A Patrulha Perdida (1934)

A dozen British soldiers, lost in a Mesopotamian desert during World War I, are menaced by unseen Arab enemies.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screen play), Garrett Fort (adaptation)

Stars:

Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Victor McLaglen	...	The Sergeant
Boris Karloff	...	Sanders
Wallace Ford	...	Morelli
Reginald Denny	...	Brown
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Quincannon
Billy Bevan	...	Hale
Alan Hale	...	Cook
Brandon Hurst	...	Bell
Douglas Walton	...	Pearson
Sammy Stein	...	Abelson
Howard Wilson	...	Aviator
Paul Hanson	...	MacKay

Storyline

A World War I British Army patrol is crossing the Mesopotomian desert when their commanding officer, the only one who knows their destination is killed by the bullet of unseen bandits. The patrol's sergeant keeps them heading north on the assumption that they will hit their brigade. They stop for the night at an oasis and awake the next morning to find their horses stolen, their sentry dead, the oasis surrounded and survival difficult.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | reference to rudyard kipling | desert | sergeant | sniper | 

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Taglines:

BLISTERING SUN...BLAZING BULLETS! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was panned by critics due to Karloff's erratic and over-the-top performance.

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Goofs

The Arabs must be crack shots. They rarely miss, and when they do hit no one is ever wounded, always killed. In at least one case, they appear to be shooting through a sand dune.

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Quotes

Sanders: [after telling the Sergeant that Brown has left] He wrote something in my Bible... for you.
The Sergeant: Deserted, hunh? Insubordinate swine! Bilged out! Left us like a rat when we needed every man! Why didn't you tell me? You're a party to this, you know! Well, get your rifle and get out of here. You take his place.
Sanders: [With a crazed look in his eyes] Yes, Yes, that's it, Sergeant! Yes!
The Sergeant: [Reading Brown's note] 'Sorry, Sergeant, but Quincannon was right. He knocked one off for Jock. I'll get another for Matlow. ...

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Alternate Versions

There is a short version of the film, with a running time of 66 minutes, prepared for a 1949 reissue.

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Connections

Referenced in Quase Modelo, Quase Detective: Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Steele (1985)

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Soundtracks

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile
(1915) (uncredited)
Music by Felix Powell
Played on harmonica by Wallace Ford
Played also in the score

User Reviews

John Ford is by far my favorite director

No director impresses me more consistently than John Ford. Add The Lost Patrol to the list of his second tier triumphs - it's a cliche, but if anyone else had made this film, it would probably be their masterpiece. A British officer, riding through the Arabian desert in 1917, refuses to share his orders with his subordinates. When he is sniped by an unseen assailant, his six companions have to fend for themselves. They luckily run into an abandoned mosque, where they hold up. Their pursuers, on the other hand, now have them cornered, and start picking them off one by one. Victor McLaglen, a year before he performed his Oscar winning role in Ford's even better The Informer, was not yet pigeonholed as the Irish drunk. He has a straight British accent in this movie, which somehow makes him a bit less great, in my opinion. I just guess I have a soft spot for him as a lout! He's still excellent, however, as the troop's new captain. The other actors are also good. Especially worth mentioning is Boris Karloff as an overly religious man driven insane by the situation. That's a cliche now, but I'm guessing it wasn't in 1934. I don't think I've ever seen Karloff not buried under make-up. He's still playing a horror role, I suppose. At one point he slowly tries to escape the mosque, using a cross as a walking stick. God, what a beautiful scene. Ford's direction is brilliant. Although this is a slightly darker movie than many of his others, there are still several touching Fordian moments in which the soldiers discuss their families. McLaglen has a particularly wonderful moment as he converses about his son, whose mother died in childbirth. At first he hated the child, but he really couldn't help but love him. The smile on his face when he describes his son's life is enormously affecting. Max Steiner's score, although a bit overused at time, is mostly exceptional. At one point, the troop's situation seems about to be relieved. The music becomes triumphant. But a well-aimed bullet stops the score dead in its tracks. This is a great film. 9/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 1937 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

A Patrulha Perdida

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Dunes, Imperial County, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$254,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min (original) 66 min (1954 reissue length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1