JohnHowardReid Review of Dark Streets of Cairo

Dark Streets of Cairo (1940)

Occasionally interesting Universal "B"

[6/10 · 21 January 2017]

Obviously lensed on as very tight "B" picture budget, this one is mostly just a very average Universal B-grader. On the whole, it has little to distinguish it from other Universal entries in this category – except for the fact that it does have a few scenes to recommend it! True, Eddie Quillan's constant attempts at comic relief are merely tiresome. And the plot is sheer hoke – and mostly very uninteresting hoke at that! The players are no more than adequate (I'm tempted to write "somewhat less", but I guess they're doing their best with the awful script and the almost totally routine direction of Leslie Kardos – although it's true to say that one or two scenes really are dramatically effective). Also on the "plus" side is the appropriately moody photography of Woody Bredell. There's also at least one very effective set – a subterranean tunnel (thank you, Jack Otterson) – and at least one chillingly directed sequence of George Zucco villainy. But on the whole the movie rates as just a bit more than Universal's "B" class average.