Desert Legion (1953) User Reviews

Fair Enough

[ragosaal · 6/10 · 1 October 2006]

French Foreign Legion Captain Paul Lartal (Alan Ladd) travels to the hidden city of Madara in Northern Africa after a request for help he receives from local princess Morjana (Arlene Dahl). He met the woman under mysterious circumstances after his regiment suffered a deadly ambush at he hands of Omar Ben Calif's bandit gang. Lartel is convinced that Calif is in Madara under an undercover personality.

"Desert Legion" is an unpretentious adventure film with a fine cast, great color, acceptable settings and lots of action.

Alan Ladd doesn't add much to his carrier with his movie but it doesn't hurt it either. Arlene Dahl was made for Technicolor and plays her part fine. But perhaps the most interesting role is that of Richard Conte as Crito in one of the usual villain characters he played decently so often (no surprise there). The spears duel between Ladd and Conte is a highlight of the film most of all because of its originality back in 1953.

Light entertainment but enjoyable if you like adventure films.

An adventure and thrilling movie about the reckless legend of the foreign legion fighting in the Algerian mountains

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 20 June 2019]

Adventure movie about the Foreign legion in a remote location in North Africa , as a regiment of legionnaries under command of Paul Larval, Alan Ladd, become involved into an ambush by the nasty Omar Calif , Richard Conte .Paul is only survivor of a violent , bloody attack thanks to a gorgeous , lovely Princess , called Morjana : Arlene Dahl , in the sunny desert .Then , Paul is carried to the mysterious city of Madara. Later on , Paul returns to Tabelbala fort where he tells his fantastic story to Major Vasil , Leon Askin, but he doesn't believe him.

Entertaining Arab adventure set in the Algerian mountains where our starring Alan Ladd is wounded and healed by a beatiful Princess , gorgeous Arlene Dahl. Being freely based on a 1927 novel written by Georges Arthur Surdez titled The Demons Caravan and moving screenplay from Irving Wallace and Lewis Meltzer. It contains noisy adventures , thrills , action, romance , battles and an exciting bare chested lance-throwing competition . Alan Ladd gives an acceptable acting in his usual style as the brave legionnaire led to a hidden city and harassed by enemies . And Richard Conte who steals the show in a double nasty role as Omar Ben Calif and Crito .While Arlene Dahl is frankly wonderful and enjoyable as a mysterious princess who rescues Paul . Support cast is pretty good , such as Anthony Caruso, Leon Askin , AkimTamiroff , Oscar Berger , George J Lewis , among others .

Colorful cinematography in brilliant Technicolor , mostly shot in studios , Universal Studios City Plaza , Universal City , California and usual exteriors in Lone Pine, California . Stirring , evocative and thrilling musical score by Frank Skinner .The motion picture was professionally directed by Joseph Pevney, though it has some flaws , gaps and failures . Joseph was a good artisan , being well known as a very organized and precise filmmaker who was nonetheless relaxed on the set . He directed a lot of movies of all kinds of genres such as Wartime : Torpedo run , Away all boats , Air cadet. Adventures as Yankee Pasha , Tammy , Twilight for the God, Congo crossing ,Ring circus , Legion of desert . Western : Lady from Texas , The plunderers . Thriller : Undercover girl , Flesh and fury , Man of a thousand faces , Iron Man , Shakedown , The strange Door , 6 bridges to cross , Istanbul. Rating 6/10. Passable and decent adventure movie . The flick will appeal to Alan Ladd fans .

