Princess of the Nile

And also starring Jeffrey Hall or Jon Hunter. I mean this beautiful and convincing sword and sandal made in Hollywood for Twentieth Century Fox during this fifties decade is the perfect heir of Maria Montez and Jon Hall from the forties and produced by Universal studios. Far better than for instance also Hollywood ESTHER AND THE KING or even SERPENT OF THE NILE, more or less the same kind of topic. I don't even speak of Italian industry sword and sandals of the early sixties. This one takes place entirely, or nearly, inside the palace walls. It is not CLEOPATRA, LAND OF THE PHARAOHS, DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS nor BEN HUR either, because of a small bUdget, but the cast and production design is enchanting, and the cast convincing, with a delightful Michael Rennie as the villain. Good stuff, one of the best cheap sword and sandal Hollywood film, I speak of those wIthout hundreds, if not thousands, of extras;

Not knowing beforehand what it was really about, I expected this to be the modest counterpart to Fox's big-budgeted THE Egyptian as DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS had been to THE ROBE (1953); curiously enough, I recently compared Universal's simple-minded view of the genre to Fox's more sober approach – but this proved to be very much in the former vein! Given the title, one would have thought the narrative would be dealing with Cleopatra (whose unhistorical off-spring the leading lady here, Debra Paget, actually played in the Italian peplum CLEOPATRA'S DAUGHTER {1960}!) or Nefertiti (which, apart from the more famous THE TEN COMMANDMENTS {1956; also featuring Paget}, Jeanne Crain – herself a former Fox star – tackled in another low-brow Italian production, QUEEN OF THE NILE {1961}, that I recently acquired and may very well check out either now or next month, when I intend to give tribute to another actor from that film, i.e. the great Vincent Price, on the 100th anniversary of his birth)! However, here we have Egypt in the throes of war with the Arab country of Bagdad(!), whose citizens include heir to the throne Jeffrey Hunter and rebel leader Michael Rennie – in this respect, the mish-mash of costumes is almost as incongruous as that in Universal's own YANKEE PASHA (yet another film emanating from this same year)! Even so, due to time constraints, I have had to discard all the other unwatched Arabian Nights romps at my disposal and concentrate on more historically or thematically relevant fare. Anyway, the compact result (running just 71 minutes!) is colorful (though the muddy print I acquired left much to be desired!) light entertainment bordering on camp, what with Paget's Princess Shalimar doubling as a sultry dancer at a cabaret (years before Luis Bunuel dealt, altogether more subtly, with a similar if not identical ruse in BELLE DE JOUR {1967}!) – conveniently, the river Nile connects this haunt to the Palace itself! – though her intention is actually to gauge the people's opinion of her father's reign and uncover any possible conspiracies being hatched (yet Rennie does not recognize her immediately, while he and Hunter fall out over her 'earthy' charms)! Incidentally, the actress' sensual and scantily-clad gyrations must have caught the eye of Fritz Lang since he later memorably featured her – in more outré circumstances, I might add – in the second part of his famous "Indian Epic" (1958-9)! Back to the plot: before long, Rennie – with the inside help of a wicked Shaman! – is fomenting trouble between the two countries (even if the killing of Hunter's aide is actually witnessed by Paget!), then offering himself as the Princess' suitor in order to bring them back together again! She and Hunter eventually fall in love (after the heroine has stabbed him in their first scene together!); the whole culminates in a clash between the two factions within the Palace walls, in which Rennie gets his come-uppance by being effectively impaled (in silhouette) inside a tent on a lance he had himself previously thrown to get at the hidden Paget! The supporting cast features gullible potentates, giggling handmaidens, comic relief acolytes…and Jack Elam as an Egyptian outlaw (by the way, the IMDb also lists Lee Van Cleef putting in an appearance here but I failed to recognize him!).

algernon4's comment that Ms Paget's "ultra lewd dance in (this film) is the most erotic in the history of films" is certainly one doozy of an exaggeration. It isn't even Debra Paget's most erotic dance. Her near * gyrations in Fritz Lang's "The Indian Tomb" make this number look decidedly tame. As for being the most erotic in the history of dance. Well! Where do I start? Salma Hayek's performance as Santanico Pandemonium in "From Dusk to Dawn" (1996); Jamie Lee Curtis in "True Lies" (1994); Jessica Alba in "Sin City" (2005); Rose McGowan in "Terror Planet" (2007); Sheila Kelley in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" (2000), blah, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong. I love the sequence and have included it in my "Cheesecake Dance" series on Youtube. I just think that making a claim like "most erotic in the history of film" is really going out on a very fragile limb.

This is one of my favorite films for many reasons. To begin, there are standout performances from lovely Debra Paget as a princess/dancing girl, from Michael Rennie as the villain, handsome young Jeffrey Hunter investigating crime in her city/state and others. The film is an unusually colorful adventure, and we even see the princess rehearsing the dance she later performs (for once). She manages to skewer Hunter before she learns he is on her side; also the photography, the costumes by Travilla, Lionel Newman's music and the film's style are unusually fine. Add to this rousing action, intelligent characterization and fine direction by veteran Harmon Jones of a Gerald Drayson Adams' script set in 1249 AD, and you have the ingredients of an enjoyable Grecianized Near-Eastern. But there is much to praise about the unusual and well--developed storyline here, as there is much more to praise other than the film's swift pace, well-managed physical action sequences and superior technical aspects. Classically-trained actors such as Michael Ansara, Edgar Barrier, Wally Cassell, Jack Elam and Dona Drake are not commonly found in one "B" film together; nor are there fascinating sets, a variety of locales and a mystery of the quality that is supplied here. One way of assessing a film is, "If I were guaranteed to live through the experience, would I choose to undergo these events and perform these actions?" Since my answer is a resounding "yes" in this case, this film remains one of my choices as a favorite and very-underrated cinematic work. Could it be that US critics' all-too-frequent disdain for females as warriors and thinkers that as in so many other cases has caused closed minds to misprize this estimable film's obvious anti-tyranny and pro-entertainment qualities?

