Commando (1962 film)
| Marcia o Crepa | |
|---|---|
US release film poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Wisbar |
| Written by | William Denby Mino Guerrini Milton Krims Giuseppe Mangione Frank Wisbar Arturo Tofanelli (story) |
| Produced by | Willy Zeyn |
| Starring | Stewart Granger Dorian Gray |
| Cinematography | Cecilio Paniagua |
| Edited by | Mario Serandrei |
| Music by | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
Production companies | Temp Film FICIT Galatea Midega |
| Distributed by | Tempo Film (Italy) American International Pictures (USA) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Countries | Belgium Spain Italy Germany |
| Language | English |
| Box office | 977,460 admissions (France)[1] |
Marcia o Crepa (March or Die), known as The Legion's Last Patrol in the UK and Commando in the US, is a 1962 European (Italian, German, Spanish) co-production war film about the Algerian War of Independence.[2][3]
It was released in 1964 in the US by American International Pictures on a double feature with Torpedo Bay (aka Beta Som).[4][5]
In the UK this film was shown at Odeon cinemas as part of a double feature with The Day of the Triffids.
Plot
[edit | edit source]French Foreign Legion Captain Le Blanc (Stewart Granger) leads a section of his Legion parachutists to capture an FLN guerrilla leader. Along the way they are joined by a prostitute (Dorian Gray) and an Arab child. Their mission is a success but when their escape helicopter is shot down they have to fight their way back to the French lines.
Cast
[edit | edit source]- Stewart Granger : capitaine Leblanc
- Dorian Gray : Nora
- Fausto Tozzi : Brascia
- Riccardo Garrone : Paolo
- Carlos Casaravilla : Ben Bled
- Ivo Garrani : Colonel Dionne
- Alfredo Mayo : Mayor
- Pablito Alonso : Arab Kid
- Hans von Borsody : Fritz
- Maurizio Arena : Dolce Vita
- Dietmar Schönherr : Petit Prince
- Peter Carsten : Barbarossa
- Leo Anchóriz : Garcia
Musical score
[edit | edit source]The theme music Concerto Disperato by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino became a top selling instrumental in Italy performed by Nini Rosso and in the UK with a cover version by Ken Thorne reaching No. 4.[6]
Reception
[edit | edit source]The Los Angeles Times called it "mediocre, its timely subject matter reduced to the level of a formula Western."[7]
The Monthly Film Bulletin said "despite up-to-date dressing this is basically a schoolboy adventure story, though somewhat grimly executed... the narrative owes more to war movies than P.C. Wren, being a variation on the old idea of the gradual decimation of a patrol. Still, the film is an example of action all the way, apart from the gratuitously ironic ending which, though tart, comes as a decided anti-climax."[8]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France at Box Office Story
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Warwick, Neal, Brown, Tony & Kutner, Jon The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums 2004 Omnibus Press
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ MARCIA O CREPA Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 30, Iss. 348, (Jan 1, 1963): 87.
External links
[edit | edit source]- Commando at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Commando at Letterbox DVD
- Commando at BFI
- 1962 films
- 1962 war films
- German war drama films
- Italian war drama films
- Spanish war drama films
- West German films
- English-language German films
- English-language Italian films
- English-language Spanish films
- Films directed by Frank Wisbar
- German political drama films
- Algerian War films
- Films about the French Foreign Legion
- American International Pictures films
- Macaroni Combat films
- Films shot in Almería
- Films scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s Italian films
- 1960s German films
- English-language war films
- War drama film stubs