Loren's Desert Heat
Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi) arrives in Timbuktu looking for someone to act as guide into the Sahara desert and immediately comes to the attention of the seductive but corrupt Dita (Sophia Loren). After being introduced to American Joe January (John Wayne) they head of in to the desert with Dita following on. But Joe is less than impressed with what Paul is up to as he follows a map left to him by his father which claims to be the way to a lost city where treasure lies.
Everyone gets them, those sort of days when nothing seems to satisfy when it comes to what movie you watched. I thought this was the case when I watched "Legend of the Lost" as whilst I didn't find it a bad movie it didn't entertain me like I expected it to. It is why I watched it again and sadly my opinion of "Legend of the Lost" didn't improve as once again I found it a movie which struggled to entertain.
Now that synopsis for "Legend of the Lost" doesn't tell the whole story because on the journey to this lost city Dita is enthralled by the kind hearted Paul whilst Joe is less than nice to her. But then the situations change and Joe finds himself falling for her and becoming very protective towards her. On top of this the harshness of the desert and what happens when they eventually find the lost city change them, especially Paul who becomes paranoid and dangerous. The trouble is that from spiders to sandstorms as well as decaying ancient buildings, the story is simply not captivating all the more so 60 years after "Legend of the Lost" was made.
But here is what the truth is; whilst you have a good performance from Rossano Brazzi this movie is really all about John Wayne and Sophia Loren. Firstly you have John Wayne delivering that typical hard drinking tough guy but one who we see has a caring and protective side. And then secondly you have Sophia Loren as the sexy Dita who really wants a man to love and protect her. Oh and on top of that you have Loren in a figure hugging shirt which clings to her body when wet and gets ripped in places to show some flesh, that flesh goes alongside various shots of her shapely legs.
What this all boils down to is that maybe "Legend of the Lost" was entertaining back in 1957 and was more than a movie which relied on the talents of John Wayne and Sophia Loren. But now this is a movie which is more a glimpse of what a star movie once was and doesn't quite manage to entertaining like it may have once done.
