bkoganbing George Raft finished a series of pictures he made with anemic budget Lippert Studios with The Man From Cairo. And in the tradition of B movies the title has nothing to do with the film other than Raft changes planes in Cairo.Where he meets up with an old friend Richard McNamara, an American private detective who has been hired by the French government to locate some French gold that disappeared into the Algerian desert after the Nazis invaded. The bad guys mistake Raft for McNamara after Raft arrives in Algiers and the action begins.Other than a quick appearance by Greek actress Irene Papas who gets killed off right away, no other players of note to Americans are cast in this film. The Man From Cairo is slightly better than Raft's Outpost In Morocco with the action taking place in the same locale, but not much better.No one has ever accused George Raft of being a great actor, but he truly is lifeless in this film. I'm sure he was grateful for the paycheck and that's about it.One definitely for the money.

JohnHowardReid While Film Noir continues to ride high as flavor of the month, a number of minor offerings from the "B" market such as Man from Cairo are beginning to surface on DVD. Admittedly, this movie is must viewing for fans of Gianna Maria Canale (counting me), but is somewhat heavy going for everyone else. Irene Papas admirers will be disappointed by the brevity of her role; and although Leon Lenoir plays a major part in the action (with lots of close-ups), his voice is obviously dubbed. Only smartly tailored Massimo Serato comes across in flying style, although Angelo Dessy has his moment. True, the confused is-she-good, is-she-bad affair does come to a slap-up action finale, even if the actual unmasking is somewhat weak.Alas, George Raft makes a tired, bored and boring hero. But the dull plot is wrapped up in lustrous black-and-white photography by Mario Albertelli who handled one of my favorite movies, Rossini (1942).

MartinHafer George Raft is an ex-G.I. who is wandering the world. He just happens into Algeria at the same time an old friend is investigating the theft of French government gold. When the friend is killed, Raft is pulled into the investigation and his life is suddenly hanging by a thread. So it's up to tough-guy Raft to clear himself for the murder and get to the bottom of the theft.Years before, George Raft made BACKGROUND TO DANGER. Now a decade later, he's made a film that is very similar. Unfortunately, in the meantime, he's gotten 10 years older AND 10 years more wooden in his performance. It was amazing to see how unanimated and dull he'd become in the meantime--with very little energy or emotion--like he's just walking through the role. He talks a lot but doesn't do all that much--possibly due to the script or possibly because he's obviously too old to play the action hero. Sadly, all the supporting actors are pretty forgettable, too--forcing Raft to shoulder the entire turgid film.The bottom line is that this film isn't all that original (having seen several similar films) and it's not particularly fun or interesting--though it's not a bad film. Worth seeing only if you have relatively low expectations.

deng43 i am a real sucker for casbah and foreign legion movies. they were the fodder of my childhood. i approached this one with a salutary glass of rum and high hopes. the rum stood up; the film did not.i have been waiting to add a good george raft flic to my collection of old b&w's. despite his reputation i was sure one existed somewhere. this one wasn't it. the studio forgot to hire writers: the dialogue comes across as if pronounced phonetically by actors unfamiliar with English, reading from scrawls on large pieces of cardboard dimly seen in the lower screen. actions are equally grotesque. the required motions as mechanical and stiff as if choreographed by engineers using tinkertoy models and expecting no greater dexterity from the cast.the words fresh, interesting, exciting, captivating, even interesting, have no place in describing this movie. a 'b' film that deserves every slur it has duly earned.