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5.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Renegades remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
"Renegades," from 1930, is a curious beast. If you're into old-school adventure, like really old-school black-and-white stuff with desert battles and dramatic flourishes, you might find some fun here. It's got that classic French Foreign Legion vibe, a bit dusty but earnest. Folks expecting modern pacing or nuanced characters will probably find it a slog, though. Think early talkie melodrama with some surprisingly frantic action.
The film wastes no time. Four Legionnaires, our main crew, are already in jail when we meet them. For "disorderly conduct," no less. They bust out pretty fast, though, and somehow manage to rejoin their unit. Then they're immediately fighting off "marauding Arabs." It's all a bit of a blur, to be honest. The next thing you know, they're in Casablanca, getting medals. 🏅 It's a quick jump.
Warner Baxter plays Deucalion, one of the main guys. He spots Eleanor, played by Myrna Loy, at this ceremony. She's a spy who apparently did him wrong. Their history is hinted at, but not really explored. Just "she did him dirt." We get it.
Things get complicated fast. They tangle with local police, grab Eleanor, and head back to Morocco. Now they're charged with desertion. It's quite a change from getting decorated just moments earlier. The plot just keeps piling on, one thing after another.
Then it's back to fighting more "natives." This happens a lot. You see the same sort of sweeping desert battles, a very common setup for films like this back then. Lots of guys falling off horses. Sometimes it's a bit hard to tell what's going on, honestly. The sound often feels a little hollow, which is common for films from this era.
Myrna Loy's character, Eleanor, really turns a corner. After being taken, she's soon firing a machine gun at our heroes. She's highly displeased. It's one of those moments where the film just throws a curveball. She's a spy, then a captive, then suddenly a deadly marksman. You just have to roll with it. 🤯
Bela Lugosi shows up too, as an Arab chief. It's a small role, but man, his presence is just something else. Even without much dialogue, he commands the screen. He doesn't quite get to do his usual creepy thing, but you feel his power.
The dialogue itself. Oh, it's very much of its time. Grand pronouncements. Declarations of loyalty. Sometimes a line goes on a bit long, and you almost expect someone to applaud in the background. It adds to the old-fashioned charm, I guess. Or maybe it just feels a little stiff.
One thing that sticks with you is how relentlessly these guys are put through the wringer. Jail, desertion, endless battles. They just keep getting into trouble. And they keep getting out of it. There's a certain pluckiness to it all, even if it feels a little repetitive by the third or fourth big skirmish.
The ending doesn't really wrap things up neatly. It just kinda… stops. Like, the adventure is over for now. It's not a deep film. It's more about the sheer momentum of things happening. "One thing just follows another," exactly. It’s almost exhausting how much they pack in without much breathing room.
Is it a masterpiece? Nah. Is it important cinema? Probably not in the grand scheme. But if you're curious about what early sound action films felt like, or if you just enjoy the idea of the Foreign Legion, it's worth a look. Just don't expect deep character arcs or a perfectly polished story. It's raw, a bit messy, and undeniably from another time. Like finding an old, slightly damaged photograph. You see the picture, but you also see the age.
IMDb —
1921
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