Lost Command
Encyclopedia
Lost Command is a 1966
war film directed by Mark Robson
and filmed in Spain. The screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding
, based on the 1960 novel The Centurions
by Jean Lartéguy
. The film stars Anthony Quinn
, Alain Delon
, George Segal
, Michèle Morgan
, Maurice Ronet
and Claudia Cardinale
.
and French Algeria
, was provided technical advice
from French military Commandant René Lepage, formerly with the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment
.
The character played by Anthony Quinn is loosely based on Marcel Bigeard
, the actual commander in French Indochina of the predecessor of the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (the 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion). Bigeard later commanded the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment in French Algeria.
The film was released within four years of the end of the Algerian war for independence, and included scenes that reflected actual atrocities by both sides. Lost Command was banned in France for ten years.
, a weakened French garrison anticipates a last assault by communist Viet Minh
troops.
The garrison commander, Basque
Lt. Col. Pierre-Noel Raspeguy (Quinn), has called central headquarters for reinforcements. Headquarters sends only a single plane load of French paratroopers, under the command of Major De Clairefons. Despite Raspeguy's attempts to provide covering fire, the paratroopers are slaughtered as they land. Major De Clairefons is killed when his parachute drags him into a minefield. Raspeguy is enraged that General Melies (Jean Servais
) sent only one plane, and further believes that Melies intends to make Raspeguy responsible for the entire debacle at Dien Bien Phu.
The Viet Minh overrun the French, with the survivors captured and imprisoned. Among Raspeguy's friends are military historian Captain Phillipe Esclavier (Alain Delon
), Indochina born Captain Boisfeures (Maurice Ronet
), surgeon Captain Dia (Gordon Heath
) and Lt Ben Mahidi (George Segal
), an Algerian-born paratrooper who turns down a Viet Minh leader's (Burt Kwouk
) offer for preferential treatment because he is an Arab. Raspeguy's leadership keeps the men together in their captivity. When released after a treaty between the Viet Minh and France, Raspeguy leads his men in demolishing a delousing station that they see as a humiliation.
Upon his return home to Algeria, Ben Mahidi is disgusted at the treatment of his people, especially when his teenaged brother is machine gunned by the police for spraying graffiti in support of independence from France. He deserts from the army to join the rebels of the Algerian National Liberation Front
(FLN), becoming a guerilla leader.
Upon his own return from Indochina, Lt. Colonel Raspeguy starts a relationship Countess Nathalie De Clairefons (Michèle Morgan
), widow of the Major who died while trying to reinforce Raspeguy's garrison. The Countess' military contacts result in Raspeguy being given command of the new 10th Regiment
of Parachutistes Coloniaux, serving under General Melies in the Algerian war.
The General briefs him that the command is his last chance in the military; if his Regiment fails, Raspeguy's career is finished. Raspeguy recruits his comrades in arms from Indochina and trains his battalion with unorthodox methods such as using live ammunition on an assault course
to encourage speed and initiative.
Soon after beginning counter insurgency
operations in both urban and rural environments, Esclavier falls in love with Mahidi's sister Aicha (Claudia Cardinale
) who is loyal to the FLN and uses her friendship with Esclavier to smuggle explosive detonators. The previously naive Esclavier begins to have a new view of his nation's conduct, as the FLN rebels and French parachutists try to outdo each other in breaking the rules of war.
Raspeguy: (on being encouraged to use Countess De Clairefons' influence to obtain a command) "Since when do women run the army?"
Esclavier: "Since longer than peasants were allowed to become officers"
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
war film directed by Mark Robson
Mark Robson
Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
and filmed in Spain. The screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding
Nelson Gidding
Nelson Roosevelt Gidding was an American screenwriter specializing in adaptations. A longtime collaboration with director Robert Wise began with Gidding's screenplay for I Want To Live! , which earned him an Oscar nomination...
