''Drums of the Desert'' is a 1940 American romantic

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

George Waggner George Waggner (September 7, 1894 – December 11, 1984) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for producing and directing the 1941 film '' The Wolf Man''. For some unknown reason, Waggner sometimes configured his ...

and written by

Dorothy Davenport Fannie Dorothy Davenport (March 13, 1895 – October 12, 1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Born into a family of film performers, Davenport had her own independent career before her marriage to the film a ...

and George Waggner. The film stars

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...

Lorna Gray Virginia Pound (July 26, 1917 – April 30, 2017), known professionally as Lorna Gray and (after 1945) Adrian Booth, was an American film actress known for her comic roles, and later as a villainess. She is best known for her roles in Columb ...

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

, George Lynn, Willy Castello and

Jean Del Val Jean Del Val (born Jean Jacques Gauthier; 17 November 1891 – 13 March 1975) was a French-born actor, also credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier. Career He played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with ''The Fortunes of F ...

. The film was released on October 7, 1940, by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

Plot

Prior to the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

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 ...

Lt. Paul Dumont is sent to

French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...

. On board a liner crossing the Mediterranean, he meets and falls in love with Helene Laroche. However, an hour before their tryst the next morning, she leaves the ship to an unknown destination. Arriving in Africa, Paul's mission is to train a demonstration platoon of

Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...

to be military parachutists of the Armee d' Afrique). The platoon is led by Sgt. 'Blue' Williams, a former American from Harlem. The two lovers meet again at a Legion fort when Lt. Dumont's platoon is to perform a demonstration of their parachute expertise for the Legion. Paul discovers Helene has arrived to wed his old friend and mentor Capt. Jean Bridaux. Also observing the parachutists is Ben Ali who uses his own initiative to attack the Legion outpost where one of the parachutists is killed and Jean is wounded. Ben Ali is caught attempting to murder the Captain in his tent and his apprehended. Ali Ben's brother, Addullah, who has met both Paul and Helene on the same liner from France urgently tries to protect his brother, but Paul and Jean are adamant that Ben Ali lead the attack. Ben Ali is executed by a firing squad; Addulah vows revenge with an uprising to time with France's urgent military commitments on the Continent. As Jean slowly recovers, he encourages Paul to befriend and guide Helene around the city, but the pair's love grows stronger. Paul becomes furious when Hassan, a fortune telling sand diviner predicts death and Paul and Jean loving each other. Paul can not betray his friend Jean, Helene confides in the Colonel Commandant's wife Madame Fouchet who says she will explain the matter to Jean. Helene leaves a note for Paul to meet her at Hassan's local nightspot, where Helene accidentally discovers shipments of automatic weapons for Abddulah's insurgents; both she and Paul are captured and spirited away to an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

that is the headquarters of the rebellion. Sgt. Blue discovers Helene's note to Paul and visits the nightspot with several of his platoon and Jean. Using his

straight razor A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors. The predecessors of the modern straight razors include bronze razors, with cutting edges and fixed handles, produced b ...

, Blue extracts information of Paul and Helene's whereabouts from the occupant of the nightspot. Jean and Blue's platoon parachute into the oasis, rescue the lovers, revenge their dead comrade and wipe out the rebels.

Cast

as Lt. Paul Dumont *

as Helene Laroche *

as Sgt. 'Blue' Williams * George Lynn as Capt. Jean Bridaux *Willy Castello as Addullah *

as Col. Fouchet *

Ann Codee Ann Codee (born Anna Marie Vannuefflin, 5 March 1890 – 18 May 1961) was a Belgian actress with numerous hit films on her résumé, such as '' Can-Can'', ''Kiss Me Kate'', and ''Interrupted Melody''. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, her name was s ...

as Mrs. Fouchet *

Boyd Irwin Boyd Irwin (12 March 1880 – 22 January 1957) was an English stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1948, both silent and "talkies", including a starring role in Australian film ''For Australia'' in 1915. ...

as Capt. Andre *

Neyle Morrow Francis Neyle Marx Jr. (October 28, 1914 – September 30, 2006) was an American film and television actor. Morrow was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He began his screen career in 1940, appearing in the film '' Drums of the Desert''. In the sa ...

as Ben Ali *Alberto Morin as Hassan *Jack Chefe as Steward *Bud Harrison as Bobo

References

External links

* {{George Waggner 1940 films American adventure films 1940 adventure films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by George Waggner Films set in deserts Films about the French Foreign Legion Films set in Algeria American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films