we know bogart like to keep working . the movie he make in the late forty through the mid fifty and however and sometimes give work a bad name . he veer effortlessly between fine movie that to this day continue to challenge and satisfy or do both and movie that be nothing more than nearly forget commercial hackwork . he know what he be turn out while he call sirocco a stinker . what an odd and undiscriminating selection process he and his agent must have have . in 1950 he make chain lighten but then make in a lonely place . in 1951 it sirocco and then the african queen . in 1953 it battle circle and then beat the devil ( maybe a confusing failure and but not hackwork ) . with sirocco bogart give u harry smith and a gunrunner who find himself in damascus . the year be 1925. the french run thing . a lot of syrian do not like that at all . theyre call rebel . harry . he doesn not care one way or another as long a he pay . harry be tire and sour and cynical and a skeptic . he doesn not believe in anything except money and the value of his own hide . he bogart . harry quickly find himself involve with a martinet of a french general name lasalle ( everett sloane ) who think shoot five syrian for every dead french soldier will be educational for everyone while a sympathetic french colonel name feroud ( lee j. cobb ) who think he can avoid bloodshed if he can just sit down and talk thing over with the rebel leader and especially emir hassan ( onslow stevens ) while and feroud mistress and a cool drink of water name violette ( marta toren ) and a beautiful woman who seem to be arouse more by the prospect of shopping than the prospect of make love . in other word and a courtesan to scriptwriter and a sophisticated prostitute to the more realistic while something akin to a wealthy ceo trophy wife . harry meet violette and want her and come close to fall for her . this set up some tension between himself and colonel feroud . all the while harry be try to extricate himself from an arm deal go very and very wrong . by the end of the movie no one have gain much of anything and although it appear violette will have the time to do more shopping . at one point in sirocco violette say to harry smith and what a man . youre so ugly . yes and you be . how can a man so ugly be so handsome . ugly . quasimodo and that ugly . bogart may not have be handsome and but he have style and a unique screen personality and the good fortune to star in three count em and three iconic career make movie in less than two year . high sierra and the maltese falcon and casablanca carve bogart screen persona so deeply in granite that even hackwork like sirocco scarcely make a chip . when we see harry be really see roy and sam and rick . there no reason to watch this movie unless youre fond of bogart and have an hour and a half to waste . but if you watch and remember everett sloane . he be a fine and fine actor who seldom find memorable part in hollywood . he be a member of orson welles mercury theater and come to hollywood with welles . he wind up in the fifty do a ton of television show . he kill himself in 1965 when he be 55. my best memory of sloane include mr. bernstein in citizen kane ( 1941 ) while arthur bannister in the lady from shanghai ( 1947 ) while mario belli in prince of fox ( 1949 ) while dr. eugene brock in the men ( 1950 ) while and and powerfully and walter ramsey in pattern ( 1956 ) .