Princess of the Nile (1954)

Great Film overall

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Princess Of The Nile is set in the 13th century AD and I always thought that the religion of ancient Egypt had died out by that time. But what we have here is that the city that Debra Paget is princess of on the Nile is still worshiping Isis while their Moslem conquerors are behaving pretty much as conquerors do.The city's salvation just might be Jeffrey Hunter son of the Caliph of Bagdad making an inspection tour of the empire. The real rulers of the city are vizier Michael Rennie and shaman Edgar Barrier with a gang of assorted hooligans enjoying the spoils of conquest. Therein lies the plot of this desert potboiler.The whole cast deserves a round of applause for mouthing this drivel dialog somewhat convincingly. You have a few players here like Rennie and Barrier who have classical backgrounds.What they must have thought.

algernon4's comment that Ms Paget's "ultra lewd dance in (this film) is the most erotic in the history of films" is certainly one doozy of an exaggeration. It isn't even Debra Paget's most erotic dance. Her near nude gyrations in Fritz Lang's "The Indian Tomb" make this number look decidedly tame. As for being the most erotic in the history of dance. Well! Where do I start? Salma Hayek's performance as Santanico Pandemonium in "From Dusk to Dawn" (1996); Jamie Lee Curtis in "True Lies" (1994); Jessica Alba in "Sin City" (2005); Rose McGowan in "Terror Planet" (2007); Sheila Kelley in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" (2000), blah, blah, blah.Don't get me wrong. I love the sequence and have included it in my "Cheesecake Dance" series on Youtube. I just think that making a claim like "most erotic in the history of film" is really going out on a very fragile limb.

I agree with all the above comments, with the exception that it is one of the least-appreciated movies. If I hadn't laughed so hard, I most likely would never have watched it. Please don't ask me to watch it again.......although the sets (from earlier movies) were supposed to give the intention it was a high-budget film, the studio just used some folk they had doing nothing to produce this hilariously stupid film. Harmen Jones most likely kicked himself in the rear-end every day after filming was finished, or laughed all the way to the bank - IF he were paid ! Writers Drayson and Adams surely had to be two sissies trying to out-do one another with their plots, and most likely had to stuff towels in their mouths to keep from laughing out loud.Ms. Paget ("Shalimar," what an original name !) was lovely and danced her wigglies with mucho aplomb, looking good. Double-handsome Jeffrey Hunter ("Prince Haidi") should have taken a good look in the mirror to see that his hair-cut was terribly modern and did not budge at any point, no matter how active he was.The cinematography was wonderfully colorful - I just hooted every time the "handmaidens" stood-around in their contemporary wigs and makeup.... one of them even wore gold, high-heels in one scene ! That was the best laugh (for me) through the whole movie. TCM should have warned us they were about to present a saga-turned-comedy.I tried very hard to believe Michael Rennie ("Rama Kahn") really was a sinister beduoin lusting after the cold-natured Paget........maybe he should have tried for Hunter. Those Beduoins are versatile......"The Princess of the Nile" should give you a good boost, if you're down. I loved it, but once was enough.........

For the most part, I only enjoy the kind of movie that allows one to escape the current time into the future or past. This movie is pure escapism. The dancing starts almost immediately, and Debra Paget in her "purple harem" bikini dress simply has no equal in film in my opinion. Her dancing, while sultry, is surpassed by her dance in Fritz Lang's Tiger of Eschnapur, available on DVD, where she played the temple dancer Seetha.One problem with the movie is the closed setting. There are few outdoor scenes shot, and they as well as other scenes are a bit claustrophobic. The same locations are used over and over again, but with some interesting secret passages and waterways. Her secret double identity is totally unbelievable with beauty of that magnitude. Debra even wields a sabre and holds 2 enemy soldiers at bay on a staircase, she could do it all.What does work is Debra Paget as a princess. With her beauty, she certainly would be the center of attention anywhere at any time in history. This movie, when hopefully it becomes available on DVD, will be a must buy. Overall, taken with a bit of humor, I loved it.