| Lawrence
of Arabia or Smith in the Desert?
David Lean's film reviewed by a
historian Jeremy Wilson
Page 9 Contents page for this section 21. Riding towards Akaba. Begins 0:55:21
What happens:
The expedition of camel-mounted tribesmen moves forward at a confident trot through scenery of sand and rocky outcrops. Three of the riders carry standards. Lawrence, still wearing British Army uniform, is seen riding alongside Ali. Then Daud and Farraj are shown, mounted on a single camel
and following the party at a discreet distance. There is no dialogue.
Comment:
Long before this, Lawrence had been asked by Feisal to wear Arab clothes. This is an example of the mis-portrayal of the relationship between Lawrence and Feisal, which takes place throughout the film and is one of the most serious problems in the script. In the film, Lawrence and Feisal are always at a distance, almost like two poker-players. In reality, they were closely allied. One of the essential preconditions for the success of the Arab Revolt was relationship of trust between Feisal, the leader of the Northern Army, and Lawrence, Allenby's liaison officer.
As already noted, the real Sherif Ali was not present. The expedition was led by Sherif Nasir
and guided across the desert by Auda Abu Tayi, who before this had come
down to Wejh to declare his allegiance to Feisal.
Daud and Farraj appear to have been legitimate members of the expedition. According to
Seven Pillars, they had good camels.
22. Comic relief at an oasis. Begins 0:56:38
What happens:
The men are filling their water skins from a pool. Lawrence sits beside the pool, reading and cooling his feet in the water. Ali is seen, sitting nearby. Daud and Farraj appear. There is general laughter as one of the tribesmen catches them and brings them to Ali.
Ali says they had been told to remain behind. The two claim that they wish to be Lawrence's servants. Ali opposes this, on the grounds that they are outcasts. "Be warned," Ali tells Lawrence, "They are not suitable." Lawrence responds by accepting their services. Ali, disgusted, says they are not servants but "worshippers".
Comment:
The historical detail is fiction, while the sociological overtones seem more
relevant to untouchables in India. Here, and in many other places in Lawrence of
Arabia, it seems reasonable to ask why the Bolt (or was it Wilson?) preferred his own ignorant invention to historical record. In the absence of any reasonable explanation, I suspect that his creative ego constantly spurred him to substitute his own fiction for anyone else's fact.
The incident is so trivial that the detail is hardly worth discussing. Lawrence did take Daud and Farraj (not their real names) as servants. They were Ageyl, not unsuitable outcasts. Lawrence wrote in
Seven Pillars (SP22 p.252) "In the end I took them both, on Nasir's advice". The opposition by 'Ali' in the film is
the exact contrary of what really happened.
23. The expedition crosses the railway. Starts 0:58:51
What happens:
A brief scene. The expedition halts overlooking the railway. Ali tells Lawrence that beyond the railway is waterless desert. Until they reach the other side, the men will have only the water they can carry. The camels will have no water. In twenty days, without water, the camels will start to die. The expedition hurries on.
Comment:
There is needless exaggeration here. An uninformed viewer might assume that the expedition faced a waterless journey lasting a fortnight or more. In reality, the
expedition crossed the railway on 19 May and arrived at the wells of Arfaja on 25 May.
Scenes
24-31: Crossing the waterless desert
During this series of scenes, which follow the expedition's journey across
the desert, Bolt develops the relationship between Lawrence and the fictional Ali. The antagonism between them abruptly softens after
Lawrence's rescue of Gasim.
From contemporary documents, we know that Lawrence was already afflicted, during
this journey to Akaba, with strong private misgivings about his role in the Arab
Revolt. One of the most important historical criticisms of the film is that it
ignores this inner moral conflict, although it is repeatedly spelled out in Seven
Pillars. Maybe Bolt thought the issues too complex for a popular film - though that would
surely be no argument today.
The omission is all the more
surprising because Lawrence's inner conflict, arising from the duality of his
role, really does show him to have been a victim of the war. That message should
have appealed to both Wilson and Bolt. Instead, they concocted a simplistic
drama of Lawrence being "used" by Allenby (represented as an evil British
general) and also, it turns out, by Feisal. Doubtless it is more satisfactory to
a playwright to lay blame on characters in the plot rather than external
circumstances. However, if anyone were to make another film of Lawrence and the
Arab Revolt, there could be no excuse for ignoring so much evidence. Research since the 1960s has drawn attention to
relevant passages in the 1922 Seven Pillars (which the film's adviser
Anthony Nutting, at least, had read) and in Lawrence's wartime notebooks and diaries.
24. Crossing the desert. Starts 0:59:52
What happens:
A long introductory shot shows the expedition, widely spread, riding across the desert. Closer shots convey the heat and monotony of the journey: one
rider wakes another who has fallen asleep, Lawrence idly watches a dust-devil, then begins to fall asleep himself. Ali sees him and wakes him.
Lawrence admits that he was drifting, and promises it will not happen again. Close-up and long-distance shots show the expedition riding on.
