Drums of the Desert (1940)

Ralph Byrd is really pretty poor here as "Lt. Paul Dupont", an officer in the French Foreign Legion sent to Morocco to train an elite squadron of paratroopers. On his way across on the boat from France, he meets "Helene Laroche" (Lorna Gray) and they have a brief romance before they realise that she is engaged to his best friend George Lynn ("Capt. Bridaux") who is also stationed at the same fort. When some local tribesmen attack the camp, and "Bridaux" is injured, their wedding is postponed and the ringleader of the attackers - the brother of the local Sheikh - is executed. Needless to say, that causes some resentment and the Sheikh vows to avenge the death of his brother. The star of the film is undoubtedly Mantan Moreland as "Sgt. Williams" - he injects bags of charisma and some humour as his officers become just a bit too preoccupied with their love triangle. The ending is never in doubt, indeed the film seems to wrap up with an almost undue haste, but it's at the better end of these sandy action films that is just about worth the hour it takes to watch.