Desert Command (1946) User Reviews

Condensed Version of The Three Musketeers

[Rainey-Dawn · 6/10 · 12 June 2016]

The film "Desert Command" is a condensed version of the 1933 serial "The Three Musketeers". I believe that it would be better to watch the entire serial than this edited version but this film will give you get jest of of it. It's merely "okay". I think it needed more of the serial added to the edited film version to make it better - a few things are missing to get a better story out of it.

I enjoyed this film to a degree, it's great to see the actors in something different. It's just the story that is lacking along with better editing to make this film more enjoyable.

Watch if you are a die hard John Wayne or Lon Chaney fan.

6/10

Lots of action in a low quality film

[SimonJack · 4/10 · 12 April 2014]

It's interesting that "Desert Command" is a 1946 movie release made from a condensed 1933 film. Apparently, the earlier film, "TheThree Musketeers," was put together from a series of short ones. Two earlier reviewers give some good information on that. In the early years of movies – and through the 1950s as I can recall, the standard movie fare on any given weekend was two movies and a cartoon. One film would be a short or a "B" grade movie. So, it's interesting to see this much later release of snippets put together in a single film from the 1933 film footage.

One thing very noticeable, is the difference in quality that 13 years made. By 1946, John Wayne had been in 110 movies. The quality of the films he had been in the past several years – whether A or B movies, was quite good. So, the snowy, scratchy, poor quality of this Mascot film from 1933 footage really stands out.

This film has lots of the action from the earlier film. But it suffers greatly in the plot, editing and all technical aspects. I think the plot has several holes where scenes don't connect well. For instance, Elaine Corday (played by Ruth Hall) rides to an Arab hideout to report a possible spy to an Arab chieftain. It sure looked like she was part of the evil network of El Shatan. So, when other scenes have her helping one side and then the other, it becomes quite confusing.

This film has some well known names of the time in the cast, besides John Wayne. But aside from the action in a very choppy and disoriented plot, there's little else to recommend it.

High on action, low on production value swashbuckler

[shakercoola · 4/10 · 5 April 2021]

An American mystery action spy adventure; A story about a trio of foreign legionnaires who confront a mysterious Arab terrorist when their rescuer is framed for murder. This is a 70 minute movie edited from a a 1933 film serial "The Three Musketeers". It is loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' famous 1844 novel. The film achieves a period setting and it has some good aerial acrobatics and a few diverting action sequences, but it is poorly constructed and looks choppy because scenes are stitched together without good flow and unaided by musical theme. The performances from most of the cast look stilted.

Edited serial

[frontrowkid2002 · 17 May 2008]

Desert Command (1946), a feature version of a early John Wayne serial, was one of Republic's attempts to cash in on the box office appeal of one of their stars. In 1933, John Wayne, a struggling B actor, was working in serials for Mascot Pictures, the forerunner to Republic. The Three Musketeers was an updated version of Dumas' adventure classic using Foreign Legionnaires instead of royal swordsmen. The serial was the third of three chapter-plays Wayne made at this time. In 1946, he had become a major star, producing his own films at Republic. Desert Command was designed to play the bottom half of a double bill at second run theaters at a Saturday matinée, where a Roy Rogers or Gene Autry film might be the main feature. Autry had also appeared in a sci-fi western serial for Mascot, "Phantom Empire" which was re-edited into a 1940 feature, "Men With Steel Faces." Other Republic serials re-edited as features included "Hi-Yo Silver" (The Lone Ranger, 1938), Lost Planet Airmen (King of the Rocketmen, 1949), and Zorro Rides Again (same title as 1937 serial). In 1966, to cash in on the Batman "camp" craze, Republic re-released several of their serials as features under different titles for television in the "Century 66" package.

ITS PURPOSE DIED IN ITS SERIAL FORMAT.

[rsoonsa · 1/10 · 8 June 2002]

Released in 1946, this feature is cobbled together from a 12 part 1933 Mascot serial, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and purports to be based upon the classic work by Dumas, with the action transferred to the Sahara and involving a struggle of the French Foreign Legion opposite a secret group of Arab villains, with John Wayne's character mentioned in the script as D'Artagnan to a trio of guardsmen. The original serial is grotesquely silly, and this synthesis is, if possible, even worse, with situations and dialogue that are numbingly puerile; however, if the film lacks any direction whatsoever, the viewer cannot fail but be amazed at the athletic equestrian stuntwork of Yakima Canutt and his crew of worthies, actively and dramatically superior as they are to the remainder of the performers.

Heavily trimmed to say the least!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 8 December 2012]

Originally, this film was part of a 12-part serial from tiny Mascot Films. However, like many of the old serials, it was later trimmed significantly to make it feature length. So, from 210 minutes, it now is about 72! Not surprisingly, the film seems choppy and vague--the result getting rid of 2/3 the serial!

The film begins with three French Legionnaires trapped in the desert with the enemy about to wipe them out once and for all. However, out of no where comes an American plane (flown by John Wayne) to wipe out the baddies and help French colonialism to flourish (is that really such a good thing?!). Now the men are best friends with Wayne and vow to be like the Musketeers of old (hence the original title, "The Three Musketeers"). But, the evil leader of the rebels, El Shaitan, and his Devil's Circle, vow to split them up and destroy the French. Will he do it or will the Legion be victorious? What do you think?!

