''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 War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

about the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. It was released in 1964 in the US by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

on a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

Torpedo Bay ''Torpedo Bay'' is a 1963 war film directed by Charles Frend and Bruno Vailati and starring James Mason. The story is based on events that took place at Betasom, a submarine base established at Bordeaux by the Italian Navy during World War II. ...

''/''Beta Som''. In the UK this film was shown at Odeon cinemas as part of a double feature with ''

The Day of the Triffids ''The Day of the Triffids'' is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by the English science fiction author John Wyndham. After most people in the world are blinded by an apparent meteor shower, an aggressive species of plant starts killing people. Al ...

''.

Plot

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

Captain Le Blanc (

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

) leads a section of his Legion parachutists to capture an FLN guerrilla leader. Along the way they are joined by a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

(

Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

) 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

: capitaine Leblanc *

: Nora *

Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi (29 October 1921 – 10 December 1978) was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978. He wrote the script for ''The Defeated Victor'', which was entered into the 9th Berlin Internation ...

: Brascia * Riccardo Garrone : Paolo *

Carlos Casaravilla Carlos Casaravilla (12 October 1900 – 17 February 1981) was an Uruguayan actor. He appeared in 85 films between 1934 and 1978. He starred in the film '' El Lazarillo de Tormes'', which won the Golden Bear at the 10th Berlin International F ...

: Ben Bled *

Ivo Garrani Ivo Garrani (6 February 1924 – 25 March 2015) was an Italian actor and voice actor. In films since 1952, Garrani is possibly best known for his role as Prince Vajda in Mario Bava's '' Black Sunday'' (1960). Biography Born in Introdacqua, ...

: Colonel Dionne *

Alfredo Mayo Alfredo Fernández Martínez (17 May 1911 in Barcelona – 19 May 1985 in Palma de Mallorca) better known as Alfredo Mayo was a Spanish actor. Biography After studying medicine, in 1929 Mayo made his debut in the theatre with the company of ...

: Mayor * Pablito Alonso : Arab Kid * Hans von Borsody : Fritz *

Maurizio Arena Maurizio Arena (26 December 1933 – 21 November 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1952 and 1978. Life and career Born in Rome as Maurizio Di Lorenzo, Arena made his film debut at nineteen years old, ...

: Dolce Vita *

Dietmar Schönherr Dietmar Otto Schönherr (; 17 May 1926 – 18 July 2014) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1944 and 2014. He was famous for playing the role of Major Cliff Allister McLane in the German science fiction series '' Rau ...

: Petit Prince *

Peter Carsten Peter Carsten (30 April 1928 – 20 April 2012) was a German actor and film producer. He appeared in 90 films between 1953 and 1999, including in supporting roles, ''Dark of the Sun'' (1968), ''Hannibal Brooks'' (1969), ''Madame Bovary'' (1 ...

: Barbarossa * Leo Anchóriz : Garcia

Production

The theme music ''Concerto Disperato'' by

Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (22 February 1909 – 21 August 1987) was an Italian composer, born in Genoa. He is best known for scoring many films, including '' Legend of the Lost'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'', '' Gorgo'', '' The Legion's Last Patro ...

became a top selling instrumental in Italy performed by

Nini Rosso Raffaele Celeste "Nini" Rosso (19 September 1926 – 5 October 1994) was an Italian jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Born in San Michele Mondovì, Italy, Rosso's parents had attempted to send him to university, but at 19 he chose the trumpet ...

and in the UK with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Ken Thorne Kenneth Thorne (26 January 1924 – 9 July 2014) was a British television and film score composer. Early life Thorne was born in Dereham, a town in the English county of Norfolk. Thorne began his musical career as a pianist with the big bands ...

reaching No. 4.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "mediocre, its timely subject matter reduced to the level of a formula Western." 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."MARCIA O CREPA Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 30, Iss. 348, (Jan 1, 1963): 87.

References

External links

*
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 {{war-drama-film-stub