters. Between 1920 and 1963, he appeared in 99 films, including '' Smart Money'' with Edward G. Robinson and ...

as Sheik Talifah * George Carleton as Jones *

Turhan Bey Turhan Bey (born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Şahultavi, 30 March 192230 September 2012). was an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish origins. Active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953, he was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans.. Aft ...

as Hassen Mohammed *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Rawlins *

Sig Arno Sig Arno (born Siegfried Aron, 27 December 1895 – 17 August 1975) was a German-Jewish film actor who appeared in such films as '' Pardon My Sarong'' and '' The Mummy's Hand''. He may be best remembered from '' The Palm Beach Story'' (1942) as T ...

as Suliman *Neyle Marx as Zeid *John Harmon as Ahmed

Production

Richard Arlen and Andy Devine had been teamed a number of times for Universal. Filming started in early June 1941.

was given a role but it was a relatively small one. It was released by July of that year.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "entertaining" and that Arlen and Devine were "a very happy team... Maria Montez is attractive as an oasis charmer". The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "a naive story presented in a crude fashion" with "some exciting moments with competent acting".Raiders of the Desert Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 9, Iss. 97, (Jan 1, 1942): 74.

References

External links

* * 1941 films 1940s adventure comedy films American adventure comedy films Films set in the Middle East American black-and-white films Films directed by John Rawlins Universal Pictures films 1940s American films {{adventure-film-stub