A nice surprise."Sahara" is a Zoltan Korda directed war film that centres on a single tank cut off from the rest of the regiment and making its way across the desert of the title with two prisoners, A German and an Italian, on board. In this respect it's a little like the later "Ice Cold in Alex". Humphrey Bogart is the tough American sergeant in charge and others in the all-male cast include Dan Duryea, Bruce Bennett, Lloyd Bridges and Rex Ingram. The prisoners are Kurt Kreuger and an Oscar-nominated J Carrol Naish. Superbly photographed, too, by Rudolph Mate, also an Oscar nominee for his work here. Not often revived but worth seeking out.

My second review of this all-male cast movie. The first being Lord of the Flies. This gritty forgotten Bogart movie was made under Columbia pictures as Bogey was on loan from Warner Brothers. Coming off of his two previous films, Action in The North Atlantic and the classic Casablanca Boogie AKA Joe Gunn, Tank commander from parts unknown is hunkered down in a Tank with his remaining crew of only two, Waco (Bruce Bennett) and Jimmy (Dan Duryea). Retreating, heading south in the hot desolate Libyan desert. Away from any Nazi stronghold. For they were one of the few American tanks to partake in the Battle of Tobruk under the British 8th army. Along the way with little water in supply they pick up allied British soldiers, Italian and a German POW plus an one of the most engaging characters to hit the screen Major Tambor played by the versatile Rex Ingram. Imgram plays a Sudanese soldier who knows the dessert like the back of his hand. Tambor feels if heading south they will come across a fort which has a well. The unmistakable voice of Rex Ingram resonates. Who could forget the colossal genie in the movie The Thief Of Baghdad. Another actor that stood out was the forthright Italian prisoner Giuseppe played by J. Caroll Nash. It was also my first experience to see Dan Duryea playing a guy on the winning side for a change. Duryea's roles were related to gangsters and foils. It was nice to see a very young looking Lloyd Bridges without his frog suit crawling through the sand. Watching this makeshift crew in the blazing sun made me parched as water was scarce and at a premium as the Nazi were closing in but Bogart and his crew have an Idea that will save everybody. Smoke em if you got em!!

... but it's still well worth a look. This is one of the Bogie titles that tends to slip under the wire when they're issuing boxed sets or holding retrospectives. He made it after Casablanca and in some ways - it lacks completely the gloss and sub-plot content of the former - it could qualify as a throw-back to Bogie's thirties fodder but it is craftsman like - Zoltan Korda was never anything more than a journeyman and a real-life embodiment of the famous Hollywood gag the son-in-law also rises - and had for the time a viable message albeit sophomoric seen today, namely that in times of strife nations should put aside petty squabbles and unite against a common enemy. Bogie turns in a first class performance albeit having to compete with J. Carroll Nash; Bruce Bennet is low-key which is just as well given his limited talent, Lloyd Bridges barely makes it to the third reel and Dan Duryea is all at sea attempting to do 'nice'. Nevertheless it remains highly watchable.

This movie withstands the test of time and therefore is a classic. All the facets of movie production fall right into place in this outstanding movie about sacrifice and heroism. Instead of being hokey, this movie offers a strong and compelling story about survival and does this with an all-male cast. This movie may be the penultimate war movie; it is at least an excellent example of the genre. Theatrics are set aside as the the story immediately unfolds and follows a straight path leading to a strong dramatic finale. Humphrey Bogart and the rest of the cast are excellent. Especially impressive is the performance of J. Carroll Naish as an Italian POW. Although made during World War Two, the movie succeeds in keeping propaganda to a minimum and concentrates instead on telling a story. The movie maintains a steady level of suspense as the audience is made to wonder whether the tank crew will survive. In the era of flashy special effects and computer graphics, it is refreshing to watch a movie that relies solely on acting and actual sets and locations to tell a story.