A place of forgotten men with the babble of many languages.
Madison in Cairo for Rocky Jordan Spoilers Ahead!
“Rocky Jordan” is an absolute favorite of mine. I love all of the detective noir shows, but “Rocky Jordan” brings a unique backdrop to these familiar stories. Yes, Rocky is a direct result of Rick — Bogart’s nightclub owner in Casablanca. And why not? The movie was a huge hit and excited audiences about the exotic cities of Africa, many of which people in the states hadn’t heard of until World War II. But while Rick was a classy guy in a tux catering to the elite of Casablanca, Rocky Jordan is more of a refugee from the states (he’s from St. Louis and eludes to not being able to go back…) who runs a hole-in-the wall nightclub where the only entertainment is the booze and the interesting array of characters who find themselves in the Cafe Tambourine.
I couldn’t find any scripts readily available, so I went ahead and transcribed this one myself. I thought it would be more fun to give Madison a real stake in the story by her having been swindled by Angus Morgan. Adding another to her long list of bad dating prospects. The original episode of “Strangers Three” definitely played out a lot differently, and this episode was the most work I’ve done thus far adapting an OTR script to be part of the “Madison on the Air” world. But it was a ton of fun introducing characters with a variety of backgrounds and accents. Which actually is a cool part of the “Rocky Jordan” series. Throughout the episodes, we see Rocky have a great respect for the people of Cairo. He knows he is a visitor in their land and absolutely honors their beliefs and traditions.
The writers of the series used the “Pocket Guide to Egypt” that was printed up by the U.S. Army during the war. The guide demands the soldiers, as guests in this country, respect the people and their religious beliefs. The series showed a deep respect to the Muslim Community that we’d be hard up to find the equivalent of in today’s entertainment. Link to the text of the actual guide here: PocketGuideToEgypt_251_djvu
In fact, Rocky’s best friend in Cairo is the Chief of Police, Sam Sabaaya, a proud practicing Muslim. Several “Rocky Jordan” episodes highlighted Sam’s religious beliefs. I’m thrilled to add Karim Kronfli to our MOTA cast. Sam’s voice on the original series portrays a stoic and patient man as a contrast to Rocky, who always seems to end up in the middle of trouble. Sam is an Egyptian Muslim who learned British English and when Karim was recommended to me for the role, he nailed it perfectly.
Of course I’m excited about all of my cast. David Pinion does fantastic service to the role of Rocky, as does the rest of the cast with all of the accents I threw at them this time around! It’s also a testament to their talents how they all can play the drama with realism and truth while Madison is… well… Madison. I found this photo from Cairo. It’s circa 1960, but that is pretty much how I envision it looked as Madison walked down the streets of Cairo in her halter top and shorts.
Overall, I hope you enjoy Madison in Cairo. I’d highly recommend the original “Rocky Jordan” series. You can stream all of the episodes for free on Archive.org. “Strangers Three” is episode 6, if you want to get a glimpse into how much I adapted the script from the original, and how much is, yup, exactly as written. As always, “Madison on the Air” is produced from a place of deep love of these original shows which were well written, had great performances, and are definitely worth preserving and enjoying today.
