The film was released on November 9, 1950 by Paramount Pictures[4] and rereleased by Citation Films as The First Marines.
Plot
In 1805, the USS Essex is part of a blockade of the port of Tripoli by a small United States Navy Mediterranean squadron targeting pirates menacing American shipping. American diplomatic consul William Eaton boards to recruit a small commando squad for a secret mission. Lt. Presley O'Bannon of the U.S. Marine Corps and Lt. John Trippe volunteer to raise a force to seize Derna, a strategic coastal town to the east. Hamet Karamanly, the exiled former pasha of Derna, supplies men in exchange for being restored to his throne, which was usurped by his brother. Countess Sheila D’Areneau stays with the pasha and everyone presumes that she is his mistress, while she persuades him to marry her. O'Bannon recruits a native force of mercenaries, including Greeks, Turks and Arabs to accompany his Marines and some American soldiers and sailors. O'Bannon and Countess D’Arneau meet and are attracted to each other, but both refuse to admit it to themselves.
D’Arneau convinces Hamet that the Americans plan to hand him to his brother, but O’Bannon convinces him to change his mind. D’Arneau defies O’Bannon and accompanies the expedition from Alexandria, Egypt, across the North African deserts, but he forces her to travel with the camp followers. After a waterhole is poisoned, the expedition must cross a dune sea to reach the next waterhole ahead of the poisoners. O’Bannon kisses the countess and the force has to endure a sandstorm. Hamet's brother offers him a deal: half the kingdom in return for expelling the Americans. They reach the coast 12 days late and the American navy squadron under Commodore Samuel Barron is not yet there. There is almost a mutiny before the ships arrives. Hamet tells his brother about the plan of attack on Derna. When the countess learns of this, she rides to warn O’Bannon. He leads a surprise attack on the city and captures it. Lt. O’Bannon and the countess become a couple.
The film was originally titled The Barbarians and was a story by Will Price and Winston Miller. Price, a former Marine, was star Maureen O'Hara's husband. Pine-Thomas Productions bought the story in 1949.[5] It was to have starred Dennis O'Keefe, who had recently appeared in The Eagle and the Hawk for Pine-Thomas, as Presley O'Bannon, but Payne replaced him.[6]
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "William H. Pine and William C. Thomas, Paramount's bustling 'Dollar Bills,' can obviously take American history in their fanciful, free-wheeling stride. Such a little thing as adherence to historical fact or atmosphere doesn't even begin to restrain them in their rustling up an entertainment film. In 'Tripoli,' a lush adventure drama, ... they have played hob with the War of the Barbary Pirates, but they have brought off a rousing, popular show."[1]
Critic John L. Scott of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "'Tripoli' is a satisfactory derring-do motion picture, although preliminaries leading up to the shooting prove a bit irksome to dyed-in-the-wool action fans."[2]
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