''Yankee Pasha'' is a 1954 American

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

film directed by

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director.

and starring

Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was nom ...

Rhonda Fleming Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis; August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamoro ...

and

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van Do ...

. Shot in

technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

, it was produced and distributed by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

studio

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 ...

. The film is based on the 1947 novel '' Yankee Pasha'' by

Edison Marshall Edison Tesla Marshall (August 28, 1894 – October 29, 1967) was an American short story writer and novelist. Life Marshall was born on August 28, 1894 in Rensselaer, Indiana. He grew up in Medford, Oregon, and attended the University of Oregon f ...

Plot

Fur trapper Jason Starbuck (Jeff Chandler) arrives in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in 1800. A general store owner challenges him to a horse race, but his rider's fiancée, Roxana Reil, gives a helpful tip to Starbuck on how to win the race. A romantic attraction develops and Roxana's father advises her not to marry a man she doesn't love. Roxana sets sail for France, however, and her boat is attacked by pirates, who kill her father and take Roxana captive in Morocco, making her a slave. Starbuck pursues her. He is introduced by a U.S. consul to the sultan, who is impressed with Starbuck's rifle marksmanship. He is offered a position with the sultan's infantry and given a slave of his own, Lilith. Roxana has been sold to Omar Id-Din, who could be plotting against the sultan. Starbuck challenges Omar to a duel, with the winner acquiring the other's rifle and slave. Starbuck wins and intends to return home with Roxana, but they are betrayed by the jealous Lilith, who fights Roxana and tells Omar of their plans. Starbuck is taken prisoner. Lilith has a change of heart, however, and changes clothes with Roxana to fool the guards. With the help of Hassan Sendar, one of the sultan's soldiers, they help rescue Starbuck, who leads the escape of other prisoners. He throws Omar from a roof. He and Roxana are free, and, as a reward, Hassan is given a new slave, Lilith. Jeff Chandler recorded the song ''I Should Care'' on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing produ ...

from the film.

Cast

as Jason Starbuck *

asRoxana Reil *

as Lilith, Harem Slave *

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

as Sultan *

Bart Roberts Rex Reason (November 30, 1928 – November 19, 2015) was an American actor best known for his role in ''This Island Earth'' (1955). Life and career Rex George Reason Jr. was born in Berlin, Germany, to an American family that returned to Los Ang ...

as Omar Id-Din *

Hal March Hal March (born Harold Mendelson; April 22, 1920 – January 19, 1970) was an American comedian, actor, and television quiz show Master of ceremonies, emcee. Early career March entered show business as a straight man in the vaudeville act the ...

as Hassan Sendar * Tudor Owen as Elias Derby *

Arthur Space Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series ''Lassie''. Early years Born ...

as Richard O'Brien *

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

as Zimil *

Phil Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

as Baidu Sa'id *

Harry Lauter Herman Arthur "Harry" Lauter (June 19, 1914 – October 30, 1990) was an American character actor. Early years Lauter was born in White Plains, New York. He worked as a model for a professional photographer and was a rodeo rider before m ...

as Dick Bailey *John Day as First mate Miller *

Christiane Martel Christiane Martel (born Christiane Magnani on 18 January 1936) is a French actress and beauty queen. She became the second woman to win Miss Universe, in 1953.Myrna Hansen Myrna Hansen (born August 5, 1934) is an American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1953. Education Hansen is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond E. Hansen. She graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, ...

as Harem Girl *Kinuko Ito as Harem Girl *

Emita Arosemena Emita Arosemena Zubieta (born c. 1931 in Las Tablas, Panamá) was a Panamanian beauty pageant contestant winner of the Miss Panamá 1953 title. Also represented Panama in Miss Universe 1953, the ''2nd Miss Universe'' was held on July 17, 1953 at ...

as Harem Girl *Synove Gulbrandsen as Harem Girl *Alicia Ibanez as Harem Girl *Ingrid Mills as Harem Girl *Maxine Morgan as Harem Girl *

Mara Corday Mara Corday (born Marilyn Joan Watts; January 3, 1930) is an American showgirl, model, actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and 1950s cult figure. Early life Corday was born in Santa Monica, California. Wanting a career in films, she came to Hollywoo ...

as Harem Girl *

Lisa Gaye Leslie Gaye Griffin (March 6, 1935 – July 14, 2016), better known as Lisa Gaye, was an American actress, and dancer. Early years Gaye was born in Denver, Colorado to Frank Henry Griffin, a painter, and Margaret Allen Griffin (née Gibson) ...

as Harem Girl *

Marla English Marleine Gaile English (January 4, 1935 – December 10, 2012) was an American film actress during the 1950s. Early years She was born Marleine Gaile English in San Diego, California. As a teenager, she worked as a model and performed locally. ...

as Harem Girl * Rosalind Hayes as Eliza

Production

The novel was a best seller and Universal bought the film rights as a vehicle for Jeff Chandler. The film provided Mamie Van Doren with one of her first major movie roles. Universal Pictures was eager to promote Van Doren as their version of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, and this seemed to them to be the perfect film to accomplish this.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Joseph Pevney 1954 films American historical adventure films 1950s historical adventure films 1950s historical romance films Universal Pictures films Films about slavery Films based on American novels Films directed by Joseph Pevney Pirate films Films set in Morocco Films set in the 1800s American historical romance films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films