Little Egypt (film)

Last updated
Little Egypt
Little Egypt (film).jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Frederick de Cordova
Screenplay by Oscar Brodney
Doris Gilbert
Story by Oscar Brodney
Produced by Jack J. Gross
Starring Mark Stevens
Rhonda Fleming
Cinematography Russell Metty
Edited by Edward Curtiss
Production
company
Universal-International
Distributed by Universal-International
Release dates
  • August 3, 1951 (1951-08-03)(Chicago, Illinois)
  • August 29, 1951 (1951-08-29)(New York City)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.1 million (US rentals) [1]

Little Egypt is a 1951 American Technicolor comedy drama film directed by Frederick de Cordova starring Mark Stevens and Rhonda Fleming. It is a highly fictionalised biography of the dancer Little Egypt in the 1890s. [2]

Contents

Plot

Looking to bring back authentic Egyptians for his exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair, Cyrus Graydon goes to Cairo, where he is joined by a pasha and by an American con artist named Wayne Cravat.

A look or two at the exotic dancer Izora and the pasha's in love. Graydon tries to discourage her, but she manages to make her way to Chicago, where she promptly identifies herself, to Cravat's delight, as a genuine Egyptian princess.

Cravat pretends to be romantically interested in Graydon's daughter, Sylvia, to score points with her father. A jealous Izora retaliates by trying to seduce the man Sylvia is engaged to, Oliver Doane.

When she dances a scandalous "hootchy-kootchy" dance in public, the police place Izora under arrest. She insists in court that as a princess she's entitled to dance any way she pleases. Trouble is, the prosecution has discovered that Izora is actually Betty Randolph of Jersey City, New Jersey.

The pasha shows up just in time to attest to the fact that she is his cousin ... and, therefore, a true princess. They nearly get away with it, until others figure out that the pasha himself is nothing but a fake.

Cast

Production

The film was announced in October 1950. [3] Filming started late November 1950. [4]

De Cordova later said he only enjoyed making the film "a modicum. At least the picture got me back in the musical area where I had worked in New York. Mark Stevens was an attractive, competent actor and Rhonda Fleming was a very pretty girl. We tested a lot of women for that part. Whoever played it had to be voluptuous and able to move sexily. The picture was kind of a pot boiler but we got paid for it. The results weren't terrible although I don't think I heightened Fleming's career or that the picture heightened mine." [5]

Related Research Articles

Fawzia Fuad of Egypt Egyptian princess and Queen of Iran

Fawzia of Egypt, also known as Fawzia Chirine, was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.

Tia Carrere American actress

Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo, known professionally as Tia Carrere, is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.

Little Egypt (dancer)

Little Egypt was the stage name for at least three popular belly dancers from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. They had so many imitators, the name became synonymous with belly dancers generally.

Rhonda Fleming American actress and singer (1923–2020)

Rhonda Fleming 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 glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.

Mark Stevens (actor) American actor (1916–1994)

Mark Stevens was an American actor, who appeared in films, and on television. He was one of four who played the lead role in the television series Martin Kane, Private Eye; he appeared in 1953–54.

<i>Serpent of the Nile</i> 1953 film by William Castle

Serpent of the Nile is a 1953 Technicolor historical adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by William Castle. The film starred Rhonda Fleming, Raymond Burr, William Lundigan and Michael Ansara. In an early role, actress Julie Newmar appears as an exotic dancer clad only in gold paint. It also stars William Lundigan as Lucilius and Michael Fox as Octavius.

John Litel American actor (1892–1972)

John Beach Litel was an American film and television actor.

<i>When Strangers Marry</i> 1944 film by William Castle

When Strangers Marry is a 1944 American suspense film directed by William Castle and starring Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter and Robert Mitchum.

Ann Little American actress (1891–1984)

Ann Little, also known as Anna Little, was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the early 1910s through the early 1920s. Today, most of her films are lost, with only twelve known to survive.

<i>Gorilla at Large</i> 1954 film by Harmon Jones

Gorilla at Large is a 1954 American horror mystery film made in 3-D. The film stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb and Raymond Burr, with Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens in supporting roles. Directed by Harmon Jones, it was made by Panoramic Productions, and distributed through 20th Century Fox in Technicolor and 3-D.

