Main Cast: Sigrid Gurie, Ralph Byrd, Eddie Quillan, George Zucco, Katherine de Mille
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 59 minutes
Plot
Those wily Egyptians are once again selfishly attempting to keep the treasures of the Pharaohs to themselves in this rough-and-tumble melodrama from Universal. The wiliest of them all is one Abbadi (George Zucco), who leaves no stone unturned in his quest for possession of the fabulous "seven jewels of the seventh pharaoh," which American archeologist Professor Wyndham (Wright Kramer) obligingly has excavated. The elderly professor is easily gotten rid of, but Abbadi also faces Police Inspector Joachim (Rod LaRocque), a rather more formidable foe. Soon, knives are whizzing through the air, swarthy natives abduct pretty maidens, and a couple of All-American archeologists crack wise and perform daring stunts. Sigrid Gurie, Samuel Goldwyn's version of the "Edsel," is star-billed and The Dark Streets of Cairo also employs Ralph Byrd, Eddie Quillan, and, seething in the background, Katherine DeMille. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
Rod La Roque, who earlier had essayed the almost ghostly "The Shadow" in a couple of low-budget whodunits, comes down to earth with a thud in this murky melodrama filmed somewhere along the back alleys of Universal City. As a sign of the times, LaRoque is listed fifth in the cast despite playing the lead character, a police detective of undetermined origins, while Sigrid Gurie, who does little more than get herself kidnapped, is billed above the title. But towering over both is that venerable spook George Zucco, this time playing an Egyptian with a startlingly correct British diction. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
