Marcia o Crepa
| Marcia o Crepa | |
|---|---|
 US release film poster |
|
| Directed by | Frank Wisbar |
| Produced by | Willy Zeyn |
| Written by | William Denby Mino Guerrini Milton Krims Giuseppe Mangione Frank Wisbar Arturo Tofanelli(story) |
| Starring | Stewart Granger Dorian Gray (Maria Luisa Mangini) Carlos Casarvilla |
| Music by | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
| Cinematography | Cecilio Paniagua |
| Distributed by | Tempo Film (Italy)American International Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 1962 (Italy) 1963 UK 1964 USA |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | Belgium/ Spain/ Italy/ Germany |
Marcia o Crepa (March or Die) known as The Legion's Last Patrol in the UK and Commando in the US is a 1962 European (Italian, German, Spanish) co-production war film about the Algerian War of Independence. It was released in 1964 in the USA by American International Pictures on a double feature with Torpedo Bay/Beta Som.[1]
[edit] Plot and production
French Foreign Legion Captain Le Blanc leads a section of his Legion parachutists to capture an FLN guerilla leader. Along the way they are joined by a prostitute (Dorian Grey AKA Maria Luisa Mangini) and an Arab child. Their mission is a success but when their escape helicopter is shot down they have to fight their way back to the French lines.
The theme music Concerto Disperato by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino became a top selling instrumental in Italy performed by Nini Rosso and in the UK with a cover version by Ken Thorne reaching #4.[2]
In the UK this film was shown at Odeon cinemas as part of a double feature with The Day of the Triffids.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-23214/Commando_and_Torpedo_Bay.html
- ^ Warwick, Neal, Brown, Tony & Kutner, Jon The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums 2004 Omnibus Press
