Drums of the Desert (1940)
Overview
On his way to a post as special adviser of the new parachute troops of the French Foreign Legion in Morocco, Paul Dumont meets the beautiful Helene on the ship. A romance ensues, but the two decide to part when Paul learns that Helene is the fiancée of his best friend and fellow officer Raoul. Raoul is wounded during an Arab attack and the wedding is postponed, and Helene and Paul are thrown together and find it impossible to hide their feelings. The meet in the tent of Hassan, a fortune teller, not knowing the tent is a storage place for arms and ammunition belonging to Addullah, an Arab leader determined to avenge the death of his brother Ben Ali.
Cast
Ralph Byrd
Paul Dumont
Lorna Gray
Helene Laroche
George Lynn
Captain Jean Bridaux (as George Peter Lynn)
Willy Castello
Addullah (as William Castello)
Mantan Moreland
Sergeant 'Blue' Williams
Jean Del Val
Colonel Fouchet (as Jean Del-Val)
Ann Codee
Mme. Fouchet
Boyd Irwin
Captain Andre
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- Reviews
CinemaSerf
Ralph Byrd is really pretty poor here as "Lt. Paul Dupont", an officer in the French Foreign Legion sent to Morocco to train an elite squadron of paratroopers. On his way across on the boat from France, he meets "Helene Laroche" (Lorna Gray) and they have a brief romance before they realise that she is engaged to his best friend George Lynn ("Capt. Bridaux") who is also stationed at the same fort. When some local tribesmen attack the camp, and "Bridaux" is injured, their wedding is postponed and the ringleader of the attackers - the brother of the local Sheikh - is executed. Needless to say, that causes some resentment and the Sheikh vows to avenge the death of his brother. The star of the film is undoubtedly Mantan Moreland as "Sgt. Williams" - he injects bags of charisma and some humour as his officers become just a bit too preoccupied with their love triangle. The ending is never in doubt, indeed the film seems to wrap up with an almost undue haste, but it's at the better end of these sandy action films that is just about worth the hour it takes to watch.
