"Taken from an inflammable 35mm negative, the present copy lacks the finale, integrated here with intertitles." "THE ITALIAN ACTORS AND DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION" "A FILM TAKEN FROM THE AFRICAN NOVEL" "BY LUCIANO ZUCCOLI" "FREELY ADAPTED BY LUCIANO DORIA" "ARTISTIC DIRECTION BY MARIO CAMERINI" "KIF TEBBI (SO BE IT)" ""So be it.." The Arabic soul submitting to every will of fate, is fully expressed in the strange harmony of these humble syllables..." "ACT ONE" "A look, a smile, a meeting;" "then the separation." "And then you will know if your love is immortal or if it can be cured." "In Tripolitania, Gasr Carabuli:" "a rest stop for caravans, a place of business." "The house of Ayàd Temsichet." "Ayàd: his name is revered for faith and wisdom even beyond the confines of Gefara." "(Actor:" "Gino Viotti)" "Ismail, the first born son." "A trip to Europe has transformed his ideas and habits. (Actor:" "Marcello Spada)" "Taleb, the loyal servant." "(Actor:" "Ugo Gracci)" "Muktar, Ismail's brother and Rassim ben Abdalla, a well known countryman." "(Actors:" "Renato Visca, Piero Carnabuci)" "Father, Rassim ben Abdalla honors us by crossing the doorway of your home." "Go on, Ismail." "Sometimes, I enjoy listening to accounts forbidden by the Koran." "You cannot measure my faith by my words." "It's not forbidden to open one's eyes to the world." "Was it the world then that taught you to perfume yourself like a woman?" "The world has made me know strong men who know how to bend iron and subjugate the seas." "Venerable prophet, read us then a few verses from your new Koran!" "Ayàd, your son is lost to us." "Be consoled:" "Muktar is uncorrupted." "He'll never be a thorn in your heart." "Aren't you the man who gallops every morning around my tent?" "My younger sister is blind." "She doesn't know who you are, but she's not afraid." "Gamra doesn't see faces but she reads hearts. (Actress:" "Laura Orsini)" "I am Mne, of the Kabyle of Mabruk el Ghadi. (Actress:" "Donatella Neri)" "Who is the man that frightened you?" "I know." "He's called Rassim ben Abdalla." "He's always watching you." "Saddles of gold and saddles of silver." "Everybody wants you, Mne, the girl who laughs.." "And the silver saddle wants me too?" "If Allah wishes!" "A rest stop of Kabyle of Mabruk el Ghadi." "In the cool shade of the oasis." "Mabruk el Ghadi, the head of the Kabyle." "Chadigia, the mother of Mne and Gamra." "You persist without luck, Rassim!" "Mne bent Ibrahim doesn't want anything to do with you." "Italy has taken up arms against Turkey for its conquest of Libya." "A cry of alarm runs through the desert." "Order of requisition: all men, beasts hand over to me for the war with Italy." "Give up your weapons!" "The caravan is taken by Turks!" "Up, my heart, we need to fly." "Let's go to Gasr Carabuli." "Call!" "Shout!" "Better to be killed by Turks than to die of thirst and exhaustion." "You can run, Mne." "Go back to them and send somebody to get me." "You who are powerful, save my sister!" "She is alone in the dunes, she is blind and can't walk." "Have pity on her!" "You're beautiful.." "I can't turn back." "It's late and before night, I have to be at Gasr Carabuli." "She's a maiden from my Kabyle." "If you want, I can send one of my camel riders." "What business of this is yours, wretch?" "You think you matter anymore?" "Put her on a horse." "I like her and I'm taking her for myself." "At Gasr Carabuli, the Turks have turned the requisition into a looting." "That girl is mine." "I took her with the caravan." "Obey an Arab?" "You're the one who should be obeying us!" "I am Ismail ben Ayàd Temsichet." "I punished a man who wanted to steal from the escort." "He's a renegade!" "He hates the Turks and the Caliph!" "Don't forget what happened today.." "Let no one see her on pain of your life!" "My lord, I beg you, please save my poor little sister!" "I promise you: tomorrow I'll go out to the dunes." "It's late now and not even the eyes of Allah could find her in the darkness." "At dawn." "My lord, where is Gamra?" "Her name is Mne bent Ibrahim." "She has requested our hospitality due to persecution." "She shall enter our family and eat our food." "She will be our guest." "The slaves." "Your friend Rassim wants to kidnap Mne." "He's promised Taleb many gold pieces to take her to him." "That's a mortal offense to our house." "I won't go in Rassim's company anymore." "Still show him friendship and respect." "He mustn't suspect anything." "Aren't we going to the well?" "Do you want me to tell our young lord that you love him?" "The holy war is declared against Italy." "Strange processions of fanatics, called Zavie, incite the country to hate the infidels." "Sofonah, the old soothsayer, had been a beauty to die for once." "Why are you sad, rainbow?" "Little butterfly, promise of joy, I can read your love in your hands." "One day he will come and take you far away." "Do you want me to call