March or Die is a 1977 British war drama film directed by Dick Richards and starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve, Max von Sydow and Sir Ian Holm.
The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion. Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), a war-weary American haunted by his memories of the recently ended Great War, is assigned to protect a group of archaeologists at a dig site in Erfoud in Morocco from Bedouin revolutionaries led by El-Krim (based on Moroccan revolutionary Abd el-Krim).
The song "Plaisir d'amour", a tune about lost love and regret, is played repeatedly throughout the story as the film's theme song.
Plot
Soon after the Great War, Major William Foster (Gene Hackman), an American commander in the French Foreign Legion, suffers the haunting memories of leading an army of more than 8,000 men and watching them slowly get whittled down to just 200. He has become an alcoholic as a result, and his only friend is his faithful Sergeant, Triand (Rufus).
Foster arrives in Paris to assume a new command: taking the Legion to Rif in Morocco to re-establish French authority, as the Bedouin and Berber tribes have begun to revolt against French rule. Foster is also ordered to escort archaeologists from the Louvre, who are uncovering an ancient city near Erfoud, buried by a sandstorm 3,000 years ago. The site is the final resting place of a Berber saint known to the French as "The Angel of the Desert". Foster was specifically chosen for the assignment as he is the only French officer alive who served in Morocco before the war. He had helped to develop diplomatic ties with the tribes by negotiating with El Krim (Ian Holm), the de facto leader of the scattered Rif tribes; one condition of peace was that the French cease all archaeological expeditions without the tribes' approval.
Foster receives fresh Legion recruits for his assignment. Among those who volunteer, willingly or unwillingly, is "the Gypsy" Marco Segrain (Terence Hill), a charming jewel thief famous for a three-year crime spree on the Riviera before getting arrested. Gypsy befriends three other recruits: the Russian giant Ivan (Jack O'Halloran), formerly a member of the elite bodyguard of the deposed Russian Imperial family; "Top Hat" Gilbert Francis (André Penvern), a fashionable man and musician who lacks the physical traits needed in a soldier; and Fredrick Hastings (Paul Sherman), a romantic young English aristocrat who longs for the days of the Great War.
The four friends are soon disillusioned by the harsh realities of life in the Legion, including heavy physical labor, little food and water, and scorching heat. A fatal fight breaks out among the men while traveling to Morocco over an insult to Foster's honor, to which Triand takes exception. Foster does not hesitate to harshly discipline his men, especially the insubordinate Marco, though he makes sure never to go too far and actively works to make sure his men are fit and ready for the hardships ahead. During the voyage, Marco charms one of the accompanying archaeologists, Madame Picard (Catherine Deneuve).
During their journey, the train carrying the Legionnaires and the archaeological team is stopped by El Krim and his men. El Krim greets his old friend Foster, but also declares that Morocco belongs to his people and the French are no longer welcome. El Krim gives a "gift" to Foster to take back to the Premier of France: the archaeologists of an earlier dig, who have had their eyes and tongues gouged out and been subjected to exposure. He warns Foster to turn back while he still can. In response, Foster shoots the two mutilated archaeologists to end their suffering; afterwards, it is revealed that one of them was Madame Picard's father.
Upon reaching their fortress, Foster puts the men through brutal and unforgiving training exercises. Top Hat collapses during a march and is left to die of thirst but manages to return to camp; he ultimately commits suicide rather than endure any further abuse. Later, at the digging site, Hastings is kidnapped while on guard duty and tortured to death by a tribal raider, whom El Krim excuses as being merely over-zealous. Marco retaliates by killing his friend's murderer. Instead of disciplining him, Foster defends him by using the same excuse, and El Krim accepts it.