The Gaumont catalogue immediately puts its cards on the table. “Since the Tunisian Regency is under French protectorate, the Bey’s soldiers, recruited amongst Sheiks and Qaids, are under the command of French officers.” Good; understood. And what do these local riflemen do when we send them off to shoot and be shot? Samama looks on them with empathy as they happily consume their rations and gather to enjoy the occasional entertaining show: a two-man choreography employing flickering sabres, a (male) belly dancer with a jug on his head, a display of military daring (if harassing a mule to demonstrate how to “tame” it can be fairly described in such terms).

Andrea Meneghelli