Under Two Flags (1936)

Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Ouida (by: a story of the French foreign legion), W.P. Lipscomb (screen play),

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Colman	...	Sergeant Victor
Claudette Colbert	...	Cigarette
Victor McLaglen	...	Major Doyle
Rosalind Russell	...	Lady Venetia Cunningham
Gregory Ratoff	...	Ivan
Nigel Bruce	...	Captain Menzies
C. Henry Gordon	...	Lieutenant Petaine
Herbert Mundin	...	Rake
John Carradine	...	Cafard
Lumsden Hare	...	Lord Seraph
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Colonel Ferol
Onslow Stevens	...	Sidi-Ben Youssiff
Fritz Leiber	...	French Governor
Thomas Beck	...	Pierre
William Ricciardi	...	Cigarette's Father

Storyline

Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison.

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Plot Keywords:

french | foreign legion | gunfire | desert | self sacrifice | 

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Taglines:

Claudette Colbert finds her perfect screen sweetheart at last in Ronald Colman

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Arabic

Release Date:

1 May 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sob Duas Bandeiras

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 112 min (copyright length) 98 min (re-release) (re-edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Simone Simon was to make her American screen debut in this movie in the role of Cigarette, but director Frank Lloyd demanded she be fired after two weeks of shooting because of her temperamental attitude. When she was replaced by Claudette Colbert, all Simon's footage was discarded.

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Connections

Featured in Come See the Paradise (1990)

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Soundtracks

"The Glow Worm"
(1902) (uncredited)
Music by Paul Lincke
English lyrics by Lilla Cayley Robinson
Played as background music at the cafe

User Reviews

Colman and Colbert shine in lackluster desert opus

There's not much plot here - for that go to THE FOUR FEATHERS and BEAU GESTE. Basically it's a quadrangle. Colman is loved by two women, the aristocratic Russell and the camp follower, Colbert. He loves only Russell, though God knows why when he has feisty Colbert. McLaglen loves Colbert and because she is in love with Colman, engineers dangerous missions for Colman, hoping he won't return from one of them. The first hour is rather dull, only establishing the love relationships. The second half is a bit more stimulating, taking place out in the desert with forced marches and Arab attacks.

Lloyd directs blandly. Colman and Colbert are wonderful in their roles, she even better than he - though Hollywood's idea of eyebrow pencilling starts about a foot above her head. See it for these two stars, not the action.