Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison
Acting
Colbert commits to Cigarette's chaos completely.
Costume
White uniforms that somehow stay pristine in sand.
Production
Massive desert sets built in California, not Algeria.
Director
Frank Lloyd
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was the third film adaptation of Ouida's 1867 novel; the 1922 silent version starred Rudolph Valentino in Colbert's role, gender-flipped.
The French Foreign Legion as Hollywood fetish object peaked in the 1930s—this film helped cement the 'desert romance' subgenre that ignored actual colonial violence.
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