Marcia o Crepa | |
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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 |
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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 /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 .
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.
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]
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]
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