Imagine, if actors became unstuck in time, that Charles Laughton had decided to follow up MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY's Bligh with Captain Queeg in THE CAINE MUTINY. Imagine Laurence Olivier had decided to top HAMLET with Travis Bickle in TAXI DRIVER. Imagine Marlon Brando had decided to follow his GODFATHER role with the title character in SCARFACE. Imagine Edward G. Robinson had taken the lead role in LITTLE NICKY to follow up LITTLE CAESAR. Imagine Robert de Niro trying to encore RAGING BULL with TIN CUP's Kevin Costner role. If you can picture any of these career missteps, you will get a good idea of how Humphrey Bogart soiled his portrayal of high-class slime-ball Rick in 1942's best picture, CASABLANCA, with his one-note unintentional spoof as "Harry Smith" that he phoned in on SIROCCO nine years later. Since Martha Toren as lone love interest Violette can't hold a candle to Ingrid Bergman's portrayal of Ilsa Lund in the earlier film, about the only redeeming grace in this 1951 misfire is the complex portrayal of relatively humane if fatalistic French Col. Feroud by Lee J. Cobb.

This story of Bogart as a gun runner unwilling to commit himself is set in 1925 supposedly. A Western army of occupation runs an Islamic country in the Middle East and is in a constant battle with fervent but treacherous insurgents fighting an asymmetric war. And this is 1925. Not that anyone would know it was 1925, not judging from our contemporary circumstances or from the dress or demeanor of the performers in this movie.The role of man in the middle, the disillusioned idealist, wasn't a new one for Bogart. He practically defined the role in "Casablanca" and repeated it several times after, as in "Key Largo." But here, he's disillusioned not by having seen where his earlier idealism has led but, as far as we can judge, from his betrayal by a wife. And it's turned him into an exceptionally bitter and irritable opportunist. He's rather a skunk, right up to the end in which he commits an act that isn't so much heroic but still involves courage.Lee J. Cobb is the French colonel. He's fighting the insurgents who are being provided with weapons by Bogart. Cobb is also in love with Marta Toren and Bogart is trying to steal her away. Bogart's motives have nothing to do with love. There is, needless to say, considerable friction between Cobb and Bogart. Neither gets the lady because she's on her own trip.Marta Toren made few movies and died at an early age but she was stunning. Although Swedish, she resembled the Italian Alida Valli -- the actress who loved Orson Welles in "The Third Man." Marta Toren really was a knockout. Whew! Her eyes were slanted at an alarming dihedral and each looked at the world from a slightly different angle. They were blue, with thin dark circles around the irises. They were eyes you could fall into.The plot has a few moments of action that evoke real-life events, if anyone remembers Algiers. (The movie doesn't take sides. The Syrians slit your throat, but the French shoot you.) In an early memorable scene, a raggedy Syrian nationalist explodes three grenades in a café full of Europeans. It's to the director's credit that it takes the survivors several smoky minutes to shake themselves of dust and slowly recover from the blast. It's nicely photographed too, although the whole movie is shot effectively.Outside of that the story is routine -- full of spies, intrigues, betrayal -- and generally a little unpleasant. That includes Bogart's character. In other films, enacting similar roles, Bogart always had a hidden spark of fundamental decency. He may be disillusioned -- "I stick my neck out for nobody" -- but he was basically just waiting for the right moral moment. Here, he's old and cranky throughout.

"Sirocco" takes place in 1925 Damascus where French troops are occupying the city and fighting against rebel insurgents. (Hmmmm...that sounds familiar).Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart) and his pal Nasir Aboud (Nick Dennis) are running guns to rebel leader Emir Hassan (Onslow Stevens). French General LaSalle (Everett Sloane) wants "an eye for an eye" after another of his patrols is ambushed. His Head of Intelligence Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) wants to negotiate with Hassan. He gets the General to agree to send in an emissary, Lt. Collet (Harry Guardino) to meet with the rebels and start peace negotiations.When Collet is found murdered, Feroud rounds up the usual arms dealer suspects including Smith and forces them to sell their wares to the French. Harry agrees but as a measure of revenge, sets his sights on Violette (Marta Toren) who is Feroud's lady friend. Harry meets with Hassan's man to collect his last payment but is told not to return as his "services" are no longer required.Harry attempts to leave Damascus with Violette but their bus is stopped. Harry escapes and Violette is captured. However, Feroud releases her and gives her a pass out of the city. When an informer Balukjian (Zero Mostel) obtains proof the Harry is supplying arms to the enemy, Harry becomes a wanted man.Despondent over the loss of Violette, Feroud offers Harry a pass out of Damascus if he will arrange a meeting between himself and Hassan without LaSalle's knowledge. Feroud realizes that this will certainly result in his death. LaSalle learns of the scheme and implores Harry to arrange for Feroud's release for $10,000. Harry has plans to leave the city with Violette but reluctantly agrees to undertake the mission.Together with Major Leon (Gerald Mohr) Harry approaches Hassan's headquarters and.............................................This "film noire" was produced by Bogart's production company Santana and reminds one somewhat of "Casablanca" (1942). Bogey is somewhat of rogue in this one with few redeeming qualities. Toren makes a good "femme fatale" ultimately destroying the two men that love her. The picture has a dark tone, playing for the most part, as it does, at night in the rain swept streets and damp underground catacombs of 1925 Damascus.Sloane and Mostel has appeared with Bogey in "The Enforcer" the same year. Cobb would appear with Bogey in "The Left Hand of God" (1955).Entertaining film, better than some would have you believe.

(Marta Toren to Bogie)....what a great line! I'm surprised it hasn't gone down in the lexicon of great movie quips...and it captures perfectly the paradoxical mystery of Bogie's eternal charm, as well as the mystery of how an essentially mediocre film can be redeemed by its own dry, sardonic charm (due largely to help from fine supporting players as much as from Bogie), some great B/W photography, and a persistently downbeat refusal to push any sort of patriotic agenda.(adding greatly to that charm quotient.) The postwar noir influence is in fine fettle here. So Bogie doesn't exactly have a great motivation for his final decision? He just changed his mind, that's all. Take it or leave it. "I've taken long chances before. Okay." What could be better than that? It's the way people act every day. Every good critical eye without a mote in it knows that this film is safely and securely within the universe of the best product Hollywood ever put out, a great, mordant, counterweight universe to the unwatchable sap they themselves were producing right alongside it. "Sirocco" is not even really that minor a star in that universe. Good, good, good.