The biggest thing you'll notice apart from how choppy the film can be is that the acting (including Wayne) is pretty limp at times. The same can be said for a young Lon Chaney Junior (billed under his real name, Creighton Chaney). The writing isn't any better--and I had to laugh at all the times Wayne DIDN'T shoot people or take out baddies once and for all. For the most part, this is a pretty poor film and is probably only of interest to die-hard John Wayne fans and fans of good 'ol colonialism. Otherwise, it's very easy to skip.

I'd rather watch the full thing

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 14 September 2018]

DESERT COMMAND is one of those films that I don't really care to watch much; a feature version of a full-length serial made some 13 years previously. Thus the story gets hacked down to a few key scenes and it all feels particularly rushed and chaotic; I always think I'd just rather be watching the complete thing. This one was originally called THE THREE MUSKETEERS and updates the Dumas story to a Foreign Legion setting, with John Wayne and his buddies combating a criminal mastermind in the form of a sinister Arab. Juniors Noah Beery and Lon Chaney show up for effect, but this isn't very interesting.

Good for what it is intended to be

[ImpartialObservor · 6/10 · 3 February 2019]

Watched this movie on YouTube and looked it up because I thought they had the wrong year of production. I have seen 1946 John Wayne. I know 1946 John Wayne. 1946 John Wayne is a friend of mine. This movie is not 1946 John Wayne. Other reviewers were helpful to inform that this movie is a compilation from a 12 part 1933 serial which was released in 1946 to take advantage of the Duke's stardom. The movie is loaded with stars early in their careers: Lon Chaney, Noah Berry and many others. It is an old serial and it looks like one. I enjoyed it, but if you are looking for a desert movie with high production values and a plot not written by a fifth grader, watch Lawrence of Arabia.

Desert Command

[CinemaSerf · 4/10 · 8 January 2023]

This compilation from the serial "The Three Musketeers" (nothing to do with Alexandre Dumas' story) is probably more notable for it's more impressive aerial acrobatics than for anything we see from the actors. John Wayne leads the cast as one of a trio of French Foreign legionnaires dealing with renegade Arab forces led by the enigmatic "El Shaitan" who is smuggling weapons to the local tribes. It frequently uses the music to cover up for lack of decent audio and though it does try to make much more use of outdoor, rather then studio scenarios - quite brave (and expensive) for 1933, it is still a pretty ropey affair to look at. It's still worth a watch as an historical piece of cinema, but keep your sights aimed low...

DESERT COMMAND is a 72-minute "condensation" . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 27 July 2016]

. . . of the FOUR-HOUR, 12-part John Wayne serial, THE THREE MUSKETEERS. This movie also is an "Eastern." There are horse chases galore, and the Tribal Arabs behave just as Native Americans do in Westerns, with lots of drumming, smoke signals, and plotting against "Christians." It seems that this feature is suggesting that just as Native American Religions were outlawed, and the last group of Faithful Fundamentalist Ghost Dancers were mowed down with their women and children at Wounded Knee in 1890, the same measures must be taken against these Eastern Tribes, who drown people in cages, as U.S. Presidential Front Runner Donald Trump always is saying. It's easier to play Cowboys & Arabs, DESERT COMMAND reveals, than the more familiar game Cowboys & Indians because once guys don their white robes and start gargling their words in a deep voice, White Men are indistinguishable from North Africans. This is probably pretty effective with the Arab women folk, too, as Mr. Wayne looks downright fetching when he's sporting Osama Bin Laden garb.

Mildly Entertaining in a Goofy Way

[Michael_Elliott · 23 August 2016]

Desert Command (1946)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The French Legionnaires are in the Sahara desert fighting some Arab gunrunners when they run into some trouble. But have no fear because Tom Wayne (John Wayne) comes through with a plane and wipes out the bad guys. Soon he and The Three Musketeers form a friendship and have to try and bring down an evil Arab who is doing illegal things.

DESERT COMMAND is a feature length version of the 1933 serial THE THREE MUSKETEERS. If you're familiar with these feature versions then you know that they usually cut out almost two hours worth of footage and it comes across as a confusing mess. I was shocked to see how this one here managed to tell a pretty straight story and if you didn't already know this was a serial you probably wouldn't even realize that it's missing so much footage.

I found this to be pretty entertaining thanks to a pretty good cast and some of them giving really bad performances. This includes Wayne who is all over the place here, which I was shocked to see. I recently watched a lot of his "B" Westerns from this period and he wasn't nearly as bad in them as he is here. Some of his line delivery is extremely bad but it's still fun seeing him. Lon Chaney, Jr. (still working under his original name) also gives a pretty bad performance as he was still years away from tuning his craft. Noah Beery, Jr. and silent star Francis X. Bushman Jr. are in the supporting cast.

As I said, the story itself holds up fairly well in this 72-minute version but the most impressive thing were the various stunts. I thought the stunt work was extremely good and we got some pretty good action scenes scattered throughout the running time. I'd also argue that the ending, which turns into a semi-horror film, was also quite good. DESERT COMMAND certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's mildly entertaining.