Comment:
These scenes draw mainly on passages in SP35 Chapters 41-3. The dialogue between Ali and Lawrence is fictional, as is its tone; but its content is
consistent with the kind of thing that could have happened.
25: A halt. Starts 1:03:12
What happens:
The expedition is resting after dark. Lawrence is shaving. Ali tells him he is wasting water, and goes on to say that they must now travel at night,
resting during the daytime heat. Lawrence, needled by Ali's reproach, suggests they start immediately, but Ali orders a three-hour rest. Lawrence
says he will wake him.
Comment:
Lawrence was intelligent enough to know that shaving would waste water. There is no historical record to substantiate this fictional incident, in
which he is made to appear foolish and arrogant. The invention contributes to Bolt's developing portrait of Lawrence as an egomaniac.
26: The journey continues. Starts 1:03:59
What happens:
The expedition moves across the desert, then halts to rest. Ali wakes and rises to his feet. Others follow. Ali wakes Lawrence and expedition moves
on. It crosses a stony patch where the riders dismount and lead their camels. Ali joins Lawrence who, weakened by fatigue, would like to rest.
Ali says there can be no rest until they have crossed the stretch of desert in front, which they must do before the next day's heat. He calls this
desert "the sun's anvil".
Comment:
Ali's memorable line: "It is the sun's anvil" is Bolt's or Wilson's. It does not come from
Seven Pillars.
27: The sun's anvil. Starts 1:06:26
What
happens:
The march continues, first in daylight and then in darkness. In the dark a rider falls from his camel and is seen stumbling to his feet. As dawn
breaks the expedition arrives, to everyone's relief, at the far side of the "anvil". Ali says they will reach a well by mid-day. Then Daud calls out
that Gasim is missing. Ali seems indifferent: when the sun rises, Gasim will die within hours. Lawrence says they must go back and look for him.
Ali refuses; if they go they will all die with Gasim. Lawrence says he will go alone, and turns his camel. Ali is furious. He reproaches Lawrence for
his follies: if he goes back he will die; he will not be at Akaba. Lawrence replies that he will indeed be at Akaba. "That is written [touching his
head] - in here"
Comment:
In SP35 Chapter 44 Lawrence explains why, according to the code of the desert, it was his personal responsibility to search for Gasim. He saw that
his future status among the Bedouin would depend on whether he accepted or shirked what they would consider his duty. "So, without saying anything, I
turned my unwilling camel round..." He told neither Nasir nor Auda what he was doing.
According to Seven Pillars, he asked no one else to go back with him.
The film, curiously, gives no clue at all about his motives. The audience is left to assume that he was acting through sense of 'British' fair-play;
whereas in reality it was Bedouin culture that drove his decision. The argument with
the fictional Ali - part of Bolt's account of their developing
relationship - is entirely invented.
28: Rescuing Gasim. Starts 1:10:05
What happens:
Seven paragraphs from SP35, Chapter 44 become one of the showpieces of 'Lawrence of Arabia', lasting nearly six minutes. Lawrence rescues Gasim
from the desert, then turns back towards the wells. There is no dialogue.
Note:
In Seven Pillars Lawrence, on his way back to rejoin the expedition, meets Auda with two of Nasir's men, who have set out to look for him. In the film
he meets Daud.
29: Reaching the well. Starts 1:15:48
What happens:
Lawrence, accompanied by Daud, reaches the camp. He receives a hero's welcome. Ali, now recognising Lawrence's courage and will-power, comes out
to meet him. Lawrence drinks from Ali's water-skin, having ignored the water offered by Farraj. In dramatic terms, Lawrence and Ali dominate the
scene, though Daud's joyous reunion with Farraj provides a sub-plot. Safely in camp, Lawrence collapses with fatigue.
Comment:
In Seven Pillars Lawrence makes little of his return, though he reports
(as do his wartime notes) Auda's disgust that he had risked his life
for a comparatively worthless member of the expedition.
30: Fireside confessional. Starts 1:19:24
What happens:
During the night, Ali and Lawrence discuss Lawrence's family. Lawrence explains that he is the illegitimate son of an Irish nobleman. In that
case, Ali says, he is free to choose his own name: 'El Aurens' is best. Lawrence agrees to settle for that, and turns to sleep. Ali then burns
Lawrence's British uniform.
Comment:
Everything about this scene is invention. Ali did not exist. Lawrence nowhere records discussing his family with anyone during the revolt (though
it is reasonable, of course, for the script to find a way to mention his
illegitimacy). At Feisal's request Lawrence had been wearing Arab clothes, not British
uniform, since a much earlier stage of the campaign (See SP35 Chapter 20).
31: Arab dress. Starts 1:21:24
What happens:
Next morning: surrounded by an admiring group, Lawrence is wearing Arab dress given to him by Ali. He exchanges greetings with the crowd. Then Ali
says that the clothes are good for riding. Lawrence rides a short distance then disappears out of sight behind an outcrop of rock.
Comment:
For the reasons given in the comment on (30) above, this scene is entirely fictional.
|