DESERT LEGION (Joseph Pevney, 1953) **

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 30 April 2009]

Another trip to the ex-village sexton/film buff yielded a pleasant evening of movie talk and viewing – in this particular case, the former being more rewarding than the latter in view of the fact that the 25-year old print of the obscure Alan Ladd vehicle DESERT LEGION was so washed out as to belie its having been originally shot in "glorious Technicolor"! Indeed, the only color scheme prevalent throughout the screening was a reddish hue that, more than anything else, is a tell-tale sign that a celluloid print is well past its "best before" date. But, as if that was not disheartening enough, the film kept sticking in the projector, making the image jump up and down, requiring our host to make his expert manual interventions a handful of times. For better or worse, the film we were watching was a routine star actioner that even I was unaware of before seeing its worn poster proudly displayed during the latest exhibition of such rare items held regularly for the public by our host. The script requires the viewer to accept diminutive Ladd as a formidable Legionnaire who possesses the only credentials to capture a renegade Arab rebel (played by one of the least likely actors suited for this role, Richard Conte!) that has been preying on their sentries and save the mythical Shangri-La-like community of Medara, buried deep within the desert, from his evil clutches. For support, Ladd only has his old, tale-spinning buddy Akim Tamiroff, while the inevitable love interest is provided by Arlene Dahl – with Universal clearly believing that the audience would not have anyone but another statuesque Arabic redhead (a' la Maureen O'Hara) for a leading lady!! Despite the intermittent sprinkling of intriguing ideas – Ladd is abducted by the mysterious Dahl and taken to her hidden abode in clear imitation of Pierre Benoit's much-filmed "L'Atlantide"; the two confrontations between Ladd and Conte are both unconventional in nature and setting: in the arena with the two contestants sharing one spear between them and, the climactic one, atop a mountain's rock-face – this particular mix, unfortunately, fails to rise to any particularly memorable or even satisfactory level…which makes the possibility of a future revisit via superior elements highly improbable!

At His Stage Of Life And Career

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 28 November 2008]

Desert Legion was Alan Ladd's second film after leaving his nurturing studio of Paramount. It was hoped he would get better parts by his agent and wife Sue Carol. But sad to say this was the run of film he got.

It's a typical action potboiler with Alan Ladd in the French Foreign Legion on patrol and in pursuit of a local Algerian bandit who no one can seem to locate. On patrol one day after a couple of raiders, Ladd and his patrol are surprised by reinforcements who come from out of nowhere and everyone is killed, but Ladd. He wakes up and finds desert princess Arlene Dahl nursing him back to health. The next thing he knows he's back at Legion headquarters with this wild tale of a lost city in the desert.

Ever since Universal made Arabian Nights with Jon Hall and Maria Montez they had these middle eastern sets and so you could depend year after year on one or two pictures with that setting. So on this one shot deal Alan Ladd got to do Desert Legion with those same sets.

Maureen O'Hara in her memoirs said no one thought she was more ludicrous cast in these films as a redheaded Middle Eastern princess. But I will say that Desert Legion did provide some explanation why redheaded Swede Arlene Dahl was in North Africa.

Had this film been done a decade earlier it might have made great material for a serial. It has all the ingredients and you just write a bunch cliffhanger semi-climaxes and it would have done well.

Looking like he's having a great old time is Akim Tamiroff as Ladd's sidekick who deserts with him to find this lost city. Richard Conte however just doesn't come off as an Arab.

Desert Legion is the kind of film Alan Ladd should have been done with at his stage of life and career.

Arlene Dahl is one of the most beautiful and glamorous women that ever adorned the screen!

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 26 July 2001]

Following a band of Omar Ben Calif's villainous raiders into the foothills of the mysterious Iraouen Mountains, Captain Paul Lartal (Alan Ladd) realizes too late that he has led his men into a trap... A bullet hits his forehead, & his last image is of his soldiers being slaughtered by menacing bandits...

The image that greets him upon awakening is much more different & pleasant... A ravishing maiden, Princess Morjana (Arlene Dahl) is bending over him as he is lying on silken cushions in an elegant desert tent... Before he can find out anything, the injured captain falls again into unconsciousness...

Later, he discovers himself back at his home base, and tries to relate his story... The high command was clearly skeptic to his tale, as reluctant to his depart in search of the elusive Omar Ben Calif...

When a note comes from Princess Morjana asking his help, Lartal & his loyal friend Private Plevko (AkimTamiroff - the obligatory comic relief) leave the fort and follow the bearer of the note into the high mountains to the lost city of Madara...

