History Theatre / TheDesertSong

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The Red Shadow was inspired by a Riff chieftain named Abdel Krim.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Margot. Also Azuri, to some extent.

* GetBackInTheCloset: Bennie is pretty much stated to be gay or bi.

''Bennie'': ''Nothing. Make me an offer?''

* BetaCouple: Comic relief pair Benny and Susan.

* ClosetedGay:

* FakeNationality: None of the actors playing the French, Spanish or Moroccan roles were French, Spanish or Moroccan.

* FakeNationality: All the actors.

The plot can be described as ''Literature/TheSheik'', with elements of ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' and plenty of UnfortunateImplications. It was very topical in 1926 as it was inspired by the Rif Rebellion in Morocco, which had ended the year before, as well as by Rudolph Valentino's sudden death. (Hammerstein and Romberg actually witnessed Valentino's funeral procession outside movie theatres.)

''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by SigmundRomberg and libretto by OscarHammersteinII, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel. It premiered in 1926 in Wilmington, Delaware, under the title ''Lady Fair''. Its first performance under the title ''The Desert Song" was at the Casino Theatre on Broadway, starring Vivienne Segal and Robert Halliday. It was adapted into a 1929 movie starring John Boles and Carlotta King. It was also made into a movie in 1943, modernised and starring Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning, which has remained unreleased, and in 1953 with Gordon [=MacRae=] and Kathryn [=Grayson=].

* OpeningChorus: "High On A Hill", "My Little Castagnette"

* ArabOilSheikh: Ali Ben Ali is a stereotypical one with a harem, fitting the older portrayal.

''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by SigmundRomberg and libretto by OscarHammersteinII, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel. It premiered in 1926 in Wilmington, Delaware, under the title ''Lady Fair''. Its first performance under the title ''The Desert Song" was at the Casino Theatre on Broadway, starring Vivienne Segal and Robert Halliday. It was adapted into a 1929 movie starring John Boles and Carlotta King. It was also made into a movie in 1943, modernised and starring Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning, which is now lost, and in 1953 with Gordon [=MacRae=] and Kathryn [=Grayson=].

The Legion is pursuing The Red Shadow, a mysterious, Zorro-like figure who wears a red cloak and mask, and leads a band of local desert tribesmen,the Riffs, against French rule. He's actually [[spoiler: Pierre,]] who's been using ObfuscatingStupidity to hide what he's really doing. Margot and Paul's wedding date is moved earlier, due to the Riff revolt. Paul's spurned lover Azuri schemes to ruin the marriage by revealing the Red Shadow's true identity. BetaCouple Benny and Susan are the subject of a subplot.

The Legion is pursuing The Red Shadow, a mysterious, Zorro-like figure who wears a red cloak and mask, and leads a band of local desert tribesmen,the Riffs, against French rule. He's actually [[spoiler: Pierre,]] who's been using ObfuscatingStupidity to hide what he's really doing. Margot and Paul's wedding date is moved earlier, due to Paul's local lover, Azuri, disobeying the General's orders. BetaCouple Benny and Susan are the subject of a subplot.

Margot Bonvalet, the female lead, is a beautiful, SpiritedYoungLady who has come to a French Foreign Legion outpost to marry Captain Paul Fontaine, the second-in-command of General Birabeau, who she doesn't love. Pierre, the General's DoggedNiceGuy son, is in love with her, but Margot's type is, in her own words, "an outlaw and a ruffian", a bad boy.
The Legion is pursuing The Red Shadow, a mysterious, Zorro-like figure who wears a red cloak and mask, and leads a band of local Riffs against French rule. He's actually Pierre, who's been using ObfuscatingStupidity to hide what he's really doing. Margot and Paul's wedding date is moved closer in a case of AltarTheSpeed, due to Paul's local lover, WomanScorned Azuri, disobeying the General's orders. BetaCouple Benny and Susan are the subject of a subplot.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The Red Shadow was inspired by a Riff chieftain named Abd-el Krim.
* WomanScorned: Guess who?

--->''Soft as a pigeon lights upon the sand,

--->So is the maid Azuri."

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: ''The whole point, coupled with racism.''

The plot can be described as ''TheSheik'', with elements of ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' and plenty of UnfortunateImplications. It was very topical in 1926 as it was inspired by the Rif Rebellion in Morocco, which had ended the year before, as well as by Rudolph Valentino's sudden death. (Hammerstein and Romberg actually witnessed Valentino's funeral procession outside movie theatres.)

--->**''Soft as a pigeon lights upon the sand,

Swift as a tiger she will grip his hand,

Claws of a tiger sharp with fury,

So is the maid Azuri."

* TheGeneralsDaughter: Margot

----

The plot can be described as ''TheSheik'', with elements of ''TheScarletPimpernel'' and plenty of UnfortunateImplications. It was very topical in 1926 as it was inspired by the Rif Rebellion in Morocco, which had ended the year before, as well as by Rudolph Valentino's sudden death. (Hammerstein and Romberg actually witnessed Valentino's funeral procession outside movie theatres.)

* BlueEyes: Allyn McLerie as Azuri.

* TorosYFlamenco
* TwoPersonLoveTriangle

* GoingNative: Partial aversion--Pierre/the Red Shadow spends his nights among his own ethnic group (the French) and sneaks out when he can.

* HalfBreed: Azuri. "My mother--she is mostly white."
* HonorRelatedAbuse: A variant- the Red Shadow is left to die in the desert for refusing to fight an opponent. [[spoiler:His own father, who's on the opposite side.]]