Under Two Flags (1936 film)

Last updated
Under Two Flags
Under two flags.jpg
Directed by Frank Lloyd
Written by Bess Meredyth
(uncredited)
Allen Rivkin
(additional dialogue, uncredited)
Screenplay byWalter Ferris
W. P. Lipscomb
Based on Under Two Flags
by Ouida
Produced by Joseph M. Schenck (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited)
Starring Ronald Colman
Claudette Colbert
Victor McLaglen
Rosalind Russell
Cinematography Ernest Palmer
Edited by Ralph Dietrich
Music by Louis Silvers
Distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • April 30, 1936 (1936-04-30)
Running time
112 minutes
(copyright length)
98 minutes
(re-release version)
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic
French
Budget$1,250,000 [1]

Under Two Flags is a 1936 American adventure romance film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen, and Rosalind Russell. The picture was based on the 1867 novel of the same name by the writer Ouida. The film was widely popular with audiences of its time. The supporting cast features Nigel Bruce, John Carradine, and Fritz Leiber.

Contents

The novel was previously adapted for the screen in 1916 starring Theda Bara and 1922 directed by Tod Browning. [2]

Plot

Victor (Ronald Colman) joins the French Foreign Legion, along with his faithful valet, Rake (Herbert Mundin). His company is attacked while escorting a caravan. The survivors join a battalion stationed in southern Algeria.

His new commander is Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert), a cafe singer, loses her heart to Victor. However, Victor and a refined visiting Englishwoman, Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell), fall in love. Cigarette finds out and is heartbroken. Doyle learns about Cigarette's true feelings. Meanwhile, a carving of a horse created by Victor leads to Lady Venetia discovering from her uncle, Lord Seraph, that a certain English officer left England due to a scandal. It turns out that the officer was shielding his younger brother. The brother later met with a fatal accident, but lived long enough to exonerate Victor.

When Arab unrest threatens to erupt into open conflict, Doyle is ordered to prevent it. He sends Victor off on suicidal mission after suicidal mission to try to get rid of his rival, but the sergeant returns each time unscathed. Then Doyle orders him to take 20 men to man an isolated fort, where they are surrounded by a vastly larger Arab force. Cigarette learns what Doyle is doing and rides out into the desert. Doyle repents his actions and leads a relief force, but Victor can only watch helplessly as they march into a trap. They manage to hold out until nightfall ends the fighting temporarily. Victor sneaks in, disguised as an Arab, and reports to Doyle. When Doyle tells him that reinforcements could arrive at noon the next day, Victor volunteers to buy time with a ploy of his own devising.

Victor goes to see Sidi-Ben Youssiff, the Arab leader, who turns out to have been a classmate at Oxford. Victor tells him that there is a British force to the Arabs' rear. Sidi-Ben Youssiff scoffs at the idea that the French would allow British troops in their territory, but Victor persuades him to send scouts to check. They find nothing, but before Sidi-Ben Youssiff can execute Victor, French chasseurs (found by Cigarette during the night and informed of the battalion's plight) attack the Arab camp, routing the Arabs and ending the revolt. During the fighting, Cigarette is shot and dies in Victor's arms.

Afterward, Victor is shown in civilian clothes holding Lady Venetia's hand during a ceremony honoring Cigarette.

Cast

Production

The role of 'Cigarette' was originally filmed with Simone Simon, but when Zanuck was not impressed with her footage, he refilmed it with Claudette Colbert. [1]

The film was shot on location in California in Imperial County, Indio, La Quinta and Palm Springs (Palm Canyon), and in Yuma, Arizona. [3]

Reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a good review, specifically praising the film's climax (when a disguised Victor meets Sidi-Ben-Youssiff) as "superb". Despite some mocking of the British Board of Film Censors over its award of an "Adult Certificate" for what amounted to "six chaste, sandy kisses", Greene approved of the film's acting and specifically lauded the acting of Colbert for whose admiration Greene noted was unbounded. [4]

In The New York Times review, Frank Nugent called Under Two Flags a "spirited and colorful revival" that "continues to be a stirring and romantic fable". [5] His only qualm was that "Miss Colbert, gracious actress though she is, was not particularly fitted for the rôle of Cigarette, lacking somehow the whole-hearted "child of nature" qualities Ouida imagined." [5]

The film was a success at the box office. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouida</span> English novelist (1839–1908)

Maria Louise Ramé, going by the name Marie Louise de la Ramée and known by the pseudonym Ouida, was an English novelist. Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as short stories, children's books and essays. Moderately successful, she lived a life of luxury, entertaining many of the literary figures of the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor McLaglen</span> British-American actor and boxer (1886–1959)

Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was a British-American actor and boxer. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially as a leading man, though he was better known for his character acting. He was a well-known member of John Ford’s Stock Company, appearing in 12 of the director’s films, seven of which co-starred John Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudette Colbert</span> American actress (1903–1996)

Émilie Chauchoin, professionally known as Claudette Colbert, was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures. Initially contracted to Paramount Pictures, Colbert became one of the few major actresses of the period who worked freelance; that is to say, independently of the studio system.

