''The Man from Cairo'' ( it, Dramma nella Kasbah/Avventura ad Algeri) is a 1953 British/Italian/American
international coproduction film noir starring
George Raft, who plays a man who is mistaken for a detective and sent to find lost
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
gold in
Algiers, despite the film's title.
The film was Raft's last with top billing and the last of three films that he made for
Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert.
History
Robert L. Lippert (1909-1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frustrate ...
.
[Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 156] It was also the final feature film of director
Ray Enright and the American film debut of
Irene Papas
Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...
.
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 an American agent assisting the French.
Cast
*George Raft as Mike Canelli
*
Gianna Maria Canale as Lorraine Belogne
*Massimo Serato as Basil Constantine
*
Guido Celano
Guido Celano (19 April 1904 – 7 March 1988) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1988. He also directed two Spaghetti Westerns: '' Cold Killer'' and '' Gun Shy Piluk''. He was born ...
as Sgt. Emile Touchard
*
Irene Papas
Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...
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
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
'' with Raft. It was shot on location in Algeria and Italy and was made for $155,000, with $80,000 in deferrals.
Reception
In a contemporary review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', 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. ...
e rest go through their assigned motions. It takes all of them a long time."
References
External links
*
''The Man from Cairo''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 A ...
Review of filmat
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man from Cairo
1953 films
1950s English-language films
English-language Italian films
1953 crime films
British black-and-white films
Film noir
Films shot in Algeria
Films directed by Ray Enright
British crime films
Italian crime films
American black-and-white films
Italian black-and-white films
American crime films
1950s American films
1950s British films
1950s Italian films