It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Unfortunately, Ouida's great classical novel of dishonor, exile, love, war and sacrifice in Algeria with the French foreign legion has not been awarded with that great film script it deserves. A deep tragedy of human greatness has been transformed into a rather superficial Hollywood romance entertainment, where even Ronald Colman makes a rather poor figure, far from the sadly noble hero of the original. Nevertheless, it's a Frank Lloyd film, who also made "Cavalcade" and "Mutiny on the Bounty", and there are great moments, especially of the desert scenery. Claudette Colbert as Cigarette is the real star of the film, though, but then she is also the most memorable character in the novel. Rosalind Russell is good enough and adds some heart-warming romance, while the worst failure of the film is the alteration of the grim reality of the French foreign legion with a sinister discipline worse than that of the 'Bounty' into some loose barrack ballads with plenty of brandy. The grim nature of the colonel in the novel is deleted, and Victor McLaglen is only Victor McLaglen, whom you can't take seriously. It's a good enough entertainment but not more than that, while the novel is so much more.

Under Two Flags was the last of a series of films that Ronald Colman did for the newly formed 20th Century pictures which only lasted about two or three years before it merged with Fox to form that colossus of a studio that Darryl Zanuck ran. This film was in fact done under the banner of the new colossus.Having starred in the silent version of Beau Geste, Colman certainly had the Foreign Legion credentials cinema wise. But Under Two Flags drags in spots the way Beau Geste never does. In fact the first half of the film deals with a romantic triangle between Legionaire sergeant Colman and the two women who love him, camp follower Claudette Colbert and British aristocrat Rosalind Russell. And there's Colman's commanding officer Victor McLaglen who is jealous over the fact that Colman has Colbert panting over him while she won't give McLaglen the time of day.Another component of the Colman/McLaglen rivalry is that McLaglen is a professional soldier up from the ranks and Colman while a good sergeant is clearly upper crust. But back in those days one joined the Foreign Legion to get away from problems in civilian life wherever you came from. In fact where Under Two Flags is most similar to Beau Geste is why Colman joined the Legion. It's a plot device lifted from Beau Geste and one typical of those romantic days before World War I.With Colbert and Russell in the film this will not be a male bonding adventure film. Russell as she did in her early films played aristocratic women of class. This was way before her gift for comedy was discovered and utilized. As for Colbert this film belongs more to her than anyone else. This was the most atypical part for her I've ever seen her do, but she does it superbly. Claudette was clearly poaching on Marlene Dietrich's territory as the camp following daughter of the legion that Marlene did so well in Morocco.I don't think fans of romance and fans of adventure were completely satisfied with Under Two Flags. The genres didn't quite blend together successfully for a great film. Still Under Two Flags has its moments for everyone.

Sgt Viktor (Ronald Coleman) is in the foreign legion to forget about his life. He is far too intelligent to be there and far too intelligent for his superior JC Doyle (Victor McLaglen) who is having an affair with the rather stupidly named Cigarette (Claudette Colbert). Cigarette takes a shine to Sgt. Viktor before Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell) appears on the scene to further complicate matters. There are romantic complications between these main 4 characters with the result that JC Doyle "has it in" for Sgt Viktor and pretty much signs a death warrant for him by sending him on missions where he is unlikely to survive. At the film's end, both JC Doyle and Cigarette show up to try and save him..........and someone gets shot and dies.....There is absolutely no guesses as to who is going to die at the end of this film. It's bloody obvious. The story drags out and there is nothing original in this tale of a woman's love for a man in the foreign legion. Ronald Coleman is very smooth and likable and Victor McLaglen plays his role well.......it's the women's roles which don't quite work - Colbert with a ghastly fake French accent and Russell just looks a bit odd.The film is OK but the story never really grabs the viewer and gets going. My girlfriend liked it but I didn't feel anything once it had finished.......or during it.

I'd like to disagree with the previous reviews because the first hour isn't so dull after all.First of all it is of course needed to establish the love relations and interests of the four major characters Seargent Victor,Cigarette,Major Doyle and Lady Venetia.Furthermore it offers some really excellent acted scenes,e.g. the comic tavern scene with its knife-throwing and lady chasing or the scene when Lady Venetia is visiting the legion's dorm and Victor fears she might know and recognize him-great how he manages to convey this only by mimic.Even the lesser scenes when Lady Venetia and Victor are watching a snake-charmer or when they meet at the oasis serve to give a deeper insight into the characters,especially Victor and his self-reflective charming ways.Finally there is twice sex in the desert implied.So this first hour is a romantic and comic relief for what is to follow. The last half an hour is a tour de force where all the story lines, that have been knitted in the first hour, come together to erupt in the confrontation with the Arabs in the desert and Major Doyle's plan to get rid of his rival Victor by sending him on fatal errands.There are some terrifically staged battle scenes,but in the end it's not the action that is predominant but Victor's and Cigarette's courage to sacrifice themselves.Cigarette is willing to forsake her love for Victor to propose an for her unhappy relationship with Doyle in order to save Victor from Doyle's vengeance.And Victor on his behalf is exceeding this even, by his plan to buy time for reinforcements to arrive.Knowing the Arab leader Sidi Ben Youssiff from Oxford he plans to delay the Arab attack by giving them some deceptive information-just have a look at Colman's faint smile when Youssiff falls for it- and by this risking his own life and facing a horrible death.This is also where Colman's underacting is at its best because it's all acted with a total lack of pathos-even when Cigarette is eventually dying in his arms after having saved his life the emotions seem genuine-it's the only time I have seen Colman cry on screen so far. So this leaves us with the happy(?) ending.I believe one may argue if it's happy after all because at Cigarette's burial Doyle seems defeated and Victor though restored to his former honour and life and of course Lady Venetia gives a rather estranged impression.He gazes down at the coffin and Venetia's grasp of his hand does not seem to distract him from his brooding. What can I add? Apparently from the fan letters it seemed that especially women liked this movie and I guess I'm certainly one of them although at first its subject almost kept me from watching it.