Legend of the Lost (1957)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Ben Hecht (writer)
Robert Presnell Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

17 December 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Wayne Tangles with Loren...In the Adventure that's Hotter than 1000 Suns !

Plot:

American ne'er-do-well Joe January is hired to take Paul Bonnard on an expedition into the desert in search of treasure.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Treasure | Lost City | Sahara | Prostitute

Cast

John Wayne	...	Joe January
Sophia Loren	...	Dita
Rossano Brazzi	...	Paul Bonnard
Kurt Kasznar	...	Prefect Dukas
Sonia Moser	...	Girl
Angela Portaluri	...	Girl
Ibrahim El Hadish	...	Galli Galli

Also Known As:

Timbuctù (Italy)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #18842) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

John Wayne broke his leg during filming.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Wayne and Loren are wandering across the wasteland of sand, there are clearly footprints where there shouldn't be.

Quotes:

Joe January: [Looking down a underground cavern] It's pretty foul down there - 2000 years of busy bats!

Three stars hungry for treasure, thirsty for water, and dying for a decent script...

Colorless title for a dishwater-dull adventure saga starring John Wayne, Sophia Loren, and Rossano Brazzi, three disparate characters crossing the Sahara desert in the same direction as Brazzi's ill-fated father, who went missing ten years prior after finding a lost city stocked with rubies and emeralds. Wayne, playing a desert guide/troublemaker down on his luck in Timbuktu, drawls like he's still back on the range, while Loren has little to do but tease the two men unconsciously; apparently she isn't aware of her amply carnal charms--and though she's playing a streetwise prostitute, whenever the two men get randy around her, she pulls away screaming, "No! Don't touch me!" Brazzi has it the worst however, initially preaching enlightenment to Sophia in a brotherly way, later forcing himself upon her, but just as quickly turning on both his companions like a dirty dog. It's a hopeless role, and indicative of the patchy, puzzling screenplay. This movie has enough peaks and valleys to redesign any desert, and the final crawl isn't dramatic or gripping or emotional--just wasted time on the clock. ** from ****