Under Two Flags
Encyclopedia
Under Two Flags is a 1936
adventure film
, directed by Frank Lloyd
and starring Ronald Colman
, Claudette Colbert
and Victor McLaglen
. It was based on the 19th century novel of the same name by writer Ouida
. The film has portions of action and melodrama and was widely popular with audiences of its time.
Versions of Under Two Flags were previously filmed in 1912, 1916 and 1922.
) has taken the blame for his younger brother's crime and joins the French Foreign Legion
to escape his past, taking with him his valet, Rake (Herbert Mundin
). His commander is the ruthless Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen
), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert
), a cafe singer, sets her sights on Victor. He, however, is more interested in a refined Englishwoman, Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell
), and he eventually dumps Cigarette for her. Then, Doyle sends Victor off on a suicidal mission to get rid of his rival.
The role of 'Cigarette' was originally filmed with Simone Simon
but when Zanuck wasn't impressed with her footage he refilmed it with Claudette Colbert.
, USA
Indio, California
, USA
La Quinta, California
, USA
Palm Canyon, California, USA
Palm Springs, California
, USA
Yuma, Arizona
, USA
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
, directed by Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd
Frank Lloyd was a film director, scriptwriter and producer...
and starring Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
and Victor McLaglen
Victor McLaglen
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
. It was based on the 19th century novel of the same name by writer Ouida
Ouida
Ouida was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé .-Biography:...
. The film has portions of action and melodrama and was widely popular with audiences of its time.
Versions of Under Two Flags were previously filmed in 1912, 1916 and 1922.
Plot
Victor (Ronald ColmanRonald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
) has taken the blame for his younger brother's crime and joins the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
to escape his past, taking with him his valet, Rake (Herbert Mundin
Herbert Mundin
Herbert Mundin was an English-born Hollywood character actor. He was frequently typecast in films as an older cheeky eccentric, a type helped by his jowled features and cheerful disposition....
). His commander is the ruthless Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen
Victor McLaglen
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
), a cafe singer, sets her sights on Victor. He, however, is more interested in a refined Englishwoman, Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
), and he eventually dumps Cigarette for her. Then, Doyle sends Victor off on a suicidal mission to get rid of his rival.
Cast
- Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
as Sergeant Victor - Claudette ColbertClaudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
as Cigarette - Victor McLaglenVictor McLaglenVictor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
as Major J.C. Doyle - Rosalind RussellRosalind RussellRosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
as Lady Venetia Cunningham - Gregory RatoffGregory RatoffGregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. His most famous role as an actor was as producer Max Fabian who feuds with star Margo Channing in All About Eve ....
as Ivan - Nigel BruceNigel BruceWilliam Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
as Captain Menzies - C. Henry GordonC. Henry GordonC. Henry Gordon was an American film actor. He appeared in 79 films between 1930 and 1940. He was a Hollywood villain of the 1930s....
as Lieutenant Petaine - Herbert MundinHerbert MundinHerbert Mundin was an English-born Hollywood character actor. He was frequently typecast in films as an older cheeky eccentric, a type helped by his jowled features and cheerful disposition....
as Rake - John CarradineJohn CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
as Cafard - Lumsden HareLumsden HareLumsden Hare was an Irish born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer....
as Lord Seraph - J. Edward BrombergJ. Edward BrombergJoseph Edward Bromberg was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s....
as Colonel Ferol - Onslow StevensOnslow StevensOnslow Stevens was an American stage, television and film actor.-Career:Born Onslow Ford Stevenson in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of character actor Housley Stevenson...
as Sidi-Ben Youssiff - Fritz LeiberFritz LeiberFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
as French Governor - Thomas BeckThomas Beck (actor)Thomas Beck was an American actor during the mid to late 1930s.Born in New York City, Beck entered college with the intention of becoming a doctor but abandoned that for engineering. His first professional work was in a stock company and he later played on Broadway. His work interested film...
as Pierre - William Ricciardi as Cigarette's Father
- Frank ReicherFrank ReicherFrank Reicher , was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.-Early life:Frank Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann...
as French General - Francis McDonaldFrancis McDonaldFrancis McDonald was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Although never really a headlining actor, he made 41 film and television appearances between 1913 and 1965, appearing in films such as The Temptress in 1926 with Greta Garbo...
as Husson - Harry SemelsHarry SemelsHarry Semels was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946.-Career:Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictures, appearing several Three Stooges shorts including Disorder in the Court, Wee Wee Monsieur and...
as Sergeant Malinas - Nicholas Soussanin as Levine
- Douglas GerrardDouglas GerrardDouglas Gerrard was an Irish actor and film director of the silent and early sound era. He appeared in 116 films between 1913 and 1949. He also directed 23 films between 1916 and 1920....
as Colonel Farley
The role of 'Cigarette' was originally filmed with Simone Simon
Simone Simon
Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931.-Early life:Born in Béthune, Pas-de-Calais France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Champmoynat, a French engineer, airplane pilot in World War II, who died in a concentration camp, and Erma Maria...
but when Zanuck wasn't impressed with her footage he refilmed it with Claudette Colbert.
Filming locations
Imperial County, CaliforniaImperial County, California
Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the...
, USA
Indio, California
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
, USA
La Quinta, California
La Quinta, California
La Quinta is a resort city in Riverside County, California, USA, specifically in the Coachella Valley between Indian Wells and Indio. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 census, up from 23,694 at the 2000 census. The Robb Report credits La Quinta as the nation's leading golf destination...
, USA
Palm Canyon, California, USA
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, USA
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, USA