him?" "Have him come right away, I'll wait for him." "Oh Ismail, my great lord, I'm so happy to see you." "She loves you." "Don't hesitate." "She waits for you, her eyes full with desire." "I will see you wherever you want because Sofonah has spoken for me." "It is no longer a shame for me to open my heart." "Sofonah spoke of me?" "No, she spoke to me of love." "But who'll love me and want to take me far away if not he who saved my life?" "Your father is waiting for you to show your respect to the Turkish officials who arrived at your home." "Rassim will have command of the small army of Gasr Carabuli." "He's preparing an ambush against the Italians." "He'll go to Tripoli and pretend to offer them his army and draw them in a trap." "That's betrayal!" "No, that's war against the infidels." "And you're on our side, right?" "I could deliver the dove to you tonight." "And why this night and not yesterday or tomorrow?" "My master received orders today to leave for the war." "Brother, I know all." "Taleb is in Rassim's house doing your bidding." "Do you need me for the revenge?" "All right, bring her to the well." "You'll have a purse of gold tonight." "Rassim, don't be surprised." "I wanted to look you in the eye, man to man." "I could kill you by any means, because you wanted to kidnap my guest and offend my house." "When we reach those palm trees, we'll fire upon each other." "Defend yourself!" "This is the body of Rassim ben Abdalla who wanted to harm you and my home." "I have punished him with death." "Never forget!" "It's the body of one the country's top men." "Some camel riders found it this morning near the well." "In Rassim's house, Osman the lieutenant of the Zaptie, makes his first investigation." "(Actor:" "Alberto Pasquali)" "Nothing happened yesterday, my lord." "Only Taleb, the slave of Ayàd Temsichet, came to talk for a while to my poor master." "You'll only find innocence under my roof!" "I want to interrogate the slave, Taleb." "Then answer me!" "Why were you in the house of Rassim ben Abdalla yesterday?" "I'll confess all:" "I betrayed my master." "I promised Rassim to kidnap Mne bent Ibrahim." "Who is this Mne bent Ibrahim?" "A girl from the Kabyle of Mabruk El Gadi." "She's been a guest for some time." "Since I lived in the Kabyle, Rassim used to ride around my tent." "Everyone knew that he wanted to take me." "Taleb must vanish!" "You won't go, Taleb!" "Your father is right." "If I stayed, I would lose everything." "Give me a gun and a camel, Master." "The desert is wide.." "May Allah go with you!" "Peace has returned to the house of Ayàd." "Your hand on my heart.." "I belong to you and you belong to me." "Rassim's men are claiming you as their leader." "Hurry!" "Come down!" "I am proud to take your command." "We'll leave momentarily." "The Caliph has ordered that you pass those men to my command." "You, Muktar Temsichet are called into service with the rank of lieutenant and will join the line of combat." "And you, Ismail Temsichet with the rank of captain will leave immediately for the fort at Kassarmut." "Omar Gherni, lieutenant of the 38th Cavalry." "The operating troops are towards the sea and you come inland, Captain?" "That's the order." "We must obey." "But don't you know why you're at Kassarmut?" "Don't you think of defending yourself, saving yourself?" "Why do you seek to know what I suffer?" "What does it matter to you?" "What do you want?" "The Colonel Musa bey, Commander of the Kassarmut fort. (Actor:" "Enrico Scatizzi)" "You are very young, Captain and talk too much." "We've gotten rid of some officers for talking much less than you." "And Europe and England and Italy.." "All that you love is not the Turkish Empire." "Surely, we can't be proud of an officer like you!" "Why did you kill Rassim ben Abdalla?" "On the eve of a military action against the Italians!" "You won't tell me, as all believe, that you killed Rassim on account of a woman?" "You do well to keep silent." "A lie would be another wound in Allah's heart." "The Captain, Ismail ben Ayàd Temsichet, wants to be lodged in the stronghold." "My lord, why are they leading you away?" "Perhaps, they don't know who you are?" "# Cry the earrings jingling and their companion, Kolka[?" "] asks why do you cry?" "We cry, they respond, for love. #" "There's a dear person looking for you.." "My little Mne, Allah has decided that you must return to your Kabyle with your mother." "One day a lost nomad.." "The fort at Kassarmut was bombed by the Italians." "Ismail escaped and found Mne." "In the desert, where they've taken refuge, they watch from afar off, at the fort of Kassarmut, the lowering of the half-crescent flag and the joyful raising of the green, red and white." ""It's Italy", Ismail murmurs happily." "He pulls his little Arab close to him," "While nearby Taleb, astonished and moved, watches the beautiful flag wave in the sun. (From "Film Review", Torino 1928)" "English subtitles by sineintegral@KG."