Sirocco (1951)

Set in Damascus in 1925, the French are trying to assert control over Syria, and the Syrians are, as you would expect resisting. A French officer, Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) is trying to negotiate a peace with the rebel forces, while also searching for the one responsible for smuggling weapons into the country.

Among his half-dozen or so prime suspects, all men who deal in various goods, is one Harry Smith (Humphrey Bogart.) Smith is, in fact, the one Feroud wants, but for reasons besides the gun-running. Feroud is smitten with Violette (Marta Toren), but she also catches Smith's eye. And while Smith's attempts to charm her by purchasing a dancer's bracelet and having it "returned" to Violette, fails to impress, there is one advantage he has over Feroud. Violette hates Damascus, and while Feroud would never help her leave, and is too hamstrung by both is respect for the rules and his position in an invading army to give her the life she wants, Smith could certainly get her to Cairo or Constantinople, for a price. 

Cobb plays Feroud as a man of high ideals (and I'd say more than a little repressed anger), but woefully out of his depth with Violette. He dresses in his drab uniform while she wears fine dresses (and pitches a fit if said dress gets damaged in a bombing.) He speaks in a low tone while trying to order something for their dinner, only to be told the restaurant is out of that dish, to Violette's annoyance. Especially when Mr. Harry Smith sits across the room, dining on a filet mignon made from a steak he brought in himself.

Toren gives Violette on one hand, an experienced air of a woman who has seen a lot, or at least seen a lot of men fall at her feet. She's willing to play the games men ask in exchange for what she wants, but she's not shy about letting it be known when she has to upper hand. But sometimes the confidence crosses into a frail petulance, where she throws tantrums or turns cruel when not getting what she wants. Which might be expected of someone used to men falling over themselves to impress her.

Bogart is about what you would expect. The quick remarks, the world-weary expression, the cynicism. But the greed and self-interest are more naked than usual. This is Rick Blaine in Casablanca if he wasn't hiding a shattered idealist behind a cynical facade. The trenchcoat doesn't fit well on him, it's rumpled and swallows him up. He's been chasing the money for long, it's eaten away at him. He's not subtle with his plays for Violette's attention - she even tells him his mistake is that he tries too hard - or that his help or loyalty comes at a cost. People come to him with sob stories, and he names a price. They either meet it, or get shown the door.

Of course, that means when things turn against him, Harry has no one to rely on. He abandons Violette the moment things get hairy, but finds that any help he's going to receive, comes with a price. In contrast, when Feroud uses Smith to help him march into the lion's den, still hoping to broker peace, his comrades are determined to get him back, to the point of bribery being an acceptable price. And in the end, Feroud's idealism and commitment to his principles may have actually paid off, at least for one day.

Smith, on the other hand, tries to do the right thing for once, and it does not pay off. Which is a heck of a message, because it seems to say, if you've been an unscrupulous person for most of your life, you can't change your stripes. The world will not allow it, and you'll be struck down.