Desert Sands

Ah, the French Foreign Legion, where men can be men and no one can judge them for it. Yes, I'm rewriting my western posse lead so deal with it. Originally created in 1831, the Legion is a unit in the French armed forces that allows for foreign nationals to join the Legion, not an exclusively French group of soldiers. This very unique, very interesting military force has provided a long list of films to tell their story. Check out the list HERE. The most famous is Beau Geste, but there are many, many more, including 1955's Desert Sands.

At an isolated outpost in northern Africa, Fort Valeau, the French Foreign Legion garrison is readying for relief, for a break from its year-long posting. The commanding officer (an uncredited Ben Wright) is set to be replaced as well, medical concerns beginning to weigh on him. His replacement? A legend among the Legion, Capt. David Malcolm (Ralph Meeker), an American who has gained quite a reputation over the years as an impressive, more than capable fighting man. Malcolm arrives at the outpost ahead of his relief company (by helicopter too, oooh!), surprised they haven't arrived yet. Malcolm and the garrison soon find out why. A young shiekh, El Zanal (Keith Larsen), has been lying in wait for 15 years, building and planning and preparing for an all-out assault that will wipe out the Legion, starting with Fort Valeau. Malcolm's relief company has been massacred, and the garrison is very much on its own with no help in sight.

There is a certain charm to French Foreign Legion movies that have always appealed to me. The portrayal of these fighting men is usually of misfits and screw-ups looking for a chance to redeem themselves through battle, sometimes through their own death. It's magnified for movies obviously, the Legion a legitimate fighting unit in the French military. But as movies would have it, it seems garrison after garrison of Legionnaires are wiped out by warring tribesmen across Africa and around the world. This short, 87-minute B-movie from director Lesley Selander certainly has its moments. The isolated outpost is a very cool set, and while there isn't a ton of star power, there's some fun characters on-hand. 'Sands' is content to be fun and entertaining, but some script issues really prevent it from being a good movie.

The positives are pretty obvious for me. Isolated outpost, impossible odds, eccentric group of legionnaires forced to fight together, putting aside their differences and rivalries. Fun, right? Meeker is okay as Capt. Malcolm, a little wooden for a guy known for his dark roles. I would have liked a little more background about his legendary status as a Legionnaire as well. His garrison is full of some cool characters that lack star power, but that's a minor concern when you're having fun. They include Sgt. Diepel (J. Carroll Naish), the longtime fighter and tough as nails sarge, Pvt. Tyle (John Smith), the fiery Texan, Havers (Ron Randell), the hard-drinking Brit, Lt. Mackie (Jarl Victor), second-in-command, Gabin (Otto Waldis), the likable vet, Lucia (Peter Mamakos), the amiable Italian, Ducco (Albert Carrier), the cowardly Frenchman, Woloack (Mort Mills), the radioman, Sandy (Philip Tonge), the friendly Scotsman, and Kleiner (Peter Norman), the outpost's doctor. A fun, cool group of disparate characters.

One would think that with an 87-minute movie, there isn't a whole lot of time available to really screw things up. One would be wrong. This movie was good, really entertaining, good action, for the first 45 minutes. Then it wasn't good. Larsen could be the most wooden actor ever, his epic, diabolical plans for revenge coming across as a pretty weak plan....that took 15 years to plan. Meh, what's time anyways? That's one thing though, not a deal-breaker. How about Zanal's sister, Zara (Marla English), also seeking revenge? Well, kind of. Mostly, she instantly falls in love with the not so charismatic Capt. Malcolm. She's like putty in his hand when she finds out his wife and child were killed in a car accident. The ladies do like a tortured bad boy, don't they? A story about a last stand, about honor and loyalty and camaraderie in the Legion? Money in the bank. But no. Let's make it a love story. Sound thinking if you ask me.

Now getting to the 45-minute mark is pretty fun. Good tension, good mystery as we meet the garrison's men, start to question what exactly is going on just out of view over the horizon. Zanal's attack on the fort is a gem, well-choreographed and surprisingly dark for a 1955 flick. For a B-movie in general, it's a pretty solid action sequence. That's ruined in the finale as the Legionnaires fight off a second massacre, defeating the evil invaders with awful strategy. Surrounded on all sides by expert marksmen from positions of height, the Legionnaires stand in the open in square formation, shooting back....and winning!!! It's such a stupidly put together finale, wrapping things up far too quickly. A disappointing end result, mostly because it was pretty decent early on. Also look for John Carradine as Jala, a treacherous, conniving wine merchant. Oh, an evil wine merchant!

