The Camels are Coming (film)
Encyclopedia
The Camels are Coming is a 1934 British
comedy
adventure film
directed by Tim Whelan
and starring Jack Hulbert
, Anna Lee
, Hartley Power
and Harold Huth
. A British officer in the Royal Egyptian Air Force combats drug smugglers.
, an American who made a number of British films. It was filmed at Islington Studios and on location in Egypt
around Cairo
and Gizeh including at the famous Shepheard's Hotel
.
Many of the scenes later had to be reshot in London as sand had got into the cameras, and high winds prevented the recording of dialogue
.
It was a major success at the British box office, but was not released in the United States
.
During the film Anna Lee met Robert Stevenson
, whom she subsequently married.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
directed by Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
and starring Jack Hulbert
Jack Hulbert
John Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions.-Biography:Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He...
, Anna Lee
Anna Lee
Anna Lee, MBE was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
, Hartley Power
Hartley Power
Hartley Power was an American-born British film and television actor. He is best remembered for two roles: "Sylvester Kee" the ventriloquist who is shot and almost killed by "Maxwell Frere" as a rival for his "dummy"'s affections in Dead of Night; the chief of the news agency that Gregory Peck...
and Harold Huth
Harold Huth
Harold Huth was a British actor, film director and producer. Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire in 1892. He made his screen debut as an actor in the 1928 film One of the Best and followed it up with the role of Captain Nolan in the film Balaclava about the Charge of the Light Brigade. He directed his...
. A British officer in the Royal Egyptian Air Force combats drug smugglers.
Production
It is loosely based on a book of the same name released the previous year and was directed by Tim WhelanTim Whelan
Tim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
, an American who made a number of British films. It was filmed at Islington Studios and on location in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
around Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Gizeh including at the famous Shepheard's Hotel
Shepheard's Hotel
Shepheard's Hotel was the leading hotel in Cairo and one of the most celebrated hotels in the world between the middle of the 19th century and 1952....
.
Many of the scenes later had to be reshot in London as sand had got into the cameras, and high winds prevented the recording of dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
.
It was a major success at the British box office, but was not released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
During the film Anna Lee met Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (director)
Robert Stevenson was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University where he became the president of both the Liberal Club and the Cambridge Union Society....
, whom she subsequently married.
Cast
- Jack HulbertJack HulbertJohn Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions.-Biography:Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He...
- Jack Campbell - Anna LeeAnna LeeAnna Lee, MBE was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
- Anita Rodgers - Hartley PowerHartley PowerHartley Power was an American-born British film and television actor. He is best remembered for two roles: "Sylvester Kee" the ventriloquist who is shot and almost killed by "Maxwell Frere" as a rival for his "dummy"'s affections in Dead of Night; the chief of the news agency that Gregory Peck...
- Nicholas - Harold HuthHarold HuthHarold Huth was a British actor, film director and producer. Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire in 1892. He made his screen debut as an actor in the 1928 film One of the Best and followed it up with the role of Captain Nolan in the film Balaclava about the Charge of the Light Brigade. He directed his...
- Doctor Zhiga - Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
- Sheikh - Peter GawthornePeter GawthornePeter Gawthorne was an Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in Will Hay films. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upon bit part actors during the 1940s and 50s....
- Colonel Fairley - Norma WhalleyNorma Whalley-Biography:Whalley was the daughter of Henry Octavius Whalley, a doctor working in Australia.During the late 1890s she toured South Africa, meeting Paul Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic soon after the Jameson Raid.In 1901 she was married to J...
- Tourist - Peggy SimpsonPeggy Simpson-Selected filmography:* The Camels Are Coming * Fighting Stock * The 39 Steps * Where There's a Will * Everything Is Thunder * Jack of All Trades * Darby and Joan...
- Tourist - Tony De Lungo - Smuggler's servant
- Percy ParsonsPercy ParsonsPercy Parsons was an American-born actor and singer who worked largely in the British film industry.-Selected filmography:* Suspense * Happy Ever After * The Man from Toronto * Red Wagon...
- Arab