Three Brothers join the infamous French Foreign Legion after one of them has stolen a priceless gem from their adoptive family. While fighting in the deserts of North Africa, the brothers face the dangers of war epically when dealing with their cruel commander.
I like the concept and ideas to the story. I like how the film opens up with the aftermath of the climatic battle leaving the viewers with questions that will soon be answered as the film plays on. I like the foreshadows to the events that will later happen in the film. I like that our Three main characters will take part in the French Foreign Legion. It really does have a solid story, with that said the film does sadly fall a little flat. Our characters in the film really don't interest me and nor does the film feel like it's trying to make the characters appeal to us. They're just kind of there and hardly share any chemistry between each other. Even the actors don't make the characters look or act interesting, they look kind of bored and it really pains me because some of the actors portraying them are up and coming actors who will later be popular such as Oscar winner Ronald Coleman, Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon in the 60s "Batman" show) and William Powell (The Thin Man).
The cinematography is ok. Comparing it to the previous films I reviewed of Brenon's works it can really be good, epically the shots of the army riding in the desert. Sometimes I wonder if some of these shots inspired the epic classic "Lawrence Of Arabia". However, with that said the majority of these shots are not all that amazing. The fight scenes in the film are very anti climatic and don't really seem epic or sad. By the way, the Fort being caught on fire in the opening looks like a model? The music doesn't really give the film any drama or make a scene become thrilling, it mostly sounds like the calm music you'd hear in "Mister Roger's Neighborhood".
As much as I dislike the film, I actually don't think it's not all that terrible. The story is good, some of the shots are nice and the casting is good. If the actors and the film gave the characters more character, had a better score and had more good cinematography, the film would be a hit and a classic. This film is not a bad film but it's not a great film either.
RATING 3/5
And that's the end of Herbert Brenon being the Director Of The Month. Well looking at these films, he doesn't seem like to be a good Director, however, most of his films are lost and he's made over a hundred films, so who knows maybe the films I just reviewed aren't his strongest and the majority of his other films are better. If I find anymore of his films in the future, I'll defiantly review them.
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