Passable war movie set pre-during Spanish Civil War full of action , drama , thrills , patriotism , spectacular battles and a little bit of humor . A jinjoist picture , concerning about Spanish Legion , and the triumphs of the Nationalist forces against Republicans , blending real deeds , fiction , as well as documentary in some battle scenes . In North Africa , in a detachment of the Legion , the 4th Flag , 11 company , El Grajo or 'the Rook' (Alfredo Mayo), the most brave legionnaire , befriends Mauro (Luis Peña) . Mauro , from whom only the name is known , gives the impression of hiding some dark secrets . One day , when the two friends celebrate a noisy meeting , at a saloon occurs some brawls that lead to the death of a man . The suspects fall on Mauro , who is put on criminal court and condemned to death by firing squad . Meanwhile , El Grajo will start investigating the happenings on his own . The second part deals with a fictitious country called Eslonia (a similar nation to ¨Duck soup's Freedonia¨) where our two friends meet again . At the end takes place the confrontation between Republic and Francous forces , and Legion getting essential objectives to avoid advance of the Republican forces . As Spanish Republican forces fight against the better-equipped Francoist armies in several battles until its final defeat .
Propaganda film about adventures and misfortunes carried out by two valiant soldiers , it is packed with strong ideological charge and it was one of the more successful pictures by that time : Franco's regime . It contains breathtaking warlike set-pieces , comradeship , touches of brief humor and an almost homosexual friendship . In the movie there are several shouts and Hurras¡ , praising Spanish institutions : Viva La Legion ¡ , Viva España¡ ...Alfredo Mayo gives an acceptable acting as the courageous soldier nicknamed ¨The Rook¨ , Mayo was considered to be the greatest star of the 40s interpreting similar hits as ¨Harka¨ and the famous ¨Raza¨ by José Luis Saenz De Heredia . Grajo/Alfredo Mayo becomes close friend to Mauro/Luis Peña , both of them have just joined to take on unfortunate circumstances . This is a fiction movie , adding some stock-footage , being written by also filmmaker Luis Lucia and actor Raul Cancio , but in old style , boasting the Spanish past grandeur , being professionally directed by Juan De Orduña y Fernández-Shaw , though it has a lot of flaws and gaps . Orduña debuted on camera in 1924 with "The House of Troy¨, and forming his own company shortly thereafter . As after shooting the successful ¨Nobleza Baturra" (1935), starring Imperio Argentina which Florian Rey directed , and they founded ¨Goya Films distributing company¨ , producing this military epic "¡A mí la Legión!" and other historical films along with the biggest production company of Franco period : CIFESA . It packs an atmospheric cinematography by the prestigious Alfredo Fraile , shot on location in Tetuan , Protectorado of Morocco , Spanish colony in Morocco. In fact , producers thanks to military authorities of Moracco Protectorado . Evocative score by Juan Quintero with great number of Legion songs , such as : Himno De Los Legionarios and Marcial hymn by Soler and Cales as Novio De La Muerte , Canción Del Legionario by Guillén y Romero and hymn De Academia De Infantería by Cueva and Díaz-Giles
The motion picture was professional though regularly made by Juan De Orduña in patriotic style , it is highly favored by that nationalist time of the forties . Orduña was born in Madrid in 1900 and died in 1974, aristocratic origin , while attending college , and theatergoers will soon begin to combine classroom with theatre . Longtime affection for acting while still attending college , turning into a notorious juvenile stage actor . During his early days , he played Zarzuelas and stage performances . He debuted on silent films in 1924, and in 1925 he was cast in "La Casa De La Troya" , then in silent version "Boy" , and started his own company . In 1928 he both starred in and directed "Una Aventura De Cine", and from then on he would progressively concentrate on shooting . He also starred in "El Misterio De La Puerta del Sol" (1929), the first Spanish sound picture . During the 30s and specially after the Spanish Civil War he became one of the most famed and favored Spanish directors . With fellow director Florián Rey he collaborated as lead actor in the sentimental drama "El Frente De Los Suspiros" (1942) . Later on , he specialized in comedies ("Tuvo La Culpa Adán", "Ella, El y Sus Millones" both from 1944), and filmed one of the best Spanish costume dramas ("Pequeñeces", 1950) and epic/religious movies ("Agustina De Aragón" 1950, "Alba De América" 1951 , ¨Locura De Amor¨, ¨Leona De Castilla¨ , ¨Teresa De Jesús¨). Juan adapted to cinema known novels such as : ¨Zalacaín El Aventurero¨ , ¨Cañas Y Barro¨ , ¨Lola Se Va a Los Huertos¨ , being especially known for his historical renditions . He was also responsible for "El Ultimo Cuplé" (1957), a reinvention of popular musicals which was a huge hit for Sara Montiel and subsequently made a lot of Zarzuelas for TV as ¨El Huésped Del Sevillano¨ , ¨La Revoltosa¨ , ¨Bohemios¨ , ¨La Canción Del Olvido¨ , ¨Maruxa¨ and ¨El Caserio¨ . He finished his long career with two vehicles for Lina Morgan : ¨La Tonta Del Bote¨ and Manolo Escobar : ¨Me Has Hecho Perder El Juicio¨ .
