The First Legion (1951)

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Emmet Lavery (play)
Emmet Lavery (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 May 1951 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Deathbed | Lawyer | Pilgrimage | Heart Attack | Paraplegic

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Charles Boyer	...	Father Marc Arnoux
William Demarest	...	Monsignor Michael Carey
Lyle Bettger	...	Dr. Peter Morrell
Barbara Rush	...	Terry Gilmartin
Leo G. Carroll	...	Father Rector Paul Duquesne
Walter Hampden	...	Father Edward Quarterman
Wesley Addy	...	Father John Fulton
Taylor Holmes	...	Father Keene
H.B. Warner	...	Fr. Jose Sierra
George Zucco	...	Father Robert Stuart
John McGuire	...	Father Tom Rawleigh
Clifford Brooke	...	Brother Clifford
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Dunn
Molly Lamont	...	Mrs. Nora Gilmartin
Queenie Smith	...	Henrietta

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Mission Inn - 3649 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, California, USA

Company:

Sédif Productions

Oscar-worthy performance by Charles Boyer

"The First Legion" is an exceptionally obscure film that was made near the beginning of Douglas Sirk's long association with Universal International pictures. Sirk's insignia, a talent for walking a firm tightrope with high melodrama, was to be on display over the next 10 years with pictures such as "All That Heaven Allows", "Written on the Wind", and "Imitation of Life". His worthy reputation has been based upon that distinctive body of work, but here, he has created a film that deserves greater notice. "The First Legion" is my favorite Douglas Sirk movie.

This film doesn't match the overt intensity that characterized many of Sirk's more famous works, but it's none the less powerful. The story concerns a Jesuit seminary and a purported miracle involving a doctor and one of the priests. The seminary head, Father Arnoux, investigates the miracle and is forced to examine his own relationship with God in the process, as well as the charismatic effect of the miracle on his community, friends, and outsiders.

Blessed with a remarkable cast of well-known character actors, Sirk paces this film extremely well and handles the ensemble scenes masterfully. Charles Boyer delivers perhaps his best performance as Father Marc Arnoux - it's certainly worthy of an Oscar nomination. In general, all performances are uniformly excellent, with Lyle Bettger, best known for playing gangsters and low-lifes, in a standout role as the passionate but confused Dr. Peter Morrell. The compelling story finely illustrates the struggles of numerous well-meaning people as they grasp at the miracle's charisma for a sign of positive change in their own lives. With a particularly noteworthy ending that certainly provides an exclamation point to the proceedings, "The First Legion" is a well-above-average entry in a long list of 50's character examination dramas.

What makes "The First Legion" stand out as my favorite Douglas Sirk film? It's the movie's particularly esoteric nature, an approach seen far too infrequently in the plot lines that Sirk filled out and embellished so well over the next 10 years. With a transfer to DVD in the works, there will hopefully be a wider appreciation for this film as Sirk's complete body of work takes shape on DVD. As it is, it's 10 out of 10.