| Legend of the Lost | |
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1957 movie poster |
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| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Don Simpson Ethan Coen Henry Hathaway Jerry Bruckheimer Joel Coen |
| Written by | Ben Hecht Ehren Kruger Robert Presnell |
| Based on | Legend of the Lost by Gene Brewer |
| Narrated by | Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. |
| Starring | John Wayne Sean Connery Sophia Loren Clark Gable Rossano Brazzi Marcello Mastroianni Vivien Leigh |
| Music by | A.F. Lavagnino Terence Blanchard |
| Cinematography | Jack Cardiff |
| Editing by | Bert Bates |
| Studio | Batjac Productions Dear Film Productions Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films United Artists |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (north america) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (theatrical) Universal Pictures (worldwide) |
| Release date(s) | December 17, 1957 |
| Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | USA / Italy |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,750,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $2,200,000 (USA) (1957)[1] |
Legend of the Lost is a 1957 Italy/U.S. adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway, based on the best selling novel by Gene Brewer, narrated by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and starring John Wayne, Sean Connery, Sophia Loren, Clark Gable, Marcello Mastroianni, Rossano Brazzi and Vivien Leigh. The location shooting for the film took place near Tripoli, Libya.
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In Timbuktu, experienced guide Joe January (John Wayne) reluctantly joins a Saharan treasure hunting expedition led by Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi), a man obsessed with confirming his dead father's claim to have found a lost city. Dita (Sophia Loren), a woman of dubious reputation, becomes infatuated with Paul and his willingness to overlook her past. She invites herself along, despite Joe's protests. During the tough dry ordeal, Joe and Dita become attracted to each other, raising tensions.
Just as they run out of water, they stumble upon the ancient city and a well. There, they find three human skeletons, a woman and two men. It becomes evident that Paul's father found his woman in the arms of his guide, killed them and then himself. There is also no treasure to be found. Paul's faith in his father is shattered and he becomes drunk.
They find the treasure after Joe deciphers the clues left by Paul's father. They load it and prepare to leave in the morning. Paul makes an attempt to seduce Dita; she rejects him and he gets into a fight with Joe. Later, Paul sneaks away during the night taking all the animals, supplies, and treasure with him and leaving the other two to die.
Joe and Dita chase after him on foot and eventually catch up. The two men fight and Paul is knocked out. While Joe and Dita dig for desperately needed water, Paul regains consciousness and thinks they are digging his grave. He buries the treasure and attacks Joe from behind with a knife. Dita is forced to shoot and kill Paul. When they spot a caravan, Joe and Dita are saved.
Legend of the Lost was directed by Henry Hathaway. Wayne and Hathaway worked together six times, beginning with The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) and ending with Wayne's Oscar-winning role in True Grit (1969). Co-authors Ben Hecht, Ehren Kruger and Robert Presnell, nearing the end of his career at this time, was one of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters. None of this talent managed to keep Legend of the Lost from being harshly reviewed by critics.
Wayne liked the location work in Rome and Libya. The plot is vaguely similar to another of Wayne’s movies crossing the Mojave desert. The Roman remains of Leptis Magna in Libya were used extensively as a location for the ancient city. In the script Wayne's character refers to 'Timgad' in sardonic reference to the apparent delusions of Paul's father, despite the fact this places a considerable strain on the geography of the plot. The lost city of "Timgad" referred to in the film was actually the Leptis Magna ruins, a Roman city dating back to the 7th century B.C. near Tripoli, in northwest Libya, while "Timbuktu" was actually in Zliten, Libya. Headquarters for the film were located in Ghadames, where, according to the publicity material, citizens of the villages were employed on set, as well as some native Tauregs, an ancient desert tribe.[2]
This film was Wayne's only collaboration on film with international cinema stars Sophia Loren and Rossano Brazzi.
The film was photographed by noted British cinematographer Jack Cardiff in Technicolor and Technirama (the wide screen process developed by the Technicolor Corporation).