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Desert Legion

1953, Movie, NR, 85 mins

Desert Legion: Review

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A bit of a borrow from Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Ladd is a French Foreign Legionnaire who is the wounded sole survivor of an ambush. He is taken in by Dahl, a gorgeous redheaded princess who is totally out of place in this middle-Eastern mountainous area. She helps him back to health, then prevails on him to aid her, but he faints before he can get the details. Next thing he knows, Ladd is toted back to his fort on the rear of a camel, and no one believes his wild tale. Later, Ladd gets a message from the Titian vision, Dahl, and he and Akim Tamiroff, a private, go AWOL and trail the messagebearer to the lost city of Madara hidden in the mountains. Once there, he meets former Legionnaire Beregi who rules the city but who now fears a coup led by Conte whose intention is to marry Dahl (Beregi's daughter) and take over the city. Beregi offers his daughter to Ladd--not a bad deal--but Ladd is, first and foremost, a Legionnaire. He has been trailing the scourge of the desert, Omar Ben Calif, who has been attacking lots of innocent people. Then Ladd finds that Conte is both Calif and Crito, so he need look no further. Ladd and Conte fight a duel which Alan wins, but, just as Conte is being taken away, his men attack and rescue him and take the city. Now Ladd must muster Beregi's remaining soldiers and regain the Shangri-La. Ladd and Beregi's men rescue a troop of Legionnaires who are riding into an ambush, then they go after the city and retake it. Finally, Ladd and Conte have at it mano-a-mano, and Ladd emerges victorious. He foregoes Foreign Legion awards and returns to Madara to marry Dahl and rule the paradise in peace. In the 1980s, this movie would have had great nostalgia. In the 1950s, it was just a few years too late. Conte was born in New Jersey, and his accent could always be heard throughout his career, so this role was totally wrong. Tamiroff provided the comic relief, and Dahl couldn't have looked more beautiful. If this action picture were just a tad sillier, it might have been more successful, because it was just a millimeter off being a comedy. In the hands of Lucas or Spielberg, this plot, properly cast, would gross $100 million today. leave a comment
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