The Lost Patrol

THE LOST PATROL (PG)

D: John Ford

RKO (Cliff Reid, Merian C. Cooper & John Ford)

US 1934

73 mins

War/Adventure

W: Dudley Nichols [based on the novel "Patrol" by Philip MacDonald]

DP: Harold Wenstrom

Ed: Paul Weatherwax

Mus: Max Steiner

Victor McLaglen (The Sergeant), Boris Karloff (Sanders), Wallace Ford (Morelli), Reginald Denny (George Brown), J.M. Kerrigan (Quincannon)

Dated now, but the basic premise here has been oft-imitated in the 80+ years since...

Based on the novel by Philip MacDonald, The Lost Patrol sees a small group of soldiers in hostile territory whilst on a mission in the Mesopotamian desert. 

It seems unfair to judge this film from a modern perspective, as it feels incredibly stilted when compared to other films with similar plots. For 1934, it is very well done... but (from a modern perspective) it is incredibly dull.

6/10