I'm surprised that others have referred to the script, by Ben Hecht, as being good. Ben was having an off day when he wrote this one. The adventurers run into a hostile group of Bedouins, who have a medical problem with one of their number. Rossano heads into their camp with his medical kit, and we're expecting to see him pull a chicken bone out of the guy's throat and save his life. But no! All of a sudden it's morning and the three adventurers go on their way. But the one I love is when they're in the ancient lost city of Timgad, and Rossano steals the water, the donkey, and the supplies and sneaks off into the night, while the Duke is sleeping off his nightly booze-out. So in the morning, Sophia and the Duke follow him on foot, with no water. And you would never in a million years guess what happens next! They catch up with him! By this time, without Joe January's desert know-how, Rossano is staggering around aimlessly. Then, a friendly caravan happens along and saves them. And then, movie's over!It's a gorgeous movie, especially with Sophia to look at, and the photography is terrific. But you know right away when the main character has a phony name like "Joe January," they were running out of ideas. The cast does the best they can. Worth watching once for John Wayne completists, and I'm one.

A previous reviewer may be correct in identifying Lepcis Magna in promotional shots of Sophia Loren, but that Roman city was not used as a location in this movie. The ancient city is clearly Timgad and is referred to as such by John Wayne's character.The use of Timgad as a location is perhaps the most interesting aspect of this movie, notwithstanding the allure of Miss Loren. I thought so, anyway, when I first saw it on TV as a kid.I did not occur to me then, but, for a 'lost city' Timgad appears remarkably well maintained in this movie. The adventurers come across an archaeological site which clearly has had its streets swept regularly and various monuments reconstructed. Only the gift shop is missing.That the characters strike out from Timbuktu and arrive in northern Libya means they have traversed almost the entire breadth of the Sahara -surely an impossible feat, even for the indomitable Mr Wayne. His character is rueful when he name-checks the place, as well he might be, since a bus ride from Algiers would probably have sufficed!That he knows the name of the ancient Roman city was perhaps a favour to the Libyan tourist board.

Scallywag desert veteran Joe January is bailed out of prison to act as a guide for Paul Bonnard. Bonnard is in Timbuktu to search for treasure in the Sahara, something his now missing father set off to do some time before. Along for the journey is Dita, a low moral woman who caught Bonnard's good will during a set-too in the town earlier. So January sets off with his suspicions on full alert, women and treasure!, has to be a recipe for trouble...surely?I can't dress it up, Legend Of The Lost is just about watchable for a few comic moments and it's decent enough production values. John Wayne {Jones}, Sophia Loren {Dita} and Rossano Brazzi {Bonnard} star in what on paper looked to be a real good thing. Three actors who can arguably lay claim to having a volume of fans to rival those of the Hollywood heavy weights past and present. Yet it doesn't quite come together, it lacks an adventure spark that the story clearly hints should be there. It's not helped by Brazzi and his inability to act, he is someone who continues to baffle me in how he managed to get mainstream cash work in the first place. Loren as usual, pouts and teases the men on screen and the boys in the audience, but do we care? Actually no. During her moments of peril, one can't help hoping that Duke Wayne will shoot her to ease all the suffering of the viewers.Ah, bless The Duke, for he be the one bright acting spot in the picture. In fine physical shape and clearly knowing that tongue in cheek is the best way to play this one, Duke enjoys himself and hopefully his fans can get a modicum of enjoyment from this badly casted piece. The location work in Libya is real nice {Jack Cardiff once again delivering fine photography}, with the desert sequences enhanced by the always pleasant Technicolor. But don't be kidded that this is a character study worth venturing into, for if it didn't have the star names attached to it, they would have burned the negative long before release. 3.5/10

First of all it doesn't really matter that the movie isn't a western,try to understand that we don't live on planet America and just because a western actor decides to appear in a non-western movie doesn't mean that movie is bad or the actor's performance is bad.Sure,it's not the same J.W. formula we've seen in his habitual movies,however I think this is one of his best movies because I get to see other things for a change,usually westerns resume to guns,mexicans,indians and bandits.This movie is different,it goes deeper,it has a lot of psychology in it,it doesn't have bandits,murderers or other western elements,it's a different kind of dish.Besides the idea of adventure and finding a treasure there is really no link between this movie and T.S.M.T. as some believe,the idea of searching for a lost treasure is a cliché that has been used a zillion times before!If you want to see a good movie this is it!Don't let the other negative posters change your mind because they don't have a clue of what a good movie consists in,what can you expect from somebody who gives 10 stars to idiotic movies like L.O.T.R. ?