Les Rats du Bled

Extremely silly plot that makes zero sense. The most un-Arab looking Arabs ever seen in any film ever. All of the French and all of the Arabs speak perfect English with no accents whatsoever. It was impossible to work out which time period this was set in. The large Arab tent would have needed thousands of horses or camels to transport it as in was also extravagently furnished. The Arab females were white with very non-Arab hair and makeup.

All of these flaws may not have mattered to audiences in the mid 1950s so if they can be ignored now it is an entertaining, and very silly, film. A must watch for those who love bad films.

An exciting adventure film, with good battle scenes, interesting characters, stirring renditions of "Le Boudin" (the signature march of the Legion) and the little known and sexy Elizabeth Taylor lookalike Marla English, as the "Arab" princess. It seems like the Legion outpost is a modified "wild west" set and Marla and her maidservant's costumes appear to be reworked Mexican cowgirl outfits. Entirely apropos for the unintentionally hilarious love scenes with the Legion commandant (Ralph Meeker). Her brother, the sheikh, has a prep school accent, but it's not quite as bad as the Brooklynese dialect of Richard Conte's villain sheikh in 1953's "Desert Legion" ("Det ta da lejun!"). Mama Mia!!

The legionnaires are uncharacteristically complacent. After all, this is 1955 and the tribes just don't surround and attack Legion forts a la Beau Geste anymore. Not! They get a rude awakening when Marla and her brother; who believe their father was murdered by the French; unite the desert tribes and wipe out a column of legionnaires. The film does have some reality deficits. Even though it's the 1950s there isn't a motor vehicle in sight, although the new commandant arrives at the fort by helicopter, and the radio man is building a television set. The rifles carried by the legionnaires were over 20 years out of date at the time, and rifle grenades can't blow up buildings. But, this is an escapist actioner with some unintended laughs thrown in, not a History Channel Special. In that respect, it really hits the spot. It even begins with a sultry, James Bondish theme song!

I recently saw this movie for the first time since the early 70s (on TCM) and I find it hard to believe that it was never put on commercial video.

My cherished memories of "Desert Sands" still remain after 26 years. It played on the bottom of a double-bill (can't remember the main feature--a forgettable 'A' big-studio stinker, I'm certain) but was a swift, beautifully photographed, Foreign Legion humdinger of escapism with a memorable cast--Ralph Meeker at his most stalwart, gorgeous Marla English, John Carradine & J. Carroll Naish at their outlandish best, and young, dashing John Smith poised for stardom (after charming supporting roles in "The High and the Mighty," "We're No Angeles" and the forthcoming "Friendly Persuasion"). But the film seems to have vanished after playing on TV in the early '70s. Dismissed in its time as a 'B' programmer, "Desert Sands" was a sweeping, actionful treat--the actors seemed to be having as much fun as the cheering audience (and when has that happened in today's zillion-dollar stinkers? The stars seem to be wincing and working almost as hard as the audiences do trying to keep awake while enduring these "blockbuster" bombs). Come on, Turner Classic Movies. You've got the rights to these UA programmers of the '50s. Granted, most of them aren't worth reviving, but "The Desert Sands" definitely is. A throwback to the days when even medium-budget films could be class-A efforts, depending on the talents of all those (director, actors, script, cinematographer, etc.) involved. In this instance, "The Desert Sands" comes up trumps! Suffer thru other expensive big-studio adventure epics of the time ("Beau Brummel," "Prince Valiant," "The Egyptian," etc.) and you'll relish the unpretentious, lighthearted "Desert Sands" even more. An unheralded gem of 1955, long-overdue to be recognized as a heralded gem of any day. And it demands to be letterboxed in Superscope. A dazzling wide-screen delight--for precarious adventurers of all ages and times!

While this 1955 Foreign Legion movie from United Artists may not be in the category of "Beau Geste" (which starred Gary Cooper) it is nonetheless drawing. Personally, I felt the cast was well-chosen. Ralph Meeker, noted for playing Mike Hammer in "Kiss Me Deadly", here played David Malekom, a sometimes cold yet always a no-nonsense officer who was definitely strict toward the men under him. The very pretty Marla English was an unusually pretty lady who was in love with Malekom. John Carradine was perfect for the role of Jala the wine merchant who was a very ruthless man; he in the movie was the uncle of Princess Zara. Keith Larsen, who played the brother of Princess Zara, El Zanel, was mean-spirited and ruthless, a man who was so anxious for power that he wanted to possess the Sahara Desert. John Smith, who would later be known for "Laramie" fame was his same cowboy self from Texas; he played Pvt. Rex Tyle, a pugnacious and brave soldier. The drama starts off with Jala having some of his own men, who were disguised as Legionnaires, kill his own brother who was the father of Zara and El Zanel, and the killing caused Zara and El Zanel to hate the Foreign Legion with a passion; they were very young when the killing took place. Thus there were several attacks on the outpost in North Africa. Yet the strange thing was that when Jala confessed that he had killed El Zanel's father, he said that men of power must do such things sometimes; no, El Zanel did not care about human lives. What will happen now to Malekom, El Zanel, Jala, and Zara? There are points where there is romance between Zara and Malekom, but will this have a great effect on how Malekom will be toward Zara after a very climatic battle? The movie was a "Sahara western" replete with handguns and machine guns. Yes, it was a very exciting movie of any kind.

1955's "Desert Sands" is a long forgotten United Artists programmer benefiting from its colorful action sequences. The legendary John Carradine stands out in a decent cast, as Arab wine merchant Jala, who ruthlessly targets his own brother for murder, done by marauders disguised as French Legionnaires. His niece (Marla English) and nephew (Keith Larsen) grow up just as he wanted, hating the French and constantly in attack mode. Keith Larsen's career virtually tanked by the next decade, such titles as "Women of the Prehistoric Planet" and "The Omegans" giving way to self-directed items like "Mission Batangas," "The Trap on Cougar Mountain," "Run to the High Country," "Young and Free," "Whitewater Sam," and his cult classic "Night of the Witches." In between hard bitten turns in "Big House, U. S. A." and the iconic "Kiss Me Deadly" (as Mike Hammer), Ralph Meeker actually gets to play a more likable hero. In just her second starring role, the gorgeous Marla English disappeared from the screen as quickly as she lit the fire, in a pair of low budget AIP horrors, "The She-Creature" and "Voodoo Woman." Philip Tonge would reunite with Carradine in his last film, 1959's "Invisible Invaders," but this was John's final appearance opposite J. Carrol Naish, from "Ramona," "Blood and Sand," "Waterfront," and "House of Frankenstein."