Alain Delon's demons under Mark Robson's nurturing hand

By the mid-1960s, Alain Delon had gained a creeping reputation as a complicated danger man in touch with both the Milieu and Mafia, a man carrying baggage with him wherever he went, a man whose troubled eyes were weighted by ties to the criminal underworld of his youth. Such stories were typically fuelled by tabloids to enhance a leading man's screen image and international reporters were keen to buff Delon in a style similar to Scottish muscleman Sean Connery's explosive press releases. France was a dangerous nation for a rebellious tearaway to grow up in; for New York, think Paris ... for Milwaukee, think Grenoble ... for Boston, think Lyon ... for Chicago, think Marseilles.

Delon had enlisted in the French Navy at the age of 17 in an attempt to change his life's direction, instil some core discipline and salvage his heavy soul. He served as a fusilier in the First Indochina War. However, he was dishonorably discharged from the military following spells in cells. Whereas Dirk Bogarde, who also worked with directors Joseph Losey and Luchino Visconti, was considered a war hero for his work with British Intelligence during World War 2, Delon was left conflicted by his time in the military.

For Delon, an opportunity arose to tackle a subject he was passionate about, an adaptation of Jean Larteguy's novel 'The Centurions' (1960). The story in 'Lost Command' (1966) addresses the role of French paratroopers battling in French Indochina and French Algeria. Director Mark Robson, of Quebec, Canada, had bought the novel's film rights for his production company Red Lion in 1963. Screenwriter Nelson Gidding had previously adapted a book by historian and Indologist Stanley Wolpert for Robson, leading to their collaboration on 'Nine Hours To Rama' (1963).