Desert Sands (1955): **/****

The Last Command (1955)

Of the three most well-known heroes of the battle of the Alamo, David Crockett, James Bowie and William Travis, there's no doubt who is the most well-known of the three. Oh, that'd be Crockett for those unfamiliar with history. In second place, the infamous knife fighter Jim Bowie who's had several films based on his exploits including 1952's The Iron Mistress (meh) and for today's review, 1955's The Last Command.

It's 1834, and knife fighter, adventurer and land owner Jim Bowie (Sterling Hayden) is riding south through Texas to Mexico to see his home and his family. As he rides through the territory though, he finds that many Texan colonists have had enough with Mexican president, Santa Anna (J. Carrol Naish), who's become more of a dictator with each passing day. Old friends with the president, Bowie isn't sure who to side with at first, but when his wife and children die, he's forced to come up with answers about what he believes and what he should ultimately do with the coming revolution. He joins the fighting, leading a group of volunteers. Santa Anna has started to march an army north from Mexico City to deal with the revolutionaries, and all roads lead to the town of San Antonio and a ruined old mission, the Alamo.

Anyone familiar with John Wayne's The Alamo from 1960 will no doubt notice some similarities between that film and this 1955 flick from Republic Studios. The reason? This was originally made with Wayne -- still working at Republic -- attached as an actor. He wanted to make an Alamo film, but disagreements with the studio drove the two sides apart. The end result was simple; Wayne left Republic, Republic made the film without Wayne, apparently out of spite. There are some similarities, from Davy Crockett's death to the Alamo defenders raiding the surrounding Mexican army for artillery and many others. The biggest difference though is obvious, a focus on Jim Bowie.

It's funny that in the casting of the infamous knife fighter, one of America's truly unique historical personalities, two of Hollywood's most wooden, vanilla actors were chosen. In 'Iron,' Alan Ladd starred, and here, Hayden takes the reins as Bowie. I'll say this. I don't think Hayden has a "showy" side, but he at least commits here and shows some energy in the lead. Just like Wayne's film would do, there is an unnecessary -- even painful -- love story as Bowie falls for Consuelo (Anna Maria Alberghetti), a young Mexican woman from a rich family (Eduard Franz plays her well-to-do uncle). Above all else, it's cool to see Bowie get a movie devoted to him and his involvement in the months leading up to and in the Texas Revolution. He was a fiery, passionate fighter who fought for what he believed in. His friendship with Santa Anna is a little much (the Mexican dictator affectionately calls him 'Jimmy'), but seeing a familiar story from an unfamiliar angle is refreshing.

Overall, the story focuses on a two-year period starting in 1834 and running through March 1836 and the battle and fall of the Alamo. The movie runs just 110-minutes and is a little slow-moving at times -- rather talky -- so non-history fans may lose some interest. Alamo buffs will get a kick out of the story though that focuses on Texas history that most Alamo movies simply ignore. We do meet some familiar faces, including Colonel Travis (Richard Carlson), Davy Crockett (Arthur Hunnicutt) and Lt. Dickinson (John Russell). Carlson is solid as the similarly fiery Travis, and Hunnicutt is a scene-stealer as the backwoods, storytelling Crockett that's based more in myth than the real-life Crockett. The story doesn't just jump right to the Alamo, but lays some ground work and background leading up to the famous battle. Also look for Ernest Borgnine as Mike Radin a rival-turned-friend of Bowie's and Ben Cooper as Jeb Lacey, a young Texan who looks up to Bowie. Other Alamo defenders include Slim Pickens, Jim Davis, Roy Roberts and Russell Simpson as the Parson.

The actual battle for the Alamo takes up about the last 40 minutes of 'Command.' The set is somewhat limited -- we basically see one corner of the mission along with the wooden palisade -- but there's something oddly cool about the set built near Bracketville, Texas (where Wayne's film was made). For a movie released in 1955, the final assault on the Alamo is surprisingly vicious and violent. Nothing graphic, but still pretty hardcore stuff for a 1950s audience. Each character gets their moment, their on-screen death with Bowie saved for last.

There's nothing hugely memorable about this 1955 Republic picture, but I like it just the same. Composer Max Steiner's score is a highlight -- give it a sample HERE -- and the Jim Bowie theme song (listen HERE) is pretty awful, but in an amazingly bad and memorable way. Lots of good actors, familiar faces and an enjoyable if unspectacular story in director Frank Lloyd's historical bio-pic. One IMDB reviewer points it out accurately. It's neither a big budget A-movie or a low-budget B-movie, but it's somewhere in between. TCM has three clips available so give them a watch at the link below.

The Last Command (1955): ***/****