More fabulous adventure than the tales of the Arabian Nights , more exciting than the travels of Marco Polo, more spectacular than the splendors of Kubla Khan. This wonderful Oriental adventure deals with the princess Shamar, Debra Paget , the flame that ignited Egypt . And well starred by those sensational new stars , Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter . It is set 1249 Egyt, where the son of the caliph of Baghdad , Jeffrey Hunter, arrives in order to keep peace and order, along the way he helps the beautiful princess to rid the Bedouin invaders led by Michael Rennie .Meanwhile , Shamar takes a double identity , both as a wealthy princess and disguising as an expert dancer, dancing at market place. This is a typical oriental movie produced by 20th Century Fox with intrigue , fights , sword-crosses and colorful scenarios, though mostly shot in studios . The two sensational new young stars give passable interpretations. Debra Paget is marvelous as the gorgeous princess striving to gain her aims, to rid the Bedouin conquerors, as she practices her intriguing skills, both at the slums and at the royal court . Paget starred a lot of adventure movies for 20th Century Fox , outstanding her exotic beauty and dancing skills, such as : Bird of paradise, Anne of the Indians, Prince Valiant, Demetrius and the Gladiators, Omar Khayyam and the exceptional dyptic : Tiger of Snapur and The Indian tomb by Fritz Lang . While her partenaire Jeffrey Hunter as a brave hero is fine, but inferior to Paget. Support is frankly well , such as Michael Rennie, Jack Elam , Michael Ansara, Edgar Barrier as Shaman, Dona Drake and uncredited Lee Van Cleef. It packs a colorful and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor by Lloyd Ahern Sr. , adding fastuous production design, though some of the sets were used from Demetrius and the gladiators. As well as an evocative and thrilling musical score by Lionel Newman. The motion picture was professionally directed by Harmon Jones. He was a producer , production manager, editor and filmmaker. As Harmon directed all kinds of genres, drama, thriller, Noir, Western, comedy . . such as : Wolf Larsen, The beast of Budapest, Gorilla at large, Target Zero, Canyon river, City of bad men, A day of fury , The silver whip , The pride of St Louis, As young as you feel, Bloodhounds of Broadway . He also directed several episodes from known TV series such as : Land of giants, Death valley, Voyage to the bottom of the sea, The Virginian , Perry Mason, Gunslinger, Daniel Boone , Iron horse, The Monroe, The Zorro, among others. Rating : acceptable and passable. Well worth watching. The flick will appeal to Debra Paget and Jeffrey Hunter fans

A pretty film with lead actors so beautiful, it almost hurts to look at them. Young Jeffrey Hunter and Debra Paget dazzle in this fun faux- Egyptian adventure/romance. Whether you are straight or gay, male or female, you should appreciate looking at them both. This would be a great date movie (and I wish I could return to this time for just an evening to have a date to see it during its first run)- -it has adventure, romance, a quick-moving plot, and some comic relief. Dancing girls! Evil henchmen! Scimitar fights! What's not to like? As another reviewer said, one of the problems with the the movie is the over-reliance on sets; it'd look even better with more outdoor scenes. In this way, it is of its time, and one of the few ways movies have improved is in use of outdoor and international settings. Recommended. 6.5/10

You'd have to research this film before viewing to realize that this isn't a film about a Pharaoh's daughter set in ancient Egypt, but some 2000 after the great kings ruled the greatest civilization of biblical times. Starring Debra Paget, this then is 2000 years after her "Ten Commandments" slave girl caught the attention of master builder Vincent Price. By 1200, the approximate year this is set in, there really was no Egypt like we know it from ancient times or the re-established country that exists today. Nevertheless, Paget is a princess of a small Nile country whose homeland is threatened by barbaric invaders and with the help of a handsome prince from Bagdad (Jeffrey Hunter) strives to fight off her enemies. At just over 70 minutes, this is perhaps the shortest film of this genre, produced in lush Technicolor, overloaded with native girl dances and sword fights, and a pretty memorable villain (Michael Rennie). Unfortunately, it's still rather second rate, rushed out with not much thought to story or substance, and thus simply just another standard sword and sandal adventure that audiences expected to get from Universal, not the Cinemascope inventing 20th Century Fox which produced "The Egyptian" and a few other classic biblical era epics the same year as this. That indicates why this is pretty much forgotten, not to mention that the title gave hints that it was something different than what ended up being seen on the big screen.

source: Princess of the Nile

Princess of the Nile

algernon4's comment that Ms Paget's "ultra lewd dance in (this film) is the most erotic in the history of films" is certainly one doozy of an exaggeration. It isn't even Debra Paget's most erotic dance. Her near * gyrations in Fritz Lang's "The Indian Tomb" make this number look decidedly tame. As for being the most erotic in the history of dance. Well! Where do I start? Salma Hayek's performance as Santanico Pandemonium in "From Dusk to Dawn" (1996); Jamie Lee Curtis in "True Lies" (1994); Jessica Alba in "Sin City" (2005); Rose McGowan in "Terror Planet" (2007); Sheila Kelley in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" (2000), blah, blah, blah. Don't get me wrong. I love the sequence and have included it in my "Cheesecake Dance" series on Youtube. I just think that making a claim like "most erotic in the history of film" is really going out on a very fragile limb.