Legend of the Lost (1957)

the audience applauded

hyped garbage

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

" . . . with God as a Front," screenwriter Ben Hecht wrote for Joe January to say toward the end of LEGEND OF THE LOST about John Wayne, knowing that the self-styled "Il Duce" would prove too dense to put two and two together, and never realize that the movie's title and this line of dialogue amounted to the most fitting epitaph Wayne would ever have. Eager young Democrat John got into some sort of a lover's tiff with one of the boys (most likely a Jew) back in the 1930s, and decided that he would destroy an entire sector of American Society in Revenge. With the help of a few venal Hench People such as Hedda Hopper, this literal Death Star was the chief author of the Un-American Congressional Inquisition Committee, Joe "I-have-no-decency" McCarthy, the National Rifle Association's coup taking over America's government, the Reagan Presidency, the Iraq Invasion, and nearly every other Evil on our planet today. If World War Two started because an Austrian corporal flunked out of Art School, Armageddon surely will be engraved with Il Duce's John Hancock. Once you realize that Hecht is cleverly making Wayne witness to his own depraved existence with LEGEND OF THE LOST's "Paul," this flick should make a lot more sense to you.

When America's manliest man hooks up with Europe's hottest lady, the result should give you something to see. Instead, "Legend Of The Lost" fizzles away its powerhouse casting on a grim desert adventure flick that's more disappointing than bad.Joe January (John Wayne) is a desert guide stuck in Timbuktu when his services are enlisted by the mysterious, kindly Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi). Bonnard, it turns out, is on a treasure hunt, following the trail of his long-lost father. Along for the ride, against January's wishes, is a prostitute named Dita (Sophia Loren) who sees Bonnard as a source of redemption."I like my chippies in a room," January fumes, establishing his ornery character early.Never mind Wayne and Loren, the star of this production is Jack Cardiff, the film's cinematographer. His shots of the trio making their way along the Sahara's dunes and setting sun are worth taking in, even if the story being presented isn't.Ben Hecht co-wrote the script with Robert Presnell, but if you are expecting snappy one-liners or blazing action, look elsewhere. Instead, what you are fed here is a lot of pious mumbo-jumbo from Bonnard about man being the only unkind animal, or else overemoting Dita screaming how the touch of men are like bugs to her. Wayne has the easiest job just playing himself, making sly eyes at Sophia but mostly behaving himself.January is the one with the doubts about Bonnard's expedition; he doesn't buy the holy-man thing and is very dubious about the objective: "The desert is full of bones that went looking for treasure." As the movie goes on, the trio manages to find the place they seek, whereupon the trouble really begins.Like I say, the photography is magnificent, so much so you get right away what Dita means when she says she feels so much smaller in the desert. But what passes for drama is negligibly absurd. Dita freaks out when a tarantula falls on her dress. Bonnard shoots a whisky bottle out of Joe's hand. A brief encounter with wandering Tuareg tribesmen goes nowhere.Brazzi manages some interest early on, but the script requires his character to make an impossible transition in an effort to jimmy up some last-minute suspense. Loren has her moments, but her conversion early in the film is likewise abrupt and unconvincing. Kurt Kasznar provides some comic relief in the first 15 minutes, mostly by acting greedy and speaking with a campy French accent.Director Henry Hathaway made some great films, including Wayne's "True Grit." Here you can see he has a feeling for Wayne, who looks great in his leather jerkin and Indiana Jones hat and exudes competence whether unhitching a mule or taking a slug of whisky. But Brazzi and Loren have the tougher parts, and they get no help from the abrupt manner in which Hathaway presents them.The ending is really a puzzle; it seems like the story doesn't end so much as run out of time. It's not hard to imagine Wayne wanting to get out of Libya and declaring a wrap before Hathaway did. If shooting "Legend Of The Lost" was anything like watching it, I can't say I blame him.

A previous reviewer may be correct in identifying Lepcis Magna in promotional shots of Sophia Loren, but that Roman city was not used as a location in this movie. The ancient city is clearly Timgad and is referred to as such by John Wayne's character.The use of Timgad as a location is perhaps the most interesting aspect of this movie, notwithstanding the allure of Miss Loren. I thought so, anyway, when I first saw it on TV as a kid.I did not occur to me then, but, for a 'lost city' Timgad appears remarkably well maintained in this movie. The adventurers come across an archaeological site which clearly has had its streets swept regularly and various monuments reconstructed. Only the gift shop is missing.That the characters strike out from Timbuktu and arrive in northern Libya means they have traversed almost the entire breadth of the Sahara -surely an impossible feat, even for the indomitable Mr Wayne. His character is rueful when he name-checks the place, as well he might be, since a bus ride from Algiers would probably have sufficed!That he knows the name of the ancient Roman city was perhaps a favour to the Libyan tourist board.

Scallywag desert veteran Joe January is bailed out of prison to act as a guide for Paul Bonnard. Bonnard is in Timbuktu to search for treasure in the Sahara, something his now missing father set off to do some time before. Along for the journey is Dita, a low moral woman who caught Bonnard's good will during a set-too in the town earlier. So January sets off with his suspicions on full alert, women and treasure!, has to be a recipe for trouble...surely?I can't dress it up, Legend Of The Lost is just about watchable for a few comic moments and it's decent enough production values. John Wayne {Jones}, Sophia Loren {Dita} and Rossano Brazzi {Bonnard} star in what on paper looked to be a real good thing. Three actors who can arguably lay claim to having a volume of fans to rival those of the Hollywood heavy weights past and present. Yet it doesn't quite come together, it lacks an adventure spark that the story clearly hints should be there. It's not helped by Brazzi and his inability to act, he is someone who continues to baffle me in how he managed to get mainstream cash work in the first place. Loren as usual, pouts and teases the men on screen and the boys in the audience, but do we care? Actually no. During her moments of peril, one can't help hoping that Duke Wayne will shoot her to ease all the suffering of the viewers.Ah, bless The Duke, for he be the one bright acting spot in the picture. In fine physical shape and clearly knowing that tongue in cheek is the best way to play this one, Duke enjoys himself and hopefully his fans can get a modicum of enjoyment from this badly casted piece. The location work in Libya is real nice {Jack Cardiff once again delivering fine photography}, with the desert sequences enhanced by the always pleasant Technicolor. But don't be kidded that this is a character study worth venturing into, for if it didn't have the star names attached to it, they would have burned the negative long before release. 3.5/10