Desert Sands

Saw 'Desert Sands' due to primarily finding the subject matter fascinating, the foreign legion is always interesting to portray on film and there are films that have done so very well. It also had the always reliable Ralph Meeker and John Carradine in the cast, with Carradine especially having the sort of role that was well suited to him. It also appeared in my more like this section after seeing other Meeker and Carradine films some time back.

'Desert Sands' was an example of a film that had such a promising story on paper. It is sadly also an example of a film that has very uneven execution. A big part of me wanted to be on the same wavelength of those reviewing 'Desert Sands' positively, but to me there were too many things that worked against it. It is though not near as bad as those that commented unfavourably have said and does have some major strengths that raise it to average level.

It is a good-looking film. The photography is particularly beautifully crafted in the action and is quite vibrant. The scenery is quite attractive and the way the camera is used shooting it prevents it from being static. The music fits quite well and sweeps effectively, with stirring use of "Le Boudin" and a suitably nostalgic theme song.

The action and battle choreography is exciting and has tension, things not present in much of the rest of the story. A few of the performances are good. Meeker is suitably brooding and Marla English is alluring, but menacingly ruthless Carradine gets the acting honours.

However, the story outside of the action just didn't grab me and felt on the thin side. The film takes forever to get started and the first portions are pretty dull. The romance is not very interesting at all and is not particularly believable. Other than Meeker, English and Carradine the acting is nothing really to write home about in roles that come over as sketchy stereotypes rather than real people and portraying the legionnaires as complacent is not going to go down well with some. And no it is not the lack of authenticity or the accents that bother me.

Being somebody that wanted to not take things too seriously or nit-pick. It does have to be said that it is distracting that there doesn't really seem to be a discernible sense of time and place. With things present that don't belong in the period. Worst of all is the dialogue, which is more often than not cringe-worthingly awful, far too much cheese, unintentional humour and with not a shred of originality.

Summarising, not terrible but to me regrettably it was not particularly good either. 5/10

Ralph Meeker gets to take a break from playing poachers to play a gamekeeper in the form of a megalomaniac captain in the French foreign legion of whom its said "He could lead a hundred grandmothers through the Boxer Rebellion without disturbing their coiffure".

The story suggests the twenties but his arrival by helicopter shows it's actually set much later. People get massacred but director Lesley Selander makes it all seem rather tame, with characters just standing about and talking.

The cute little fortress is quite striking in a Germanic sort of way. Conspicuous by their absence are any actual Frenchman: Aussie Ron Randall assuming an English accent to boast about his expulsion from Sandhurst and the University of Cambridge Medical School; while John Carradine invests the Arab chieftain with the sort of accent only a Shakespearean actor could manage.

Deep in the Moroccan desert, a hostile Arab tribe overruns a French Foreign Legion outpost. The dastardly Sheik El Zanal hates the Legion more than anything and forces their commander to call for aid, hoping to draw the relief force into a trap.

But his beautiful sister ( Marla English) throws the spanner in the works as she falls for their commander and calls him in to her room to talk him into joining her fight against the "infidels" - she claims that she and her brother are seeking revenge as the legions had slain her father, but later she learns that isn't the case. The devious Jala (John Carradine) hired sone assassins to dress up in legion costumes and kill her father. Her brother, however, knows of Jala's treachery, but accepts it as he is too brainwashed into Jala's manipulation...

Desert Sands is basically a cavalry western transported to a foreign Legion setting with desert, a well done fort, a marauding bunch of Arab tribes and the legionnaires- it's a simple good vs bad pulp actioner and not a bad one at that. It's adequate as entertainment, has Marla English spiking up the pulse, the pace is fleeting, John Carradine hams with the best of them, but it's the fine action that bolsters its average plot. The action is quite energetic, however the romance between Meeker and English felt tacked on. The script could've been sharper ... more running time, perhaps. Overall, it's a decent viewing.

This film, admittedly not a masterpiece generally or even of its genre, does have a certain charm about it mainly in its easygoing, almost casual, depiction of Legionairres.

Worst thing about it: had to wait an awfully long time and endure too much tawdry action before the Arab princess (Marla English) -- who I worshiped -- strode in on her roan steed and before her first line strikes Meeker sharply with her whip! (Don't see entrées like that much anymore.) Anyone notice the sheik's playing loose and easy with prisoner of war rules -- reviewing their bios, finding their weak spots, choosing special informers who manifest weak character flaws, and...will...talk.

And how about that Alita's, the princess's slave girl, man savvy, learning from the smartest...and the simplest.

One more thing: why in hell does Maltin omit this pic from his book? Does anyone know?

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.