The Desert Song

The third and, it is to be hoped, the last version of the creaky old warhorse. It was first made in 1929 as the opening all-talking, all-singing operetta, then remade in 1943 to incorporate the anti-German sentiment rampant in those wartime days. Gordon MacRae leads the Riffs against dastardly sheik Massey. Grayson is the daughter of general Collins, and MacRae wins her love in the guise of El Khobar. Although his name has been changed from Pierre to Paul, the essential character is the same, a weakling who becomes a hero once he dons his Arabian gear. At the end of the film, MacRae kills off his El Khobar character, so he and Grayson can marry, and MacRae can retu...