There, they are welcomed by an ex-legionnaire, Si Khalil (Oscar Beregi) who deserted the army in order to help the building of the rich hidden city... Si Khalil has already chosen the courageous legionnaire to marry his daughter... But Paul feels that he must get first the evil Omar Ben Calif...

Several events convince him that the bandits who attacked his troop of legionnaires are there in Madara... His suspicions leads him to unmask an enigmatic ambitious man named Crito (Richard Conte).

With highlights that include true cliffhanging, as well as a bare-chested spear-throwing competition, 'Desert Legion' is a romantic desert fantasy (photographed in Technicolor) quite entertaining for those who prefer the old predictable outdoor action movies...

Enchanted desert

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7 December 2022]

Or enchanted valley in the desert. What a wonderful, colorful adventure yarn, starring Alan Ladd, Akim Tamiroff, Richard Conte as the villain and Arlene Dahl who seems as predictable in this kind of films as a bullet in a gun barrel. Or Rhonda Fleming, or Yvonne de Carlo, who could also have played in this movie. Plenty of suspense, action, not many surprises, but who cares, only charm, charm and fifties charm is important here. Especially for old timers movie buffs who saw these movies during their childhood. Universal Pictures typical product, better than Sam Katzman productions for Columbia, and as good as Paramount studios, another good adventure films provider. What else could I say? Just go and watch it. But concerning French Foreign Legion, I would prefer DESERT SANDS or BEAU GESTE. Only a matter of taste.

and desert movie...

[dbdumonteil · 4/10 · 17 September 2001]

The legion étrangère has always been a topic that makes people dream.Lots and lots of movies were made ,not only in France.Here,the most famous are probably Duvivier's "la bandera" and Jacques Feyder's "le grand jeu".Twas also one of Edith Piaf's favorite subjects of song (le fanion de la légion,mon légionnaire). This is a pretty ridiculous movie.At the beginning,I was thinking it was a remake of Pierre Benoit's "l'atlantide"(two most famous versions being Pabst 's (1932)with Brigitte Helm-Metropolis- ,and Edgar G Ulmer's (1963))It was certainly influenced big-time by Benoit's book.The blond officer lost in the desert who's taken in by a beautiful lady from a mysterious city of the sands,we've seen that movie before. After,Joseph Pevney and Pierre Benoit go different ways.THe director,abetted by unimaginative scriptwriters ,turn what could have been a trip into the fantastic element,à la "thief of Bagdad" or "lost horizons",into the run-of -the- mill hero-heroine-villain.The rest is so predictable :you can see where the characters are up to from a mile off."Desert Legion" fills its quota of treasons,duels,torture,and glamour.The setting is not impressive, a two-bit cardboard desert city,and for good measure,exotic dances.

DESERT LEGION 1953

[silvershadows-09863 · 7/10 · 8 July 2020]

A Legionnaire's regiment patrols the Algerian mountains in North Africa. They are trying to locate the leader of a gang of killers, Omar Ben Kalif. As they travel along the mountains they are ambushed by Kalif' and his soldiers. Incredibly the Legionnaires become surrounded as if Kalif's men have come straight out of the mountain. Only one Legionnaire survives the ambush, Captain Lartal (Alan Ladd), but he is badly injured. He wakes for a few moments to see a beautiful woman (Arlene Dahl), who says she needs his help. He loses consciousness and later wakes to find himself being rescued by a Legionnaire patrol. He tells his story to his commanding officer, but no one will believe his tale of the beautiful woman.

Captain Lartal decides to find the mysterious woman and also get revenge on Kalif. He and a partner (Akim Tamiroff) make their way to the city. There, they meet a stranger who takes them on a journey to the mountains. The stranger takes them through a secret passage that leads to a hidden city. There Captain Lartal meets the beautiful woman. Her father, Si Khalil, rules the city with ideals of peace and brotherhood. But there is an uprising brewing within and violence is feared. Captain Lartal is asked to help stop the violent uprising. The rebel leader is Damou, a man determined to lead the city by his own values.

