| Ten Tall Men | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Willis Goldbeck |
| Produced by | Harold Hecht |
| Written by | James Warner Bellah (story) Frank Davis |
| Starring | Burt Lancaster Jody Lawrance Gerald Mohr |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 26, 1951 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ten Tall Men is a 1951 Technicolor comedy adventure film about the French Foreign Legion. It starred Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance and Gerald Mohr. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaster (whose own company Norma Productions produced the film) with the film being completed by Robert Parrish.[1] Robert Aldrich was an production manager on the film where he met Lancaster that led him to direct Vera Cruz for him.[2]Robert Clary made his debut in the film as an Arab batman. Portions of the film were filmed in Palm Springs, California.
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After capturing an important Rif prisoner in an undercover operation, Sergeant Mike Kincaid is imprisoned himself after striking a Lieutenant (Stephan Bekassy) who beats a French woman (Mari Blanchard) with his riding crop after she prefers Kincaid's company to his. Due to a long standing rivalry between Kincaid and the Lieutenant who is in command of the company holding the city of Tarfa whilst the Regiment is away, the Lieuteant uses Kincaid's action of striking him to get his revenge.
Kincaid finds himself imprisoned alongside seven military prisoners and the captured Rif who has refused to talk with the Lieutenant refusing food and water to both Kincaid and the Rif. When his two comrades in arms who accompanied him on the mission, Corporals Luis Delgado (Gilbert Roland) and Pierre Molier (Kieron Moore) sneak food and water to Kincaid, he shares it with the Rif. To repay Kincaid's kindness and assuage his own guilt for telling the Lieutenant about Kincaid's assignation with the Frenchwoman, he tells of an impending attack on Tarfa whilst the garrison is still small.
Kincaid tells the Lieutenant that their only chance is to release him to let him lead attacks to delay the enemy for five days until the Regiment returns. The Lieutenant agrees but only if Kincaid will testify that the idea is his and the only men available for the mission are the seven prisoners. Kincaid agrees with him and the seven receiving full pardons for their crimes. The number increases to ten when his two Corporals join him.
When scouting an enemy camp, the Legionnaires discover two rival tribes have joined forces making them large enough to seize the city. Using his expertise in disguise and language, Kincaid finds out that the Rif leader, Khalid Hussein (Gerald Mohr), is marrying Mahla (Jody Lawrance) in order to cement an alliance with the other tribe. Kincaid kidnaps her using the pursuit of his unit to gain the five days.
Mahla begins to fall in love with her handsome captor, as Hussein pursues the Legionnaires across the desert. In the midst of the dangers, the patrol find a destroyed Legion truck containing a safe that one of the men opens revealing a large Legion payroll of cash.