Stewart Granger drags his washed-up war buddies through hell for one last mission.
A French Foreign Legion commander is told to assemble a unit and capture an Algerian rebel leader. He gathers in his old unit, most of whom are no longer in top form. One is having nightmares of past indiscretions, another is now drinking, another has lost his nerve. He takes them in captures the leader, but then is unable to make it to the pick up. He encounters a rebel patrol and is trapped unless they can escape before their water runs out.
Acting
Granger's weathered charisma carries every scene.
Cinematography
Harsh Spanish desert stands in for Algeria beautifully.
Director
Frank Wisbar
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in Spain with a largely Italian and Spanish crew, this was one of several Euro war films Granger made after leaving Hollywood.
Released during the final bloody year of the actual Algerian War, the film's sympathetic-yet-paternalistic portrayal of colonial troops aged poorly and immediately.
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