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Reviews
Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
Don't learn about Egyptian history from this one!
There are so many historical errors and misconceptions in this film I stopped counting (after sitting down with pen and paper to list them). This is a truly laughable plot in which Jack Hawkins was totally wasted - he really was better playing British staff officers than ancient Egyptian rulers. There is one scene in which the "Pharaoh" (this title was not used by the ancient Egyptians until 1500 years after the time of the plot) is presented with a cut-away model of his pyramid, just like a modern architect would do for a client. Only a little anachronistic. Was William Faulkner really one of the writers?
The Egyptian (1954)
Good for its time, bad history
A great deal has been written about this film, production values, acting and music. Little has been said about the Mika Waltari novel. Basically the author took an authentic Middle Kingdom story about an Egyptian courtier (circa 2000-1800 BC), recast it in the time of Akhanaten (Circa 1350-1330 BC), dressed it up with some material from the medical papyri to make the "hero" a physician and in the process inspired generations of uncritical readers to believe that the ancients led exciting lives ala Hollywood. Nobody who sees the film seems to notice that Akhanaten is succeeded by general Horemheb (Victor Mature) without interruption. There is a small catch here. After Akhanaten there were at least three other rulers before Horemheb. One of them was a boy-king named Tutankhamun. According to the film he doesn't seem to have existed.
Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
Memorable 'War" Movie
This film has one of the most arresting opening sequences ever made. A WW II tank seems to be aimlessly wandering across the desert. In fact, the crew is all dead but the accelerator is stuck. With a top-notch cast Billy Wilder spins a tale that takes off from that point. The German general (von Stroheim in one of his most telling roles) has been there before - as an archaeologist preparing for the desert campaign long before the war had begun. The notion that archaeologists make good spies (or, in this case, generals) seems to be a common misconception.