I thought it was a great little movie. The color is rich, the scenes beautifully shot. The score really added to my enjoyment of the film. The acting was delightful. Ladd and Conte, 40 and 43 respectively, are fit and vibrant. Dahl is extremely beautiful. And the character roles played by Tamiroff, Anthony Caruso and Oscar Beregi are top notch. It's an adventure film aimed at a younger audience and it packs a punch.

Ladd's Worst Film?

[januszlvii · 2/10 · 24 October 2021]

I flat out disliked Desert Legion, and did not care for Alan Ladd's character Paul. Lartel ( this from a Ladd fan). Why? He was stupid ( leading his troops into a major defeat where only he survives), and arrogant. I can understand being stupid and arrogant if you are the bad guy, or the film is a comedy, but Ladd was supposed to be the hero, and the comedy was supplied by Private Plevko ( Akim Tamiroff) who was the best one in the film. Which is a major read I consider this to be Ladd's worst film ( at least his BEST film ( Shane) is his next one. Perhaps as bad as Ladd was Richard Conte.as Omar Ben. Khalif. He was a one dimensional bad guy if there ever was one. I will say Arlene Dahl (Morjana) is nice to look at in Technicolor ( although nothing more then a beautiful love interest, and I will take Sophia Loren from Legend Of The Lost in the desert both in looks and in realism over Arlene Dahl any day of the week). I give this movie two stars. One for Tamiroff and one for looking at Arlene Dahl. 2/10 stars.

Desert legion

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 20 March 2023]

While searching in the Algerian desert for a bandit, a Foreign Legion patrol is led into an ambush. The sole survivor is Captain Lartal who, after being wounded, recovers consciousness to find someone has taken him to the gates of the Legion post.

In solving the mystery, Legionnaire Alan Ladd discovers a lost city, the beautiful Arlene Dahl and a villainous Richard Conte.

Desert Legion is a romantic desert fantasy (photographed in Technicolor) with a dreamy feel like Lost Horizion. The fabled city of Mardala is sort of a shangri-la, a place where a red-haired Beauty lives. This is quite an entertaining picture and as I have a hankering for for old-fashioned predictable outdoor action movies with a cartoon-like villain and a heroic stalwart hero amidst the desert landscape. It can be a bit too languid in pace, and needed a pick me up mid-way, but it's entertaining on the whole. There's a tense spear throwing sequence. It ends with an exciting action finale.

About what you'd expect from Ladd.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 22 June 2017]

I enjoy watching Alan Ladd films but I still will be the first to admit that his choice of acting assignments was often suspect. For every exceptional film he made like "This Gun for Hire" or "Shane", he made a half a dozen movies that were essentially B-movies with A- movie budgets. So, they look great but are pretty much mindlessly entertaining...and that's how I see "Desert Legion".

When the film begins, French Foreign Legionnaire Paul Lartal is in command of troops who are attacked and massacred in the desert. Somehow Lartal is knocked unconscious and spared. When he awakens he sees a sexy redhead (sure, there must be millions of them in the North African desert) and then he lapses back out of consciousness...and now finds himself with the Legion. His superiors think he's imagining seeing the sexy redhead (Arlene Dahl) but when he realizes it must be true, he takes off looking for the hidden city of Madara, as the hot redhead, the Princess, needs his help. There he must fight against the evil Crito (Richard Conte) who is an amazingly jerky jerk! Lartal gets locked in mortal combat with Crito and spares him...and almost instantly Crito tries to kill him! What's next? See the film...or not.

If you're looking for an excellent Foreign Legion pic, I suggest you keep looking. This one is just silly with redheads and none of the Madarans looking even remotely North African. Overall, it's once again Ladd going through the motions to pick up a paycheck and it's far from his best work.

My Review

[kevthom4-834-554666 · 3/10 · 3 August 2018]

Ladd is tough. Ladd a bad soldier, even though his men told him not to go into the mountains, he did and they all died. However, he is considered a great leader despite evidence contrary to this. Dalh is hot and costumes shows this. Good midday movie but that's all.