Abdulla the Great
| Abdulla the Great | |
|---|---|
 French film poster | |
| Directed by | Gregory Ratoff |
| Produced by | Gregory Ratoff |
| Written by |
Boris Ingster George St. George Ismet Regeila (novel) |
| Starring |
Gregory Ratoff Kay Kendall Sydney Chaplin Alexander D'Arcy Marina Berti |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Lee Garmes |
| Edited by | Maurice Rootes |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release dates |
1 February 1955 (France) June 1956 (US) |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | UK / Egypt |
| Language | English |
Abdulla the Great, also known as Abdullah's Harem is a 1955 comedy film made by Misr Universal Cairo and Sphinx Films and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed and produced by Gregory Ratoff, from a screenplay by Boris Ingster and George St. George, based on the novel My Kingdom for a Woman by Ismet Regeila. The music score was by Georges Auric and the cinematography by Lee Garmes.
The film stars Gregory Ratoff, Kay Kendall, Sydney Chaplin, Alexander D'Arcy and Marina Berti.
The story is a thinly veiled parody of the life of King Farouk of Egypt and the events preceding his overthrow in 1952.
Plot
The film is set in a Middle Eastern country whose absolute ruler, Abdullah (Gregory Ratoff), lives a life of great luxury, surrounded by lovely women. When Ronnie, a beautiful English model (Kay Kendall), arrives, Abdullah falls for her and offers her great riches. She resists his advances as she is more interested in Ahmed (Sydney Chaplin), an officer in the King's army. While this is going on, Abdullah is unaware of the growing discontent among his subjects which threatens to overthrow him.
Cast
- Gregory Ratoff – Abdulla
- Kay Kendall – Ronnie
- Sydney Chaplin – Ahmed
- Alexander D'Arcy- Marco
- Marina Berti – Aziza
- Marti Stevens
- Dickie Moore