In the spring of 1941, American journalistMichael Gordon and his colleague, William Chalmers, arrive in Damascus. When Chalmers is murdered, Gordon sets out to find out why. He is helped along by glamorous secret agent Yvonne, who is on the trail of a group of Nazi saboteurs. Intrigue centers around the actions of Josef Danesco who offers to sell information, as well as French diplomatic official Andre Leroux and Eric Latimer, the owner of the Hotel International, both suspected of having connections with the Nazis. Gordon enlists the help of Mathew Reed, a member of the American Consulate and uncovers a plot to maneuver the Arabs into an insurrection as a diversion for an attack on the Suez Canal by the Nazis. Abdul El Rashid, the revered Arab leader, has been deceived by Kareem, a pro-Nazi chieftain. When Gordon proves Leroux to be a German provocateur to Abdul El Rashid, it results in the deaths of Reed and Leroux and the wounding of Gordon, but the plot to attack the Suez Canal is thwarted.
In April 1943RKO announced they had bought the rights to an original story, The Fanatic of Fez, about the work of American agents in Africa prior to the invasion of Africa. (A novelisation of the story was published in May 1943. George Sanders had just finished a long term contact with 20th Century Fox and signed a three-picture deal with RKO of which this was to be the first.
Shooting
Filming started on 1 October 1943 under the title International Zone. As world events turned to North Africa, the original setting of Algiers was dropped and Damascus became the locale, with a budget increase of $100,000 given to elevate the film to a higher status. The title was changed to Action in Arabia during filming. Shooting was delayed a week due to an illness to Virginia Bruce.. In the opening scene, the Capelis XC-12 appears as an airliner; the venerable movie prop had been used in a number of films including RKO's Five Came Back and Republic's Flying Tigers. Action in Arabia does include a number of scenes of Arab life including a desert scene with numerous extras, horses and camel caravans. Years earlier, filmmakers Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper had shot footage for an unrealized film about Lawrence of Arabia, that they were planning as a follow-up to their hit, King Kong. This footage was integrated into Action in Arabia.
Reception
of The New York Times reviewed Action in Arabia, considering it better than the standard "B" film fare. "... 'Action in Arabia' is the sort of buncombe you get in the muscular fiction field. Not that it isn't pleasant buncombe. Leonide Moguy has directed it for that flair of exaggeration which distinguished the best B-grade intrigues."
