Ten Tall Men
Encyclopedia
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
. Robert Aldrich
was an production manager on the film where he met Lancaster that led him to direct Vera Cruz
for him.Robert Clary
made his debut in the film as an Arab batman. Portions of the film were filmed in Palm Springs, California
.
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.
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
comedy adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
about the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
. It starred Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance , whose birth name was Nona Josephine Goddard , was an American actor who starred in many Hollywood adventures during the '50s through the early '60s.-Biography:...
and Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck
Willis Goldbeck
Willis Goldbeck was an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 40 films between 1923 and 1962. He also directed ten films between 1942 and 1951. Willis graduated High School from Worcester Academy....
, 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
Robert Parrish
Robert R. Parrish was an American actor, film editor, film director, and writer. He received an Academy Award for Film Editing for the 1947 film, Body and Soul....
. Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
was an production manager on the film where he met Lancaster that led him to direct Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz (film)
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase...
for him.Robert Clary
Robert Clary
Robert Clary is a French-born American actor, published author, and lecturer, best known for his role in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes as Corporal LeBeau.-Early life and career:...
made his debut in the film as an Arab batman. Portions of the film were filmed in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
.
Plot
After capturing an important RifRif
The Rif or Riff is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, with some fertile plains, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Melwiyya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Wergha in the south.It is part of the...
prisoner in an undercover operation, Sergeant Mike Kincaid is imprisoned himself after striking a Lieutenant (Stephan Bekassy) who beats a French woman (Mari Blanchard
Mari Blanchard
Mari Blanchard was an American actress, known for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American films of the 1950s and early 1960s.-Career:In the late 1940s, Blanchard was a successful print model and film extra...
) 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
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
) and Pierre Molier (Kieron Moore
Kieron Moore
Kieron Moore was an Irish film and television actor whose career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s...
) 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
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
), is marrying Mahla (Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance , whose birth name was Nona Josephine Goddard , was an American actor who starred in many Hollywood adventures during the '50s through the early '60s.-Biography:...
) 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.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
as Sergeant Mike Kincaid - Jody LawranceJody LawranceJody Lawrance , whose birth name was Nona Josephine Goddard , was an American actor who starred in many Hollywood adventures during the '50s through the early '60s.-Biography:...
as Mahla - Gilbert RolandGilbert RolandGilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
as Corporal Luis Delgado - Gerald MohrGerald MohrGerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
as Khalif Hussein - Kieron MooreKieron MooreKieron Moore was an Irish film and television actor whose career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Corporal Pierre Molier - George TobiasGeorge TobiasGeorge Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
as Londos - John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
as Jardine - Nick DennisNick DennisNick Dennis was an American film actor born in Thessaly, Greece. The supporting actor, who began in films in 1947, was known for playing ethnic types in films such as Kiss Me Deadly and the Humphrey Bogart film Sirocco...
as Mouse - Mike MazurkiMike MazurkiMike Mazurki was an Austrian-born American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in over 100 movies. His towering 6' 5" presence and intimidating face usually got him roles playing tough guys, thugs, strong men, and gangsters.Mazurki was born as Mikhail Mazurkevych in Tarnopol, Galicia,...
as Roshko - Mari BlanchardMari BlanchardMari Blanchard was an American actress, known for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American films of the 1950s and early 1960s.-Career:In the late 1940s, Blanchard was a successful print model and film extra...
as Marie DeLatour - Robert ClaryRobert ClaryRobert Clary is a French-born American actor, published author, and lecturer, best known for his role in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes as Corporal LeBeau.-Early life and career:...
as Mossul - Michael PateMichael PateMichael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
as Browning