L'Escadron blanc (1949)
Directed by René Chanas

Film Review

In the 1930s, legionnaire melodramas were one of the mainstays of French cinema, although only a handful of these films - which mostly stick to the same tried and tested formula - have stood the test of time.  Jacques Feyder's Le Grand jeu (1934) and Julien Duvivier's La Bandera (1935) exemplify the best the genre has to offer.  The vast majority of these films are forgotten, and rightly so, because they tend to trade in clichés and are too busy trumpeting French colonialism to make even half-decent cinema.  René Chanas's L'Escadron blanc is one of the weaker films of this kind, made at a time when the genre was rapidly going out of fashion.  It is based on Joseph Peyré's 1931 novel of the same title, which is widely considered a classic of its kind and one of the most authentic accounts of legionary life in the unforgiving desert wastes of North Africa.

Peyré wrote a number of important books of this kind, and none of them translates easily to the big screen.  Chanas - not a particularly adept filmmaker, by any standards - was clearly not up to the job and, hindered with a lacklustre, hopelessly formulaic script and some generally inept casting, it is no wonder the film is as weak as it is.  The only cast member who tries to make a go of it is Jean Chevrier, who is convincing as ever in one of his habitual uniformed roles.  By contrast, René Lefèvre looks as if he has forgotten how to act and François Patrice makes the most wooden kind of hero you can imagine.  Every scene involving Michèle Martin makes your heart sink, as this invariably heralds a treacly excursion into the worst kind of 1940s melodrama. 

The bad writing, mediocre acting and completely uninspired direction are at least partly alleviated by Nicolas Toporkoff's striking photography, which brings a stark realism to some scenes (notably the one where the natives end up having to eat a butchered camel) and a striking artistry to others.  Artful back-lit shots of the camels striding across the endless desert wastes (most of the film was shot on location in Algeria) bring a welcome raw poetry to the film.  Alas, such inspired touches as these are insufficient to salvage what is just another tired legionnaire crawl across a sandy void.  Still, it makes a great soporific.

Film Synopsis

Commander Marçay receives orders to lead a company of legionnaires across the Sahara Desert in pursuit of a dangerous gang of bandits that are pillaging the region.  He is accompanied by his second in command, the recently promoted Lieutenant Kermeur, and his adjutant, Devars.  It is a long, gruelling expedition that lies ahead, and after forty days the men are near the end of their tether.  Kermeur falls ill with a fever and one of the natives goes mad.  One of the bandits is taken prisoner, but he refuses to speak and, when his captors are distracted, he kills Marçay.  It is up to Kermeur now to lead the company, although morale is rapidly sinking.  Finally, they reach their objective and in a violent exchange the bandits are slaughtered.  The surviving legionnaires trudge their weary way back to their fort, gratified that their mission has been accomplished, albeit at some cost.