Yet another French Foreign Legion Film, with the obligatory war with a rebel desert chieftain. For sheer entertainment value, I recommend "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion", instead. Ron Coleman, who plays the leading man, and one of the heroes, lacks any charisma, to me. I can't see him attracting two very different very attractive young women, as his character does. They each complement a different aspect of his personality, hence believe that the other is unsuitable for him. The tom boyish Claudette Colbert, as Cigarette(terrible mutation of Claudette) complements his playful and daredevil self. On the other hand, the interloper Lady Cunningham(Rosalind Russell), who suddenly shows up at this hell hole , from England, appeals to his aristocratic background, including a degree from Oxford. Soon, Victor has more or less dumped Cigarette for Rosalind. This causes Cigarette to sob every now and then, but she still has some hope of regaining Victor's love. In fact, she seems to love Victor more than Rosalind does. But, she's destined to be the loser, as she dies in battle with the Arabs. Posthumously, she is officially recognized for her essential role in the defeat of the Arabs, as well as for her other qualities. See the film to discover how she accomplishes this. It's mostly sheer luck combined with her crazy mission to somehow save Victor from death on the battlefield. In fact, she is the main attraction of this rather cheesy film, for her beauty, courage, occasional humor and continued devotion to Victor under discouraging circumstances. It's an ideal role for her. .....Onslow Stevens, who plays the rebel chieftain, clearly comes across as being of Teutonic heritage, rather than Arab or Bedouin. And, it's just too coincidental that the chieftain went to Oxford when Victor did, and speaks good English! Victor almost loses his life in attempting to sidetrack the Arabs into fearing an unlikely attack by an imaginary British army. How he got into the chieftain's tent to discuss things during a lull in the fighting is left to the viewer's imagination. See it on YouTube.

Sgt Viktor (Ronald Coleman) is in the foreign legion to forget about his life. He is far too intelligent to be there and far too intelligent for his superior JC Doyle (Victor McLaglen) who is having an affair with the rather stupidly named Cigarette (Claudette Colbert). Cigarette takes a shine to Sgt. Viktor before Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell) appears on the scene to further complicate matters. There are romantic complications between these main 4 characters with the result that JC Doyle "has it in" for Sgt Viktor and pretty much signs a death warrant for him by sending him on missions where he is unlikely to survive. At the film's end, both JC Doyle and Cigarette show up to try and save him..........and someone gets shot and dies.....There is absolutely no guesses as to who is going to die at the end of this film. It's bloody obvious. The story drags out and there is nothing original in this tale of a woman's love for a man in the foreign legion. Ronald Coleman is very smooth and likable and Victor McLaglen plays his role well.......it's the women's roles which don't quite work - Colbert with a ghastly fake French accent and Russell just looks a bit odd.The film is OK but the story never really grabs the viewer and gets going. My girlfriend liked it but I didn't feel anything once it had finished.......or during it.

I'd like to disagree with the previous reviews because the first hour isn't so dull after all.First of all it is of course needed to establish the love relations and interests of the four major characters Seargent Victor,Cigarette,Major Doyle and Lady Venetia.Furthermore it offers some really excellent acted scenes,e.g. the comic tavern scene with its knife-throwing and lady chasing or the scene when Lady Venetia is visiting the legion's dorm and Victor fears she might know and recognize him-great how he manages to convey this only by mimic.Even the lesser scenes when Lady Venetia and Victor are watching a snake-charmer or when they meet at the oasis serve to give a deeper insight into the characters,especially Victor and his self-reflective charming ways.Finally there is twice sex in the desert implied.So this first hour is a romantic and comic relief for what is to follow. The last half an hour is a tour de force where all the story lines, that have been knitted in the first hour, come together to erupt in the confrontation with the Arabs in the desert and Major Doyle's plan to get rid of his rival Victor by sending him on fatal errands.There are some terrifically staged battle scenes,but in the end it's not the action that is predominant but Victor's and Cigarette's courage to sacrifice themselves.Cigarette is willing to forsake her love for Victor to propose an for her unhappy relationship with Doyle in order to save Victor from Doyle's vengeance.And Victor on his behalf is exceeding this even, by his plan to buy time for reinforcements to arrive.Knowing the Arab leader Sidi Ben Youssiff from Oxford he plans to delay the Arab attack by giving them some deceptive information-just have a look at Colman's faint smile when Youssiff falls for it- and by this risking his own life and facing a horrible death.This is also where Colman's underacting is at its best because it's all acted with a total lack of pathos-even when Cigarette is eventually dying in his arms after having saved his life the emotions seem genuine-it's the only time I have seen Colman cry on screen so far. So this leaves us with the happy(?) ending.I believe one may argue if it's happy after all because at Cigarette's burial Doyle seems defeated and Victor though restored to his former honour and life and of course Lady Venetia gives a rather estranged impression.He gazes down at the coffin and Venetia's grasp of his hand does not seem to distract him from his brooding. What can I add? Apparently from the fan letters it seemed that especially women liked this movie and I guess I'm certainly one of them although at first its subject almost kept me from watching it.

Ah, the bygone glories of the French Foreign Legion story. Almost everyone knows BEAU GESTE, from the 1939 version starring Gary Cooper. This was a lesser brother. Great actors, great direction, great cinematography and a script full of -- nowadays -- laughable bits. Claudette Colbert plays Cigarette, the Daughter of the Legion. Ronald Colman, plays the legionnaire who is trying to forget, and a young Rosalind Russell -- what a looker! -- play Lady Venezia Cunningham with a posh accent. What can you expect from a movie in which Ronald Colman is torn between Cigarette, daughter of the Legion and Lady Venezia Cunningham with the Production Code in full force? Well, this one. An amusing way to spend a couple of hours, if you are prepared not to take things too seriously. Or you could look at the Laurel & Hardy BEAU HUNKS.