Propaganda film about adventures and misfortunes carried out by two valiant soldiers , it is packed with strong ideological charge and it was one of the more successful pictures by that time : Franco's regime . It contains breathtaking warlike set-pieces , comradeship , touches of brief humor and an almost homosexual friendship . In the movie there are several shouts and Hurras¡ , praising Spanish institutions : Viva La Legion ¡ , Viva España¡ ...Alfredo Mayo gives an acceptable acting as the courageous soldier nicknamed ¨The Rook¨ , Mayo was considered to be the greatest star of the 40s interpreting similar hits as ¨Harka¨ and the famous ¨Raza¨ by José Luis Saenz De Heredia . Grajo/Alfredo Mayo becomes close friend to Mauro/Luis Peña , both of them have just joined to take on unfortunate circumstances . This is a fiction movie , adding some stock-footage , being written by also filmmaker Luis Lucia and actor Raul Cancio , but in old style , boasting the Spanish past grandeur , being professionally directed by Juan De Orduña y Fernández-Shaw , though it has a lot of flaws and gaps . Orduña debuted on camera in 1924 with "The House of Troy¨, and forming his own company shortly thereafter . As after shooting the successful ¨Nobleza Baturra" (1935), starring Imperio Argentina which Florian Rey directed , and they founded ¨Goya Films distributing company¨ , producing this military epic "¡A mí la Legión!" and other historical films along with the biggest production company of Franco period : CIFESA . It packs an atmospheric cinematography by the prestigious Alfredo Fraile , shot on location in Tetuan , Protectorado of Morocco , Spanish colony in Morocco. In fact , producers thanks to military authorities of Moracco Protectorado . Evocative score by Juan Quintero with great number of Legion songs , such as : Himno De Los Legionarios and Marcial hymn by Soler and Cales as Novio De La Muerte , Canción Del Legionario by Guillén y Romero and hymn De Academia De Infantería by Cueva and Díaz-Giles
The motion picture was professional though regularly made by Juan De Orduña in patriotic style , it is highly favored by that nationalist time of the forties . Orduña was born in Madrid in 1900 and died in 1974, aristocratic origin , while attending college , and theatergoers will soon begin to combine classroom with theatre . Longtime affection for acting while still attending college , turning into a notorious juvenile stage actor . During his early days , he played Zarzuelas and stage performances . He debuted on silent films in 1924, and in 1925 he was cast in "La Casa De La Troya" , then in silent version "Boy" , and started his own company . In 1928 he both starred in and directed "Una Aventura De Cine", and from then on he would progressively concentrate on shooting . He also starred in "El Misterio De La Puerta del Sol" (1929), the first Spanish sound picture . During the 30s and specially after the Spanish Civil War he became one of the most famed and favored Spanish directors . With fellow director Florián Rey he collaborated as lead actor in the sentimental drama "El Frente De Los Suspiros" (1942) . Later on , he specialized in comedies ("Tuvo La Culpa Adán", "Ella, El y Sus Millones" both from 1944), and filmed one of the best Spanish costume dramas ("Pequeñeces", 1950) and epic/religious movies ("Agustina De Aragón" 1950, "Alba De América" 1951 , ¨Locura De Amor¨, ¨Leona De Castilla¨ , ¨Teresa De Jesús¨). Juan adapted to cinema known novels such as : ¨Zalacaín El Aventurero¨ , ¨Cañas Y Barro¨ , ¨Lola Se Va a Los Huertos¨ , being especially known for his historical renditions . He was also responsible for "El Ultimo Cuplé" (1957), a reinvention of popular musicals which was a huge hit for Sara Montiel and subsequently made a lot of Zarzuelas for TV as ¨El Huésped Del Sevillano¨ , ¨La Revoltosa¨ , ¨Bohemios¨ , ¨La Canción Del Olvido¨ , ¨Maruxa¨ and ¨El Caserio¨ . He finished his long career with two vehicles for Lina Morgan : ¨La Tonta Del Bote¨ and Manolo Escobar : ¨Me Has Hecho Perder El Juicio¨ .