<i>The Informer</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by John Ford

The Informer is a 1935 American drama thriller film directed and produced by John Ford, adapted by Dudley Nichols from the 1925 novel of the same title by Irish novelist Liam O'Flaherty. Set in 1922, the plot concerns the underside of the Irish War of Independence and centers on a disgraced Republican man, played by Victor McLaglen, who anonymously informs on his former comrades and spirals into guilt as his treachery becomes known. Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O'Connor and J. M. Kerrigan co-star. The novel had previously been adapted for a British film of the same name in 1929.

The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 12th Academy Awards —Dark Victory, Gone with the Wind, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights—range in genre and are considered classics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalind Russell</span> American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter and singer (1907–1976)

Catherine Rosalind Russell was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer, known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), opposite Cary Grant, as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in the 1956 stage and 1958 film adaptations of Auntie Mame, and Rose in Gypsy (1962). A noted comedienne, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1953 for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times during her career before being awarded a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973.

<i>Follow That Camel</i> 1967 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Follow That Camel is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas. It is the 14th in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Like its predecessor Carry On Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title. It parodies the much-filmed 1924 book Beau Geste, by PC Wren, and other French Foreign Legion films. This film was producer Peter Rogers's attempt to break into the American market; Phil Silvers is heavily featured in a Sergeant Bilko-esque role. He appears alongside Carry On regulars Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. Angela Douglas makes the third of her four Carry On appearances. Anita Harris makes the first of her two Carry On appearances. The film was followed by Carry On Doctor 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Boot Awards</span> American film and television award

The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in television and film. The award was sponsored and presented by the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Money raised at the award banquet was used to help finance various services offered by the Fund to those in the entertainment industry.

<i>Beau Geste</i> (1926 film) American silent drama by Herbert Brenon

Beau Geste is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and based on the 1924 novel Beau Geste by P. C. Wren. Ronald Colman stars as the title character.

The comedy of remarriage is a subgenre of American comedy films of the 1930s and 1940s. At the time, the Production Code, also known as the Hays Code, banned any explicit references to or attempts to justify adultery and illicit sex. The comedy of remarriage with the same spouse enabled filmmakers to evade this provision of the Code. The protagonists divorced, flirted, or even had relationships, with strangers without risking the wrath of censorship, and then got back together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz Leiber (actor)</span> American actor, 1882–1949

Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. was an American actor. A Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a successful career in film. He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr., who was also an actor for a time.

The John Ford Stock Company is the name given to the large collection of actors used repeatedly in the films of American director John Ford. Most famous among these was John Wayne, who appeared in twenty-four films and three television episodes for the director.

Under Two Flags may refer to:

<i>Wee Willie Winkie</i> (film) 1937 film by John Ford

Wee Willie Winkie is a 1937 American adventure drama film directed by John Ford and starring Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen, and Cesar Romero. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Ernest Pascal was based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. The film's story concerns the British presence in 19th-century India. The production was filmed largely at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, where a number of elaborate sets were built for the film. This film was the first of three in which Shirley Temple and Cesar Romero appeared together: the second was Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937), and finally The Little Princess (1939).

<i>Under Two Flags</i> (1922 film) 1922 film

Under Two Flags is a 1922 American drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring Priscilla Dean. The picture was one of several films based upon the 1867 novel Under Two Flags by Ouida and subsequent stage play version by Arthur Shirley.

<i>Under Two Flags</i> (1916 film) 1916 film

Under Two Flags is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara. It was the second adaptation of the best selling 1867 novel Under Two Flags by Ouida and the subsequent stage play version by Arthur Shirley. The film is now considered to be lost.

<i>Under Two Flags</i> (novel) Book by Ouida

Under Two Flags (1867) was a best-selling novel by Ouida. The most famous of her books, it tells the story of an English aristocrat, apparently in disgrace, who disappears and joins a French battalion in Algeria, loosely based on the Foreign Legion.

<i>This Is My Affair</i> 1937 film by William A. Seiter

This Is My Affair is a 1937 American period crime film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy. It was produced and released by 20th Century Fox.

<i>Professional Soldier</i> 1935 film by Tay Garnett

Professional Soldier is a 1935 American adventure film based on a 1931 story by Damon Runyon, "Gentlemen, the King!" It stars Victor McLaglen and Freddie Bartholomew. The film was directed by Tay Garnett, and produced by Twentieth Century Fox.

<i>Desert Sands</i> 1955 film by Lesley Selander

Desert Sands is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Danny Arnold, George W. George and George F. Slavin. The film stars Ralph Meeker, Marla English, J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Ron Randell, John Smith and Keith Larsen.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Philip Liebfriend, Films of the French Foreign Legion, Bear Manor Media 2011
  2. Tepa Lupack, Barbara, ed. (1999). Nineteenth-century Women at the Movies: Adapting Classic Women's Fiction to Film. Popular Press. p.  275. ISBN   0-879-72805-1.
  3. Under Two Flags at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  4. Greene, Graham (7 August 1936). "Under Two Flags/Captain January". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome . Oxford University Press. pp.  91–92. ISBN   0192812866.)
  5. 1 2 Frank S. Nugent (May 1, 1938). "The Screen; The Legion Marches Again in a Dashing Revival of 'Under Two Flags,' at the Music Hall". The New York Times.