Sword in the Desert (1949)

Interesting facts

Sword in the Desert is a 1949 American war film directed by George Sherman. It was the first American film to deal with the 1947–1948 Israeli War of Independence and marked the first significant feature film role for Jeff Chandler.

Production

The screenplay was based on a short story by Robert Buckner, who came up with the idea after a visit to Palestine in 1934. Buckner later expanded this into a short story about Christmas in Palestine as experienced by a visiting American. In the 1940s he expanded this into a novel, then a screenplay, originally called Night Watch, then later Desert Legion.

Dick Powell had been considered for the role of the American, then Stephen McNally was chosen to play the American pilot, while Paul Christian was to play a Palestinian Jewish leader. However, when Christian had to drop out due to an eye infection, McNally took over his role, and Dana Andrews played McNally's part. Ann Blyth was intended to play the female lead.

Jeff Chandler was cast in February 1949. The role was originally intended for an older actor but was reconfigured once Chandler was cast.

Production took place on Universal's backlot with location work at Monterey, California, the San Fernando Valley and Victorville in the Mojave Desert.

Even during filming, there was an expectation that the film would be controversial because it showed Jewish settlers fighting the British and not Arabs. Universal barred reporters from the set during the last week of filming because several London papers had carried adverse articles on the project.

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