The Lost Patrol

Director: John Ford John Ford

Overview

In this film, sergeant Victor McLaglen is in charge of a WWI-era British cavalry regiment, stranded somewhere in the Mesopotamian desert. McLaglen hasn't asked for the responsibility: the commanding officer has been killed by an Arab sniper, leaving McLaglen to take over.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/04/2016
UPC:	0888574444228
Original Release:	1934
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Sales rank:	28,147

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Victor McLaglen	The Sergeant
Boris Karloff	Sanders
Wallace Ford	Morelli,Arab
Reginald Denny	Brown
J.M. Kerrigan	Quincannon
Billy Bevan	Herbert Hale
Brandon Hurst	Bell
Douglas Walton	Pearson
Sammy Stein	Abelson
Howard Wilson	Aviator
Neville Clark	Lt. Hawkins
Paul Hanson	Jock Mackay
Alan Hale Jr.	Cook
Neville Clarke	Lt. Hawkins
Alan Hale Sr.	Actor
Max Steiner	Composer

Technical Credits

Garrett Fort

Dudley Nichols

Merian C. Cooper	Executive Producer
John Ford	Director
Cliff Reid	Producer
Garrett Fort	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Dudley Nichols	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Lost Patrol is a minor entry in the pantheon of John Ford classics, though it had a substantial influence on subsequent films. The film has a dated look and feel, even if Ford's stylistic touches are still occasionally evident. What works is Ford's ability to develop a sense of helplessness among the characters. The scene with the rescue pilot is exceptional, and Max Steiner's score is among the best of his prolific career. The film also features one of the few bad performances by Boris Karloff, whose overwritten fanatical character is too blatantly symbolic. The film's best parts convey the bleak futility of warfare. At other times, the story tries too hard to create an anti-religious counterpoint. Nonetheless, its good parts are very good, and the story of survival in combat against overwhelming odds has been imitiated to the point of becoming an action-film sub-genre.