American ne'er-do-well Joe January is hired to take Paul Bonnard on an expedition into the desert in search of treasure.
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Reviews
CinemaSerf
6
By CinemaSerf
I quite liked the idea of John Wayne and Sophia Loren searching for Egyptian treasure, but sadly this - though colourful - is really pretty disjointed. There is virtually no chemistry between either star, or with co-star Rossano Brazzi ("Paul") with whom Loren is ostensibly in love until their loot-hunting desert escapades begin and she starts to fall for the Duke. To give it it's due, Henry Hathaway did ship 'em all out to Libya so the settings are authentic enough but the story is predictable and fairly dull - and the score heavily over dramatises what dramatic moments there actually are. Both have considerable screen presence, but sadly this is a jigsaw of a film where the pieces just don't fit together. As an adventure film, it veers more towards being a romance, and as a romance it just falls a bit flat... Perhaps with a stronger supporting cast, it might have worked better but as it is - it's just another Wayne western just in a different desert.
