Rope of Sand (1949)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Walter Doniger (story)
Walter Doniger (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A man abused by a sadistic mining company cop before he could tell where on their desert property he'd found diamonds decides to steal them instead.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Adventuress | Beautiful Woman | Intrigue

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Michael (Mike) Davis
Paul Henreid	...	Commandant Paul G. Vogel
Claude Rains	...	Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
Peter Lorre	...	Toady
Corinne Calvet	...	Mademoiselle Suzanne Renaud aka Aniseneletette Duringreaud
Sam Jaffe	...	Dr. Francis Kittridge Hunter
John Bromfield	...	Thompson (guard)
Mike Mazurki	...	Pierson (guard)
Kenny Washington	...	John
Edmund Breon	...	Parker, Chairman of the Board
Hayden Rorke	...	Ingram
David Thursby	...	Henry (bartender)
Josef Marais	...	South African Veldt Singer
Miranda Marais	...	South African Veldt Singer (as Miranda)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Afrikaans

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: This part of the desert of South Africa, where only a parched camel thorn tree relieves the endless parallels of time, space, and sky, surrounds like a rope of sand the richest diamond-bearing area in the world -- an uneasy land where men inflamed by monotony and the heat sometimes forget the rules of civilization.

entertaining thriller with a great quartet of male performances

This film is hard to find, but i finally got hold of a decent copy off ebay.co.uk recorded off a satellite channel. I'm glad i finally got to see it, it was very entertaining with numerous plot twists. The quartet of Lancaster, Rains, Henreid and Lorre make great viewing as they try and scene steal off each other at every turn. Claude Rains is smooth, silky and delightfully devious; Lancaster hulks, sulks and looms superbly. There is no discernible chemistry between Lancaster and the 'new' (well to US audiences) Corinne Calvert; which weakens their characters' motivation somewhat. Lancaster seems more in love with himself though, so tough competition for Corinne there. Calvert does a creditable turn here, ( though her French accent can be a little opaque), but she is outclassed easily by the men- Rains wipes the floor with her but she is stunning and exotic enough. Though her final clinch with Lancaster on the ship as they leave the desert hellhole that they've been inhabiting for the last hour and a half, is incredibly drippy and Lancaster looks as if he'd like shot of her big time. But that's the dialogue for you. Henreid is suitably nasty and sadistic and you can almost smell the sweat and feel the heat- so there is much to recommend in Rope of Sand.