Major William Sherman Foster (Gene Hackman) returned to Paris at the conclusion of the Great War. Though an American, he was a member of the French Foreign Legion. Clearly, he suffered PSTD from the experience. Not long after the return, he was dispatched to Morocco. Francois Marneau (Max von Sydow) wanted to resume digging at a ruin. Foster warned against it, saying that El Krim (Ian Holm) would not take kindly to such activities. Nonetheless, Foster and his legionnaires were sent. Among the legionnaires were some new recruits: Marco Segrain (Terence Hill) the cat burglar, Top Hat the musician (he got his name on account of his headgear), Ivan the Russian (Jack O'Halloran), and Hastings the runaway Englishman who had never traveled less than first class before. This clique provided a view of life in the legion. There was also Simone Picard (Catherine Deneuve), whose father was a colleague of Marneau and last seen at the ruins. The ship voyage to Morrocco saw the beginning of romance between Marco and Simone. Marco is not the only one interested in Simone; she has several suitors. Eventually, the legionnaire's travel to the ruins, Marneau begins excavating, and soldiers go missing. El Krim is not pleased. Conflict is imminent and Foster doesn't have enough men to hold the position.
The setting is interesting and has a Beau Geste or Alamo feel to it. Terence Hill is much too lighthearted and comical for his role. Yes, he is charming, but he lacks the dangerous edge that Marco needed. Perhaps I have seen too many of his comedies to take him seriously here. The arc of Foster is hard to discern. On the one hand, he has this fatalistic air where he expects to die in the desert. He waited almost too long to resist an attack. When not being gloomy, he's an insufferable jerk. Even as a bad guy, Hackman is usually likable, but here he isn't.
Mediocre. Skip.
