The print stood out as a glorious restoration, the bits of decomposition notwithstanding. The team did a remarkable job on the film's physical state. Now for the plot - the first time we see Boyd and Wolheim, they've needed gas masks in battle, a horrific reminder that gas comprised true menace on the field. But it's raining torrents, and water plays a large part of the story. After their fistfight for the amusement of their future captors, Boyd and Wolheim begin lives as POWs.The settings really stood out for me, the icy snow of northern Germany's camp where you can see steamy breath, well done! After the unexpected nudity in the delousing station scene, I was prepared for unique little touches later on and wasn't surprised when the muezzin called the faithful to prayer and the two US Marines escaped, still with their caps after all their exploits and country- hopping, ha! Turkey looked like one could expect it to look in the period; the palace and carriages and swords adding to the ambiance.Astor showed some spunk even though she obeyed her land's customs and seemed prepared to go through with the marriage to a not bad looking guy. But he lacked Boyd's charm and so she fled to the US, I suppose, although globe-trotting as the film was, maybe the three wound up in Timbuktou! Quirt and Flagg types form a certain sort of war buddy movie that appeals to me greatly, so I liked this one, too. Not as much as McLaglen and Lowe, however, maybe because McLaglen is a bit more attractive than Wolheim. I liked Wolheim's character better in Danger Lights and Sin Ship.

I was just 8 years old when I started following the Oscars ceremony in 1985 – when AMADEUS (1984) swept the board – and I used to pore endlessly over Roy Pickard's book "The Oscar Movies From A-Z" (which tackles all the winners of Oscar's first 50 years) so much so that Dad's copy is now all worn out. Taking a leaf out of the U.S. branch of TCM, as from this February, I will be having my own "31 Days of Oscars" marathon and will be concentrating on that very period. One of the titles therein which had always intrigued me was the only film ever to be awarded the "Best Comedy Direction" Oscar on the very first ceremony held back in May 1929; it was also the film's sole Academy Award nod. This was impossible to see for decades until Flicker Alley's Jeff Masino restored it in 2004 but, curiously enough, this has yet to make it onto DVD or BluRay; in fact, the copy I have acquired was culled from a screening on TCM itself and, while perfectly watchable for most of its running time, still suffers from a handful of sequences which displays a severe state of decomposition! Anyway, to get back to TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS proper: despite the exotic title, this early Howard Hughes production and "buddy-buddy" movie is set not in a fairy-tale Baghdad but during the aftermath of WWI in Constantinople. In fact, director Milestone – one of Hollywood's premier chroniclers of men in war and best-known for his Oscar-winning classic adaptation of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930) – opens the film with a wonderful sequence in the trenches where the hierarchical friction between handsome private William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd and his rugged sergeant Louis Wolheim is cut short by a shell exploding around them and soon they are completely surrounded in a foxhole by the enemy, captured and imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. A sure measure of the movie's "Pre-Code" status here are the gratuitous scenes of P.O.W.s undressing completely for showering purposes – the protagonists, awaiting their turn, are seen having a conversation as the lengthy parade of men passes behind them!Forgetting their differences, they eventually manage to escape by disguising themselves as Arabs and end up being shipped off to Turkey; the scene where they sport white robes which have been bent into dresses by the snow and the dripping, melting flakes make them look they are urinating is hilarious. Aboard ship, they bond in one front against the shady Greek crew (including purser Boris Karloff) and engage in friendly rivalry while attracting the attentions of exotic shipwrecked princess Mary Astor, whom they had saved when her boat capsizes. The latter is unwillingly betrothed to Turkish Bey Ian Keith and our central odd couple decide to follow her to Constantinople and alter the fate that had been planned for her since childhood; the closing shot of Wolheim mimicking the serious countenance of Astor's eunuch is again priceless. Having now watched it, on this one preliminary viewing, I cannot say that the film is a masterpiece or even a lost gem – especially knowing that it competed directly against Ted Wilde's SPEEDY (1928; one of Harold Lloyd's best-ever vehicles) and Charles Chaplin's THE CIRCUS (1928; a nomination which was subsequently retracted) – as was Chaplin's one for Best Actor, in lieu of the Academy bestowing an Honorary Award on the British comic "For versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing THE CIRCUS"!

This is a very strange film that was long thought to be forgotten. It's the story of two American Army buddies, William Boyd (aka "Hopalong Cassidy") and Louis Wolheim, and their adventures as they manage to escape from a German prison camp during WWI. However, as this is a comedy, the duo manage to make the most round about and stupid escape--accidentally boarding a train to Constantinople to be placed in a Turkish prisoner of war camp! On the way, they manage to escape once again and end up in quite the adventure--meeting sexy Mary Astor along the way.As far as the film goes, it was a rather funny script and despite being a silly plot, it worked rather well. The chemistry between Boyd and Wolheim worked and the film managed to be quite entertaining. Oddly, however, the film managed to beat out Harold Lloyd's film, SPEEDY, for an Oscar for Best Direction for a Comedy (a category no longer used)--as SPEEDY was a superior film in most ways (it's one of Lloyd's best films). Still, it's well worth a look--especially if you love silent films.By the way, director Milestone and Louis Walheim would team up just a few years later for another WWI picture, the great ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT--a film that is definitely NOT a comedy.

TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS has been restored by Flicker Alley and TCM after being unavailable for decades. The film is the only recipient of the "Best Direction of a Comedy Film" Academy Award that was only given out in 1927-1928. William Boyd and Louis Wolheim are two feuding G.I.s that are both captured by the Germans in World War I. The film is more of an adventure/comedy rather than a straight comedy. They have a suspenseful escape from their prison camp, only to be recaptured and sent to Turkey. They end up being stuck on a train, and a ship, as well as well as being marked for death by an Arab suitor. A very young and beautiful Mary Astor is a veiled woman who boards the ship and is a target of romantic advances by both men. Look fast to spot a very young Boris Karloff as the ship purser. Louis Wolheim has a face only a mother could love, but he is perfect in his part as the gruff sergeant.I'm not sure how this film could have beaten out Chaplin's THE CIRCUS, Keaton's STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. and Harold Lloyd's SPEEDY for the "comedy direction" Oscar. Still, it is a fun, sophisticated, and exciting film that is well written. I particularly liked the scene where they escape from a jam with a little help from God (or Allah). If you like silent films, you won't be disappointed.