Humphrey Bogart is in familiar territory as an American expatriate in the Middle East, selling arms to the Syrian rebels under the nose of the occupying French army in 1925 Damascus. Bogie's Harry Smith, dressed in a modest cream suit and natty bow tie, is a hustler in a shady world of brittle alliances where the sound of mortar and gunfire never lets up. His nemesis is incorruptible French officer Lee J. Cobb, who is no gentleman when it comes to his lady (Marta Toren), a European beauty who catches Smith's eye. This mercenary, unsentimental Casablanca knock-off is dominated completely by a Bogart who has kissed romance and redemption goodbye. His ruthless, increasingly desperate performance makes up for the chilly Toren and the generally bland supporting cast (the exception is the animated Zero Mostel), and lights a fire under the film. --Sean AxmakerMore...
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