It's a great concept for a story, this group of British WWI soldiers wandering through a desert in the Middle East and being harassed by Arab snipers. The religious-minded soldier (Boris Karloff) points out that they are near the location of the original Garden of Eden, but it's now a desert, and after their leader is killed, they're lost and don't even know what their mission is supposed to be. There are some pretty powerful metaphors in play here, though more probably could have been done to expand on the theme of the absurdity of war, and of man's inhumanity to man in this bleak place.
Unfortunately the film is all over the map tonally as well, with the men veering from telling lighthearted stories about people back home even after they find themselves in dire circumstance, to them suddenly snapping and idiotically charging the sand dunes (and of course then being sniped by the unseen enemy). There is the stench of cultural condescension in the air as well, with one of the guys (Reginald Denny) talking about his exploits in Southeast Asia with Malaysian girls younger than 21 (that's the age he says they should be poisoned), and the Arabs being described as dirty, sneaky swine instead of intelligent for their guerilla tactics. The film has that element of the British prevailing over the hostile environment, instead of truly exploring the darker themes that may have made it a masterpiece.
Still though, it's a good story, and one told without a lot of distractions in its 73 minute run time. Director John Ford makes the most of the dramatic desert scenery, and the makeshift graves with the swords in place of headstones are a lasting image too.
Favorite quote: Sanders (Karloff): You must have faith! Brown (Denny): Why? Sanders: Why? In heaven's name man, what do you believe in? Brown: What do I believe in? Would it really interest you? Oh, a lot of things. A good horse, steak and kidney pudding, a fellow named George Brown, the asinine futility of this war, of being frightened, of being drunk enough to be brave, and brave enough to be drunk...
Unfortunately the film is all over the map tonally as well, with the men veering from telling lighthearted stories about people back home even after they find themselves in dire circumstance, to them suddenly snapping and idiotically charging the sand dunes (and of course then being sniped by the unseen enemy). There is the stench of cultural condescension in the air as well, with one of the guys (Reginald Denny) talking about his exploits in Southeast Asia with Malaysian girls younger than 21 (that's the age he says they should be poisoned), and the Arabs being described as dirty, sneaky swine instead of intelligent for their guerilla tactics. The film has that element of the British prevailing over the hostile environment, instead of truly exploring the darker themes that may have made it a masterpiece.
Still though, it's a good story, and one told without a lot of distractions in its 73 minute run time. Director John Ford makes the most of the dramatic desert scenery, and the makeshift graves with the swords in place of headstones are a lasting image too.
Favorite quote: Sanders (Karloff): You must have faith! Brown (Denny): Why? Sanders: Why? In heaven's name man, what do you believe in? Brown: What do I believe in? Would it really interest you? Oh, a lot of things. A good horse, steak and kidney pudding, a fellow named George Brown, the asinine futility of this war, of being frightened, of being drunk enough to be brave, and brave enough to be drunk...