THE LOST PATROL from the British Army in Mesopotamia desperately defends itself in a tiny oasis from Arab attackers.
John Ford directed this powerful Great War tale of agonizing heartbreak and desperate perseverance. The film becomes a character study as the eleven soldiers succumb, inevitably, to madness and snipers' bullets. Ford craftily keeps the Arabs unseen for an hour, making the implacable desolation of the sun scorched desert the men's worst enemy.
British actor Victor McLaglen is the absolute backbone of the film. Beefy McLaglen--who had his own distinguished military career in World War One--is perfectly believable as the stalwart sergeant with the task of keeping his men alive at the water hole until relief can arrive. Bullying, blustering, brave, his is a heroic performance of a man fighting titanic odds.
Gaunt Boris Karloff appears as a religiously fanatical private; his final scene, carrying a large cross up a dune, is especially memorable. Also in the patrol are Wallace Ford as a lively music hall performer and Reginald Denny as a gentleman with a past. Among the other men are good-natured Billy Bevan, sturdy Alan Hale and naive teenager Douglas Walton.
Max Steiner's powerful soundtrack propels the plot onward to its inevitable conclusion.
John Ford directed this powerful Great War tale of agonizing heartbreak and desperate perseverance. The film becomes a character study as the eleven soldiers succumb, inevitably, to madness and snipers' bullets. Ford craftily keeps the Arabs unseen for an hour, making the implacable desolation of the sun scorched desert the men's worst enemy.
British actor Victor McLaglen is the absolute backbone of the film. Beefy McLaglen--who had his own distinguished military career in World War One--is perfectly believable as the stalwart sergeant with the task of keeping his men alive at the water hole until relief can arrive. Bullying, blustering, brave, his is a heroic performance of a man fighting titanic odds.
Gaunt Boris Karloff appears as a religiously fanatical private; his final scene, carrying a large cross up a dune, is especially memorable. Also in the patrol are Wallace Ford as a lively music hall performer and Reginald Denny as a gentleman with a past. Among the other men are good-natured Billy Bevan, sturdy Alan Hale and naive teenager Douglas Walton.
Max Steiner's powerful soundtrack propels the plot onward to its inevitable conclusion.