''Rope of Sand'' is a 1949 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

, produced by Hal Wallis, and starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

and three stars from Wallis's ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' – Paul Henreid,

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supp ...

and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...

. The film introduces Corinne Calvet and features Sam Jaffe, John Bromfield, and Kenny Washington in supporting roles. The picture is set in

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

. Desert portions of the film were shot in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

Plot

Hunting guide Mike Davis (Burt Lancaster) comes across a cache of diamonds in a mining area, located in a remote region of

. He is caught by the mine's police, but refuses to reveal the diamonds' location, even under torture at the hands of the diamond company's security chief, Paul Vogel (Paul Henreid). He leaves South Africa for some time. Davis returns to get the diamonds, which he still expects will be at the spot where he found them. The mining company's owner, Martingale (Claude Rains), tries to find out where the diamonds can be found by guile rather than force. He hires a beautiful prostitute, Suzanne Renaud (Corinne Calvet), to seduce Davis and get him to reveal the secret location. Davis plans an illegal entry into the diamond mining area to retrieve the diamonds, then escape to

Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...

. Meanwhile, Vogel is attracted to Suzanne and offers to marry her but Suzanne is attracted to Davis, who is more interested in his diamonds than Suzanne. Davis finds the diamonds, but Martingale threatens to kill Suzanne unless Davis gives him the diamonds. Davis gives up the diamonds, and ends up leaving the country with Suzanne, discovering that he loves her more than the diamonds.

Cast

as Mike Davis * Paul Henreid as Vogel *

as Martingale * Corinne Calvet as Suzanne *

as Toady * Sam Jaffe as Dr. Hunter * John Bromfield as Thompson, a guard * Mike Mazurki as Pierson, a guard * Kenny Washington as John * Edmund Breon as Chairman * Hayden Rorke as Ingram * David Thursby as Henry, the bartender * Josef Marais as Specialty Singer * Miranda Marais as Specialty Singer

Background

According to the Paramount Collection at the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(AMPAS) library, the desert sequences were shot in

. Paul Henreid was blacklisted from major studios at the time, but says he was cast because Dieterle was an old friend of his, and Hal Wallis was supportive of the actor being cast. Henreid said the role was a departure for him, but "it had the greatest lines in the script, and I had a lot of fun doing it."

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Glenn Erickson reflected on the background of the film, and how it was received when first released: "A polished production on all technical levels, the gritty ''Rope of Sand'' was filmed from a screenplay purchased by producer Wallis specifically for Burt Lancaster in 1947. Although William Dieterle's direction is capable, the script works too hard to introduce an overly familiar collection of stock thriller types ... Critics generally liked Lancaster's performance, even if they slighted the work of Claude Rains and Peter Lorre, and saved the bulk of their praise for Paul Henried's nasty villain. Lancaster's own assessment of the film was unprintable, but he was quoted at a time when he was itching to move on to more interesting roles."Review
of ''Rope of Sand'' film/DVD by Glenn Erickson. ''DVD Savant'', March 27, 2011, accessed July 21, 2013.

Accolades

Nominated * Golden Globes: Best Screenplay, Walter Doniger, 1950.

References

External links

* *
''Rope of Sand''
information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images) *

Streaming audio

''Rope of Sand''
on

Screen Directors Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadca ...

: April 28, 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rope of Sand 1948 films 1940s adventure films American adventure films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films scored by Franz Waxman Films directed by William Dieterle Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films set in South Africa Paramount Pictures films 1940s American films English-language adventure films