| Marcia o Crepa | |
| Director: | Frank Wisbar |
| Producer: | Willy Zeyn |
| Music: | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
| Cinematography: | Cecilio Paniagua |
| Editing: | Mario Serandrei |
| Studio: | Temp Film FICIT Galatea Midega |
| Distributor: | Tempo Film (Italy) American International Pictures (USA) |
| Runtime: | 101 minutes |
| Country: | Belgium Spain Italy Germany |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | 977,460 admissions (France)[1] |
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.[2] [3]
It was released in 1964 in the US by American International Pictures on a double feature with Torpedo Bay/Beta Som.[4] [5]
In the UK this film was shown at Odeon cinemas as part of a double feature with The Day of the Triffids.
French Foreign Legion Captain Le Blanc (Stewart Granger) leads a section of his Legion parachutists to capture an FLN guerrilla leader. Along the way they are joined by a prostitute (Dorian Gray) 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 No. 4.[6]
The Los Angeles Times called it "mediocre, its timely subject matter reduced to the level of a formula Western."[7]
The Monthly Film Bulletin said "despite up-to-date dressing this is basically a schoolboy adventure story, though somewhat grimly executed... the narrative owes more to war movies than P.C. Wren, being a variation on the old idea of the gradual decimation of a patrol. Still, the film is an example of action all the way, apart from the gratuitously ironic ending which, though tart, comes as a decided anti-climax."[8]