Desert Legion
# 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.

