Historical Texts

Black Sunday (1977)

PLOT:

Michael Lander (Dern) is an American blimp pilot deranged by years of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a failed marriage, and a bitter court martial. He longs to commit suicide and take as many people as possible with him, so he conspires with an operative (Keller) from a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September to launch a massive suicide bombing on American soil. Lander plans to detonate a flechette-based bomb, housed on the underside of a blimp, over a football stadium during the Super Bowl. American and Israeli intelligence agencies, led by Mossad agent David Kabakov (Shaw) and FBI agent Sam Corley (Weaver), race to prevent the catastrophe. To add further intrigue and a pall of doom, the President of the United States attends the Super Bowl despite the pleas of Kabakov and Corley.

A Son of the Sahara (1924)

PLOT:

By 1924, sheik pictures were old hat, but director Edwin Carewe tried to add a little spice to this one by filming it on-location in the Sahara Desert. When Cassim's father is killed during an attack on a French fort, the boy (George Chebat) swears vengeance on Colonel Barbier (Montagu Love). He grows up to become known as Pierre Lamont (played by Bert Lytell), a polished young man with European manners. He falls in love with Barbara (Claire Windsor), who rejects him when she learns he is an Arab. Cassim discovers that Barbara is Barbier's daughter, so he carries out his oath by kidnapping the two of them, and their friend, Captain Duval (Walter McGrail). He sells Barbara as a slave, but then bids on her himself. When she refuses to marry him, he swears he will take her anyway. Duval escapes and fetches the French troops while Cassim finally admits that he loves Barbara too much to harm her. In the ensuing battle, Duval is mortally wounded, but before he dies, he hands Barbara a letter from Cassim's mother, explaining that he is not an Arab at all -- both of his parents were French. Cassim is pardoned, and he and Barbara are united.