John Wayne’s World: Transnational Masculinity in the Fifties

5. John Wayne’s Africa: European Colonialism versus U. S. Global Leadership in Legend of the Lost

chaPter five JohnWayne’s Africa euroPean colonialism versus u.s. global leaDershiP in Legend Of tHe LOSt As Wayne’s character in Legend Of tHe LOSt, joe January, leads Paul Bonnard (Rossano Brazzi) and a prostitute named Dita (Sophia Loren) through the vast Sahara, the burgeoning love triangle between the three characters produces tensions not only between the travelers but also between the different ways that the two men relate to Dita and the idea of Africa in general. In one scene, the three take a much-needed break along the banks of an oasis after getting caught in a brutal desert sandstorm . Exploiting the internationally popular sex appeal of the young Loren at the time, Dita bathes in the nude in plain view of the two men, with only a conveniently placed donkey blocking the camera’s view of Loren’s naked body. Bonnard, an idealistic and religious European, looks on with embarrassment at the sexualized display, awkwardly breaking his gaze by looking at the ground before looking back up at Dita, or by attempting to distract himself and January by drawing a map of their route in the sand. But for the rough and practical American, January, there is no embarrassment or awkwardness, only a sustained and appreciative gaze at Dita’s body, followed up by a suggestive offer to help her bathe, which Dita at first scoffs at in offense. But when January compares the sight of her to a mirage, she sneaks a small and grateful smile at his attention. Within the film’s highly sexist and problematic logic, the two men’s relationship with Dita suggests a broader allegory of European versus U.S. visions of Africa and the developing world. Bonnard’s relationshipwith Dita is marked by a deep sense of piety and humanitarian obligation, even as he is drawn to her sexually. He idealistically wants to save Dita, to uplift her soul and rescue her from the life of depravity that she lived before the journey, even if such lofty goals are rooted in an erotic desire. But for January there is no missionary zeal 114 | John Wayne’s World or moral obligation to hinder his attraction to Dita and her body. January’s practical and honest embrace of life’s base pleasures—be they alcohol or sex— eschews the paternalism and repression of Bonnard’s perspective, openly and unashamedly enjoying Dita’s naked body. Bonnard’s European perspective is at once idealistic and condescending, offering optimistic humanitarian values but a strong sense of superiority, while January’s American perspective is crude and masculinist but also libertarian, seeking pleasure and profit in Africa and expecting the locals to do the same. Since the scene is constructed to elicit the audience’s gaze at Loren’s sexualized body, it is clear that January’s perspective is privileged here, affirming the patriarchal and imperialistic pleasures of the American male abroad. That the film explores European and American models of relating to Africa should not be surprising, given its background. A U.S.-Italian coproduction, the film was produced partly by Wayne’s own company, Batjac, and partly by Dear Films Productions, the Italian production company of Robert Haggiag, a Libyan-born American film producer who operated out of Rome and specialized in U.S.-Italian coproductions that qualified for Italian state film subsidies , such as The Barefoot Contessa (1954). Shot partly at the massive Italian studio Cinecittà and partly on location in Libya, Legend of the Lost is a prime example of Hollywood’s internationalization in this period, in which it sought out international coproductions, exploited foreign subsidies, and used international shooting locations. Sophia Loren at the time was a rising international star with immense popularity in several markets around the world, and Rossano Brazzi, an established Italian star, was one of Europe’s most popular leading men in the 1950s. Clearly a vehicle to exploit the international star power of Wayne, Loren, and Brazzi, the film situates the biggest American star in the world and a leading European star in the open and highly contested spaces of Africa as they battle for the affection and worldview of a local woman (played across ethnicity by Loren). A film explicitly designed for international audiences thus dramatizes the conflicts between Europe and the United States concerning the ideological terrain of Africa. The film tells the story of Paul Bonnard, a wealthy Frenchman who arrives in Timbuktu in search of a local guide to lead him into the...