Abdulla the Great

Abdulla the Great
French film poster
Directed by	Gregory Ratoff
Written by	Boris Ingster George St. George
Based on	My Kingdom for a Woman by Ismet Regeila
Produced by	Gregory Ratoff
Starring	Gregory Ratoff Kay Kendall Sydney Chaplin Alexander D'Arcy Marina Berti
Cinematography	Lee Garmes Lambert Williamson
Edited by	Maurice Rootes
Music by	Georges Auric Lambert Williamson
Production companies	Misr Universal Cairo Sphinx Films
Distributed by	British Lion Films
Release date	16 February 1955 (1955-02-16) (Finland)
Running time	103 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom Egypt
Language	English
Budget	$1.2 million

Abdulla the Great (also known as Abdullah's Harem) is a 1955 comedy film. It was directed and produced by Gregory Ratoff who also stars in the title role from a screenplay by Boris Ingster and George St. George, based on the novel My Kingdom for a Woman by Ismet Regeila. The music score was by Georges Auric and the cinematography by Lee Garmes.

The film stars Gregory Ratoff, Kay Kendall, Sydney Chaplin, Alexander D'Arcy and Marina Berti. Ratoff denied that the story was a thinly veiled parody of the life of King Farouk of Egypt and the events preceding his overthrow in 1952.

Plot

The film is set in Bandaria, a Middle Eastern country whose absolute ruler, Abdullah, lives a life of great luxury, surrounded by lovely women. When Ronnie, a beautiful English model, arrives, Abdullah falls for her and offers her great riches. She resists his advances as she is more interested in Ahmed, an officer in the King's army. While this is going on, Abdullah is unaware of the growing discontent among his subjects which threatens to overthrow him.

Cast

• Gregory Ratoff as Abdulla
• Kay Kendall as Ronnie
• Sydney Chaplin as Ahmed
• Alexander D'Arcy as Marco
• Marina Berti as Aziza
• Mary Costes as the countess
• Marti Stevens as singer

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Abdulla the Grear achieves a certain dubious topicality in the obvious invitation to "identify" its central character. The story itself, however, with its polyglot accents, lavish settings and undulating dancing girls, belongs firmly to the Hollywood tradition. Gregory Ratoff, the director/star, makes Abdulla a convincingly repellent figure, being more successful in the earlier satirical scenes than at the end, when his playing unwisely takes on a Jannings-like intensity. Kay Kendall, as the unwilling favourite, is most persuasive when railing against Abdulla's lecherous advances."

Variety wrote: "Platitudinous dialog and complications do not help matters as the film vacillates between the comic and serious. The obvious story line, stilted direction and routine acting relegate this for exploitation playdates."

External links

• Abdulla the Great at IMDb