Deep in the Moroccan desert, a hostile Arab tribe overruns a French Foreign Legion outpost. The dastardly Sheik El Zanal hates the Legion more than anything and forces their commander to call for aid, hoping to draw the relief force into a trap.
But his beautiful sister ( Marla English) throws the spanner in the works as she falls for their commander and calls him in to her room to talk him into joining her fight against the "infidels" - she claims that she and her brother are seeking revenge as the legions had slain her father, but later she learns that isn't the case. The devious Jala (John Carradine) hired sone assassins to dress up in legion costumes and kill her father. Her brother, however, knows of Jala's treachery, but accepts it as he is too brainwashed into Jala's manipulation...
Desert Sands is basically a cavalry western transported to a foreign Legion setting with desert, a well done fort, a marauding bunch of Arab tribes and the legionnaires- it's a simple good vs bad pulp actioner and not a bad one at that. It's adequate as entertainment, has Marla English spiking up the pulse, the pace is fleeting, John Carradine hams with the best of them, but it's the fine action that bolsters its average plot. The action is quite energetic, however the romance between Meeker and English felt tacked on. The script could've been sharper ... more running time, perhaps. Overall, it's a decent viewing.
