Reviews

Right up there with the hysterically overrated "Beat the Devil," this has to be Bogart's worst. What a lot of the actor's fans forget is that between that string of gems that began with "High Sierra" and ended with "Desperate Hours," he cranked out a lot of crap. Anybody remember "The Two Mrs. Carrolls?" You don't? Never saw it? Lucky you! I'm not talking about the second-banana parts he had in the '30s. This is about movies he made after he was an A-list star - when he should have known better. In "Sirocco," he's a cynical American gunrunner in 1920s Syria, when the country was a French "protectorate" - the 20th-century euphemism for "brutally ass-kicked colony." He has an affair with a French officer's wife amid a rebel uprising. Sound romantic? Forget it. If they thought they were coming up with a second "Casablanca," they were way too delusional to be handed car keys. The one plus in the movie is its sympathetic portrayal of the native Syrians - a rarity for the backward America of the 1950s. As for the rest: Bogart's character isn't exactly a heartwarmer; he's so cool and world-weary he's practically petrified. But the lead female role is the real dead-weight. Obviously sketched out by a misogynist screenwriter, she is a clawing, viperish, manipulative harridan! Marta Toren does what she can with the role, but "Violette" is so unappealing you want her idly stroll over an open manhole and - just - disappear! If that's not enough, Bogart's sidekick (Nick Dennis), tries to steal every scene he's in and ends up looking like a drooling idiot. All that, plus a genuinely grim atmosphere makes "Sirocco" as attractive as three-month-old hummus. Even Bogart fans should pass. I warned you.

Although the plotline is a little threadbare - bored housewife goes on pubic rampage to relieve her erotic itch - the sex scenes in this movie make it a cut above the usual. The lead, Dominique St. Pierre, has a different "look" than most porn starlets, and there's a great, sensuous girl-girl scene that is very up-close and personal. Hard to find, but worth it.

How often have we seen this: A guy's fiance is killed in a car wreck, so, being a mad scientist, he keep her head "alive" in a tray of what looks like grape Kool-Aid until he can find a suitable replacement body. He jumps in his convertible and goes "ass-hunting" while a wonderfully cheesy piano combo plays on the soundtrack. Atmosphere? You got a dump truck of atmosphere, baby. Why is it - in all mad scientist movies - that when the chips are down, the lab is in flames and the police sirens are screaming in the background, these obsessed yahoos STILL try to complete the experiment? Talk about resilience! Enjoy!