Desert Legion

Desert Legion is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Alan Ladd.

Plot
Ladd stars as a soldier in the French Foreign Legion who stumbles across a lost city in the desert mountains of Algeria in North Africa.

Cast

 * Alan Ladd as Paul Lartal
 * Richard Conte as Crito
 * Arlene Dahl as Morjana
 * Akim Tamiroff as Pvt. Plevko
 * Oscar Beregi as Khalil (as Oscar Berefi)
 * Leon Askin as Major Vasil
 * Anthony Caruso as Lt. Messaoud
 * George J. Lewis as Lt. Lopez
 * Sujata Rubener as Dancer (as Sujata)
 * Asoka Rubener as Dancer (as Asoka)

Production
The film was made by Universal Pictures, and based on a 1927 novel The Demon Caravan by Georges Arthur Surdez.

It was Alan Ladd's first film for Universal since becoming a star. It was a one-picture deal and gave Ladd a percentage of the profits, a relatively novel thing at the time. (He split profits with the studio 50–50. ) Joseph Pevney was assigned to direct.

Ladd had broken his hand during a fight scene towards the end of his most recent film The Iron Mistress, but recovered to begin work on Desert Legion on 7 July 1952.

Akim Tamiroff joined the support cast. It was his first Hollywood film in three years.