Julie Bishop (actress) American film and television actress

Julie Bishop, previously known as Jacqueline Wells, was an American film and television actress. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1957.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a 1949 American comedy musical film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and William Bendix.

<i>Miss Annie Rooney</i> 1942 film by Edwin L. Marin

Miss Annie Rooney is a 1942 American drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The screenplay by George Bruce has some similarities to the silent film, Little Annie Rooney starring Mary Pickford, but otherwise, the films are unrelated. Miss Annie Rooney is about a teenager from a humble background who falls in love with a rich high school boy. She is snubbed by his social set, but, when her father invents a better rubber synthetic substitute, her prestige rises. Notable as the film in which Shirley Temple received her first on-screen kiss, and Moore said it was his first kiss ever. The film was panned.

<i>The Day Reagan Was Shot</i>

The Day Reagan Was Shot is a 2001 American made-for-television film drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-produced by Oliver Stone. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and Richard Crenna as Ronald Reagan, and co-stars Michael Murphy, Holland Taylor, Kenneth Welsh and Colm Feore.

<i>Please Believe Me</i> 1950 film by Norman Taurog

Please Believe Me is a 1950 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Mark Stevens and Peter Lawford.

<i>The Desert Hawk</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Frederick de Cordova

The Desert Hawk is a 1950 action adventure film directed by Frederick De Cordova starring Yvonne De Carlo and Richard Greene.

<i>The Shepherd King</i> 1923 film by J. Gordon Edwards

The Shepherd King is a 1923 American silent biblical epic film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Violet Mersereau, Nerio Bernardi, and Guido Trento. It is a film adaptation of a 1904 Broadway play by Wright Lorimer and Arnold Reeves. The film depicts the biblical story of David (Bernardi), a shepherd prophesied to replace Saul (Trento) as king. David is invited into Saul's court, but eventually betrayed. He assembles an army that defeats the Philistines, becomes king after Saul's death in battle, and marries Saul's daughter Michal (Mersereau).

William Courtleigh Jr.

William Thomas Courtleigh Jr. was an American silent film actor whose career was cut short after he fell victim to the 1918 flu pandemic.

<i>An Arabian Knight</i> 1920 film by Charles Swickard

An Arabian Knight is a 1920 American drama film directed by Charles Swickard and produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation. Its survival status is classified as unknown, which suggests that it is a lost film.

Rhonda Kye Fleming is an American singer/songwriter and music publisher working in Nashville, Tennessee. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009 and has won more than 42 BMI Awards, including BMI Songwriter of the Year for 3 consecutive years (1981–83). Fifteen of her compositions have achieved over one million performances each. Some of the most successful songs Fleming has written or co-written include: "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool", "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed", "Smoky Mountain Rain", "Roll On Mississippi", "Years", "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World", "Nobody","All Roads Lead to You", "Kansas City Lights", and "Give Me Wings". In 2012, she was an honoree of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Poets and Prophets series which honors songwriters deemed to have made a significant contribution to country music. The series featured an extended interview with Fleming before an audience at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and film clips, recordings, and photos of Fleming's life work and awards. Some of the artists who have recorded Fleming's songs are: Barbara Mandrell, Ronnie Milsap, The Judds, Sylvia, Steve Wariner, Wynonna Judd, Joe Cocker, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Janis Ian, Michael Johnson, Tina Turner, Amy Grant, and Bette Midler.

References

  1. 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
  2. Little Egypt at TCMDB
  3. DOROTHY LAMOUR IN DE MILLE FILM: Signed by Paramount to Play Role in 'Greatest Show on Earth,' Circus Picture By THOMAS F. BRADY New York Times 28 Oct 1950: 10.
  4. WARNERS SHELVES REMAKE OF DRAMA: Studio Postpones 'Front Man,' Based on 'Winterset,' Play by Maxwell Anderson By THOMAS BRADY New York Times 24 Nov 1950: 44.
  5. Davis, Ronald L. (2005). Just making movies. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 133–134.