Le marchand de sable

Filmed on location in -then French-Algeria , "le marchand de sable " begins to a long tradition of French movies of the thirties which take place in North Africa .

In an outpost where strange things happen , a lieutenant is asked to investigate: some officers become inexplicably ill,some disappear;one is killed by a big hound (shades of Conan doyle 's "Baskerville") .These mysteries lead to a luxury mansion where an exiled Russian -after the 1917 Revolution- keeps deadly secrets and female beauties.

There's a good atmosphere and even some risqué scenes for the time,particularly an orgy with topless women. But the script is not firm enough and the last scenes seem disjointed ;besides Harry Baur would have been a more impressive Rasputin of sorts ;one can prefer , in the murder mystery genre set in Africa, Duvivier's "les cinq gentlemans maudits" .