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
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