, based on the 1960 novel The Centurions
The Centurions (novel)
The Centurions is a novel written by French journalist and former soldier Jean Lartéguy. It was translated from the original French into English by Xan Fielding. The novel included the first use of the so-called "ticking time bomb" scenario...
by Jean Lartéguy
Jean Lartéguy
Jean Lartéguy was the nom de plume of Jean Pierre Lucien Osty, a French writer, journalist, and former soldier. He was born in 1920 in Maisons-Alfort, Val-de-Marne and died in 2011...
. The film stars Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
, Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
, George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
, Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
, Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
and Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
.
Historical Background
The film, which focuses on the story of French paratroopers battling in French IndochinaFrench Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
and French Algeria
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
, was provided technical advice
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
from French military Commandant René Lepage, formerly with the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment
6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment
-Indochina:Formed as the 6th Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion in Quimper, Brittany on 16 May 1948 from elements of the 1st Colonial Commando Parachute Demi-brigade, disembarks in Saigon, French Indochina, in July 1949. The battalion distinguished itself in fighting throughout the First...
.
The character played by Anthony Quinn is loosely based on Marcel Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard
Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
, the actual commander in French Indochina of the predecessor of the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (the 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion). Bigeard later commanded the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment in French Algeria.
The film was released within four years of the end of the Algerian war for independence, and included scenes that reflected actual atrocities by both sides. Lost Command was banned in France for ten years.
Plot
In the final moments of the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien PhuBattle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, a weakened French garrison anticipates a last assault by communist Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
troops.
The garrison commander, Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
Lt. Col. Pierre-Noel Raspeguy (Quinn), has called central headquarters for reinforcements. Headquarters sends only a single plane load of French paratroopers, under the command of Major De Clairefons. Despite Raspeguy's attempts to provide covering fire, the paratroopers are slaughtered as they land. Major De Clairefons is killed when his parachute drags him into a minefield. Raspeguy is enraged that General Melies (Jean Servais
Jean Servais
Jean Servais was a Belgian actor trained at the Brussels Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, where he won the Second Prize....
) sent only one plane, and further believes that Melies intends to make Raspeguy responsible for the entire debacle at Dien Bien Phu.
The Viet Minh overrun the French, with the survivors captured and imprisoned. Among Raspeguy's friends are military historian Captain Phillipe Esclavier (Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
), Indochina born Captain Boisfeures (Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet
Maurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
), surgeon Captain Dia (Gordon Heath
Gordon Heath
Gordon Heath was an African-American actor and musician who appeared in feature film Animal Farm, and the British made for TV movie Othello, directed by Tony Richardson. Together with his lover Lee Payant, he ran a Left Bank café called L'Abbaye later in his life...
) and Lt Ben Mahidi (George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
), an Algerian-born paratrooper who turns down a Viet Minh leader's (Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk
Burt Kwouk OBE , born Herbert Kwouk, is an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.-Career:...
) offer for preferential treatment because he is an Arab. Raspeguy's leadership keeps the men together in their captivity. When released after a treaty between the Viet Minh and France, Raspeguy leads his men in demolishing a delousing station that they see as a humiliation.
Upon his return home to Algeria, Ben Mahidi is disgusted at the treatment of his people, especially when his teenaged brother is machine gunned by the police for spraying graffiti in support of independence from France. He deserts from the army to join the rebels of the Algerian National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
(FLN), becoming a guerilla leader.
Upon his own return from Indochina, Lt. Colonel Raspeguy starts a relationship Countess Nathalie De Clairefons (Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
), widow of the Major who died while trying to reinforce Raspeguy's garrison. The Countess' military contacts result in Raspeguy being given command of the new 10th Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of Parachutistes Coloniaux, serving under General Melies in the Algerian war.
The General briefs him that the command is his last chance in the military; if his Regiment fails, Raspeguy's career is finished. Raspeguy recruits his comrades in arms from Indochina and trains his battalion with unorthodox methods such as using live ammunition on an assault course
Assault course
An assault course is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. It was more popular in the 1970s than it is now. It is heavily used in military training...
to encourage speed and initiative.
