JohnHowardReid An old novel (Coup de Grace, 1931) offered Humphrey Bogart the type of tough Casablanca role that made his name. In fact, Bogey even wears his Casablanca trenchcoat. Alas, the character here doesn't have the redeeming virtues of Rick, despite his last-minutes change of heart. The resemblance, and the character himself, is too superficial. His end is a disappointment too. As the hero, co-star Lee J. Cobb cannot carry the film at all. In fact, he is miscast. He is too heavy, too dull. Producer Robert Lord had made good use of Bogey in The Black Legion but in this Sirocco he is totally wasted. On the other hand, the film does feature Marta Toren. Any movie with Marta Toren is a must-see movie in my book. Zero Mostel and Everett Sloane are present in this one too.

Robert J. Maxwell 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.

cshep Well, after reading the first 3 pages of comments, I can't believe anyone made it this far, but if you did, here is what I have to say...."Sirocco" is a complete waste of time , unless you can learn what not to do in a film. dull and drift-less from the first scene, "Sirocco" literally BLOWS, right out of the theatre. A complete waste of talent, and paper for the scripts, Bogart, Cobb, Sloane Corey, Mostel,Mohr can't make this clunker work, WOW ! I can't believe I wrote that, but it is a FACT.Aimless in its direction, Curtis Bernhardt(Director) , doesn't deserve to get paid for this sch-mucky remake attempt of "Casablanca."He doesn't know how to blend romance with drama or action, I guess he read the script ?, and didn't know how to make dramatic changes. Violette(Marta Toren) is the Ingrid Berman clone, and a very light clone at that. While lovely to the eye, she lacks the depth or skill in acting to create any chemistry between her and Bogey, incredible.As I stated previously, this is how NOT to make a film, and just about anyone can these days. People are often confused if this movie was filmed in the bazaar or the catacombs, it should have been filmed in the dark, and kept there ! I gave this film 3 stars , just for the cast, a negative 10 for the script. Note: for future screen writers, use this a template to build against, maybe you can reedit the film to have some dramatic tension, or rewrite scenes that would build to a climax, just not the veritable collapse that it currently does.All in all, Bogart should have saved his money, and credibility.

danielj_old999 (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.