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The Lost Patrol Overview:

The Lost Patrol (1934) was a Adventure - War Film directed by John Ford and produced by John Ford, Merian C. Cooper and Cliff Reid.

Academy Awards 1934 --- Ceremony Number 7 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Music - ScoringRKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Max Steiner)Nominated
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The Lost Patrol BlogHub Articles:

The Lost Patrol (1934): A Tale of Survival

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 27, 2022 From 4 Star Films

The Lost Patrol comes out of the colonialist traditions of the era with the white soldiers in Mesopotamia doing battle with an Arab enemy who strike like ghosts. They are phantoms and rarely seen in the flesh. It’s an unwitting bit of commentary but it also simultaneously becomes one of the st... Read full article

John Ford Blogathon: The Lost Patrol (1934)

By Beth Daniels on Jul 14, 2014 From Mildred's Fatburgers

"I think I see something moving out there!" Poor Boris Karloff I had never seen The Lost Patrol until the other day, when I was (belatedly) preparing for The John Ford Blogathon. Filmed in the Sonoran Desert in Imperial County, California, every long shot of this wartime drama is spectacular -... Read full article

The Lost Patrol (1934) (2)

By Beatrice on Apr 7, 2013 From Flickers in Time

The Lost Patrol Directed by John Ford 1934/USA RKO Radio Pictures First viewing Morelli: Right you are, Sarge! The Sergeant: Yeah, I know what you’re thinkin’. Perhaps I’ve done everything wrong! Perhaps this and perhaps that! But what I’ve done I’ve done, and what I ... Read full article

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The Lost Patrol Quotes:

The Sergeant: What's the use of chewin' the rag about something we might of done?
Morelli: Right you are, Sarge!
The Sergeant: Yeah, I know what you're thinkin'. Perhaps I've done everything wrong! Perhaps this and perhaps that! But what I've done I've done, and what I haven't, I haven't!
Brown: I can't say much for the women though, but, oh, the girls! All Malayan females should be poisoned at 21. Before that, they're... Mmmmmm!
Jock MacKay: But a bit on the dark side, hunh, Brown?
Brown: Oh, yes, they're dark, but the longer you're there, the whiter they get, or that's the way it seems. That didn't bother me, Jock. I'll never forget the first time I saw... We sailed into a little harbor about sundown. The girls all came swimming out, flowere in their long hair, singing and laughing up at us from the water. Brown skin? Seemed like gold to me! A richer, deeper gold than any metal! I can see that gold shimmering now on their wet bodies as they swam like mermaids to the rail and climbed on board, laughing at us like a lot of shameless imps.
Quincannon: Ah, man, Topper, 'tis the soul of a poet you have!
Sanders: Brown, you're a gentleman! You've got breeding! You must have faith!
Brown: Why?
Sanders: Why? Why in Heaven's name, man, what do you believe in?
Brown: Would it really interest you? Oh, a lot of things. A good horse, steak and kidney pudding, a fellow named George Brown, the asinine futility of this war, being frightened, being drunk enough to be brave and brave enough to be drunk, the feel of the sea when you swim, the taste and strength of wine, the loveliness of women, the splendid, unspeakable joy of killing Arabs, the smell of incense and bacon, the weight of a fist, an old pair of shoes, a toothache, triunph...
Sanders: STOP!
Brown: All right.
Sanders: [after telling the Sergeant that Brown has left] He wrote something in my Bible... for you.
The Sergeant: Deserted, hunh? Insubordinate swine! Bilged out! Left us like a rat when we needed every man! Why didn't you tell me? You're a party to this, you know! Well, get your rifle and get out of here. You take his place.
Sanders: [With a crazed look in his eyes] Yes, Yes, that's it, Sergeant! Yes!
The Sergeant: [Reading Brown's note] 'Sorry, Sergeant, but Quincannon was right. He knocked one off for Jock. I'll get another for Matlow. Taking a long swing to come around behind them. Fine moon tonight. Should be good hunting. Yours contritely, George Brown. P.S. Not a good name, but the best I could think of when I enlisted.'
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The Lost Patrol Facts
The release of the almost complete version on DVD allows viewers to compare it with the edited 1949 re-release, occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies. Eliminated in the shorter version is an early shot of Karloff with a book of poetry about the desert, Hanson's reminiscing about Kerrigan's and Hale's earlier days in the service, and McLaglen and Ford sharing cigarettes and recalling their wives and sweethearts. Apparently, a boxing match between Hale and Stein immediately following the death of Bevan, before they all draw lots, is still missing.
According to Karloff biographer Peter Underwood the temperature on the Yuma locations could be as hot as 150 degrees and actors were limited to working two hours a day.
Director John Ford's older brother Francis appears in an uncredited role.
Composer Max Steiner re-used the main title music he wrote for this film for the main title music for Casablanca, albeit with a slightly different tempo and instrumentation.
Victor McLaglen, who plays The Sergeant, is the brother of Cyril McLaglen, who played The Sergeant in the earlier 1929 version of this film.
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