Soon after beginning counter insurgency
Counter insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
operations in both urban and rural environments, Esclavier falls in love with Mahidi's sister Aicha (Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
) who is loyal to the FLN and uses her friendship with Esclavier to smuggle explosive detonators. The previously naive Esclavier begins to have a new view of his nation's conduct, as the FLN rebels and French parachutists try to outdo each other in breaking the rules of war.
Production
Film rights were negotiated for The Centurions as far back as 1961 with Nelson Gidding's draft screenplay appearing in 1963. Filmed under the title The Centurions, the film was retitled Not For Honor and Glory in December 1965 with the title changed again to Lost Command in 1966.Cast
- Anthony QuinnAnthony QuinnAntonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
... Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy - Alain DelonAlain DelonAlain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
... Captain Phillipe Esclavier - George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
... Lt. Mahidi - Michèle MorganMichèle MorganMichèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
... Countess Natalie de Clairefons - Maurice RonetMaurice RonetMaurice Ronet was a French film actor, director and writer.-Biography:Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes, the only child of professional stage actors Émile Robinet and Gilberte Dubreuil. He made his stage debut in 1941, along side his parents, in Sacha...
... Capain. Boisfeuras - Claudia CardinaleClaudia CardinaleClaudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
... Aicha - Grégoire AslanGrégoire AslanGrégoire Aslan was an Armenian actor.Born Krikor Aslanian in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources, Aslan made his professional debut at 18 as a vocalist and drummer with a Paris dance band, then launched an acting career under the name of Koko Aslan. His first film...
... Dr. Ali Ben Saad - Jean ServaisJean ServaisJean Servais was a Belgian actor trained at the Brussels Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, where he won the Second Prize....
... General Melies - Maurice Sarfati ... Merle
- Jean-Claude Bercq ... Orsini
- Syl Lamont ... Verte
- Jacques MarinJacques MarinJacques Marin was a French actor on film and TV. Marin's good command of the English language and his resemblance to the stereotypical Frenchman looks made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions and Disney movies Jacques Marin (September 9, 1919, Paris – January...
... Mayor - Jean-Paul Moulinot ... De Guyot
- Andrés Monreal ... Ahmed
- Gordon HeathGordon HeathGordon Heath was an African-American actor and musician who appeared in feature film Animal Farm, and the British made for TV movie Othello, directed by Tony Richardson. Together with his lover Lee Payant, he ran a Left Bank café called L'Abbaye later in his life...
... Dia - Albert Simono ... Sapinsky (as Simono)
- René HavardRené HavardRené Havard was a French film actor. He appeared in 80 films between 1946 and 1985.He was born and died in Paris, France.-Selected filmography:* The Sheep Has Five Legs * The Unfrocked One...
... Fernand - Armand Mestral ... Administration Officer
- Burt KwoukBurt KwoukBurt Kwouk OBE , born Herbert Kwouk, is an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.-Career:...
... Viet Minh Officer - Al MulockAl MulockAl Mulock was a character actor, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.He attended the Lee Strasberg Actors Studio, then started "The London Studio" which taught "The Method" to British actors....
... Mugnier - Marie Burke ... Madame Raspeguy
- Aldo SambrellAldo SambrellAlfredo Sanchez Brell , known as Aldo Sambrell, was a Spanish film actor, director and producer who made over 150 appearances in film between 1961 and 1996....
... Ibrahim - George RigaudGeorge RigaudGeorge Rigaud was an Argentine film actor. He appeared in 194 films between 1932 and 1981.He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was killed in a road accident in Madrid, Spain.-Selected filmography:...
... Priest - Roberto Robles ... Manuel
Quotes
Raspeguy: "There's only one rule - don't die!"Raspeguy: (on being encouraged to use Countess De Clairefons' influence to obtain a command) "Since when do women run the army?"
Esclavier: "Since longer than peasants were allowed to become officers"
External links
- original film trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoFoyHHpw_c