(1934)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny, J.M. Kerrigan, Billy Bevan, Alan Hale

Here we go again. Another seemingly non-horror title, directed by none other than John Ford. So why are we reviewing this? Simple. Because it stars Boris Karloff, only a year before he appears in The Bride of Frankenstein. And the fact that not only is Karloff exceptional here, but it is also a really good and intense movie. It’s a simple story about an army patrol lost in the Mesopotamian desert during World War I, after their young commanding officer is shot by an unseen sniper, taking their orders and directions with him. Now the Sargeant, played by Victor McLaglen, is in charge, with no clue as to where they are or where they were going. They keep marching and come across an oasis, where there is a watering hole and plenty of dates to eat. Before the next morning, their sentry is killed and their horses stolen. As they wait, trying to decide what to do, they are slowly picked off by their unseen assailants.

Wallace Ford plays one of the soldiers and any role I remember him from, he seems to be the comedic relief, such as in The Mummy’s Hand (1940), where I found him just annoying. But in here, while he does try to lighten the mood for the circumstances, near the end, he jokes around a bit, but you can tell he really is terrified and it comes across in his performance. I must give him credit for his role here. Well done.

But for me, as expected, the real star is Boris Karloff, who plays Sanders, the religious one in the patrol. Very religious. In fact, when tension rises, along with the heat, Sanders starts to snap at the other “heathens” because they won’t embrace the Lord Almighty in this dire time of need. From just the look on his face at different times, it says more than words, showing just how good of a character actor Karloff could be, given the right chance.

And yeah, while not horror, it is a pretty tense storyline, as the stress gets to be too much for some of the soldiers and they start to crack in the heat, as their Sargeant does what he can to get them through this situation. While it might not be one to revisit multiple times, if you haven’t seen it, it is well worth your time.

This is from Warner Archive, and the print looks really nice. Sadly, there are no real extras here, other than 2 Popeye cartoons, Axe Me Another and The Man on the Flying Trapeze. Not sure of the connection to this movie though, but you’d think we could at least have an audio commentary or something, since it not only has Karloff and McLaglen, an Oscar winner himself, but also directed by the legendary John Ford, a multiple Oscar winner as well.

Thanks to AV Entertainment for sending us this to review! You can purchase your own copy by going HERE.