Moroccan Outpost

From water vendors being sprayed with DDT outside a Casablanca bathhouse to traders haggling over camels in Marrakech, this 1951 film depicts a country of extremes, with many people living in poverty despite a recent economic boom. Such circumstances make the anger of the political reformers in the Istiqlal nationalist party easy to sympathise with, particularly against a backdrop of American military involvement and the intransigence of the French colonial rulers.

In common with many post-war films in the March of Time series, this issue looks at global security in the context of the threat of Soviet power and America’s strategic plans in the early years of the Cold War. The film provides a capsule history of Morocco since the country’s conquest by the French in 1912, giving a nuanced picture of a country in which the powerless Sultan tacitly supported the Istiqlal nationalist party. The final message expresses unease at the growing power of the Muslim countries which have gained independence since 1945, particularly in the context of Cold War uncertainty.