''Tripoli'' is a 1950 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, ani ...

directed by Will Price and written by

Winston Miller Winston Miller (June 22, 1910 – June 21, 1994) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and actor. He wrote for more than 60 films and television shows between 1936 and 1976. He began as an actor in silent films, appearing in eleven fi ...

. The film is a fictionalized account of the

Battle of Derna The Battle of Derna at Derna, Cyrenaica, was the decisive victory in April–May 1805 of a mercenary army recruited and led by United States Marines under the command of U.S. Army Lieutenant William Eaton, diplomatic Consul to Tripoli, and U ...

at Derna, a coastal town in modern eastern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

in April 1805 against Tripoli, one of the four Barbary states in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and stars John Payne,

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for pl ...

Howard Da Silva Howard Da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in mo ...

Phillip Reed Phillip Reed (born Milton LeRoy; March 25, 1908 – December 7, 1996) was an American actor. He played Steve Wilson in a series of four films (1947–1948) based on the '' Big Town'' radio series. Early years Reed was a star athlete at Er ...

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...

, Lowell Gilmore and

Connie Gilchrist Rose Constance Gilchrist (July 17, 1895 – March 3, 1985) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Among her screen credits are her roles in the Hollywood productions '' Cry 'Havoc (1943), ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949), ' ...

. The film was released on November 9, 1950, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The film was re-released by Citation Films Inc. and retitled The First Marines.

Plot

In 1805, the USS ''Essex'' is part of a blockade of the port of Tripoli by the small

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Mediterranean squadron, targeting

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

menacing American shipping. American diplomatic Consul

William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to: * William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars * William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner * William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...

(

Herbert Heyes Herbert Harrison Heyes (August 3, 1889 – May 31, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1956, including the famed 1947 film ''Miracle on 34th Street'', in which he played an ahistorical "Mr. Gimbel, ...

) comes on board to recruit a small commando squad for a secret mission. Lt.

Presley O'Bannon Presley O'Bannon (1776 – September 12, 1850) was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War (1801-1805). In recognition of his bravery, he was presented a sword for his part in ...

, of the U.S. Marine Corps ( John Payne) and Lt. Tripp (

Lowell Gilmore Lowell Gilmore (20 December 1906 – 31 January 1960) was an American stage, film and television actor. Life and career Lowell Gilmore first worked as a stage manager on the 1929 Broadway play ''The First Mrs. Fraser'', but got his chance as a ...

) volunteer to raise a force to seize Derna, a strategic coastal town to the east. Hamet Karamanly (

), exiled former Pasha of Derna, supplies men in exchange for being restored to his throne which was taken by his brother. Countess Sheila D’Areneau (

) stays with the Pasha, and everyone presumes she is his mistress, while she angles into persuading him to marry her. O'Bannon recruits a native force of mercenaries - Greeks, Turks and Arabs - to accompany his

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and some American soldiers and Navy midshipmen. O'Bannon and Countess D’Arneau meet and are attracted to each other, but both refuse to admit it to themselves. D’Arneau convinces Hamet that the Americans plan to turn him over to his brother, but O’Bannon gets him to change his mind. D’Arneau defies O’Bannon and accompanies the expedition from

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, across the

n deserts, but he forces her to travel with the camp followers. After a waterhole is poisoned, the expedition has to cross a dune sea to reach the next waterhole ahead of the poisoners. O’Bannon kisses the countess and the force has to endure a sandstorm. Hamet's brother offers him a deal: half the kingdom in return for getting rid of the Americans. They reach the coast twelve days late and the American navy squadron under Commodore Samuel Barron is not yet there. There is almost a mutiny before the ships arrives. Hamet tells his brother the plan of attack on Derna. When the countess learns of this, she rides to warn O’Bannon. He leads a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...

on the city and captures it. Lt. O’Bannon and the countess become a couple.

Cast

* John Payne as Lt.

, USMC (1776-1850) *

as Countess Sheila D'Arneau *

as Capt. Demetrios *

as Hamet Karamanly *

as Sgt. Derek, USMC *

as Lt. Tripp, USN *

as Henriette *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

as Khalil *

as American Consul

, (1764-1811) *Alberto Morin as Il Taiib *Emil Hanna as Interpreter *

Grandon Rhodes Grandon Rhodes (born Grandon Neviers Augustine Rolker; August 7, 1904 – June 9, 1987) was an American actor. Early years Rhodes was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Career Early in his career, Rhodes acted in repertory theatre with troupe ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Samuel Barron, (

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

- Mediterranean squadron), (1765-1810) * Frank Fenton as Capt. Adams, USN *Rosa Turich as Seewauk *Ray Hyke as Crawford *

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than b ...

as Wade *Paul Livermore as Evans *

Gregg Barton Gregg Barton (Born Harold Wilson Barker, June 5, 1912 – November 28, 2000) was an American actor, who played various roles in feature films and television series. Career Born in Oswego, New York, Barton is possibly best remembered for having ...

as Huggins *Don Summers as Langley *

Jack Pennick Ronald Jack Pennick (December 7, 1895 – August 16, 1964) was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, serving as a US Marine, he would go on to appear in more than 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a ...

as Busch *

Ewing Mitchell Ewing Young Mitchell (December 29, 1910 – September 3, 1988) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as Sheriff Mitch Hargrove in 26 episodes between 1956 and 1959 of the aviation adventure series with ...

as Elroy

Production

There was a vogue for films about the Barbary War at this time: Universal had made '' Slave Girl'' (1947) and Columbia ''

Barbary Pirate The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe as t ...

'' (1949). Payne and O'Hara had appeared together in ''

To the Shores of Tripoli ''To the Shores of Tripoli'' is a 1942 American Technicolor film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara and Randolph Scott. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Its cinematography was nominated for an Ac ...

'' (1942). The film was originally called ''The Barbarians'' and was a story by Will Price and Winston Miller. Will Price, a former Marine, was then Maureen O'Hara's husband. Pine-Thomas bought the story in 1949. It was to have starred

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

who just made ''The Eagle and the Hawk'' for Pine-Thomas, as

.John Payne Will Hit Pioneer Trail Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 28 Nov 1949: B7. Price's wife

agreed to play the female lead. Eventually Payne played the male lead instead of O'Keefe. Filming took 33 days.

Reception

The film was popular and made $1.6 million in North America.

References

External links

* * {{Pine-Thomas 1950 films Paramount Pictures films American historical adventure films 1950s historical adventure films Films set in Libya Films about the United States Navy 1950s war adventure films Films about the United States Marine Corps Films set in 1805 Barbary Wars American war adventure films Films directed by Will Price 1950s English-language films 1950s American films