Lewis Milestone's first war film (a genre he was to regularly return to for the next thirty years) has all the low humour and high production values one already expected from a Howard Hughes production; but Milestone's direction was graceful enough to see off competition at the very first Oscars from Chaplin's 'The Circus'.
Only in the movies would a dusky Arab maiden remove her veil to reveal a chic, fully made-up young Mary Astor; and ninety years after his death Louis Wolheim is still stealing scenes as the beast to her beauty. As a bonus Boris Karloff appears fleetingly (at least in the version recently rediscovered) as a ship's purser.
Only in the movies would a dusky Arab maiden remove her veil to reveal a chic, fully made-up young Mary Astor; and ninety years after his death Louis Wolheim is still stealing scenes as the beast to her beauty. As a bonus Boris Karloff appears fleetingly (at least in the version recently rediscovered) as a ship's purser.