Hollywood made few movies about the desert conflict during World War II--and curiously, two that they did (Five Graves to Cairo is the other) were remakes of films set elsewhere. John Howard Lawson based his script on a prewar Russian film (Lawson would later be blacklisted, incidentally) about a military patrol besieged by Asian bandits. The situation readily lent itself to a wartime parallel and became one of the most engrossing story lines of its era.
A U.S. tank crew and their commander (Humphrey Bogart), separated from the main force, make their way through the desert, accumulating a veritable United Nations of stragglers as they go: a few of Montgomery's tommies (including that old limey Lloyd Bridges) and a towering African (Rex Ingram) and his prisoner--a garrulous Italian (Oscar-nominated J. Carrol Naish) who can't wait to tell his new friends about his relatives in "Peets-a-bourg Pennsylvania." They come upon a ruin, the onetime site of an oasis, and almost immediately find themselves defending it against a small army of Germans who believe there's still water to be had there. Yes and no--there's a biblical wrinkle to this tale--and the standoff between the polyglot democrats and the Nazis who far outnumber them is a fine, sun-baked study in suspense.
For Bogart, this Columbia picture was a rare furlough from Warner Bros., where he always felt embattled. His pleasure must have seeped into his work, because Sgt. Joe Gunn is one of the most sympathetic and heartfelt characterizations the actor ever gave us. This is one good movie. --Richard T. Jameson
2.
World War II action classic about the desperate retreat across the Sahara of a tank battallion. When the tank crew captures a desert fortress, they must battle a detachment of Germans in order to keep their water. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best (Black-and-White) Cinematography.
3.
There's plenty of top-notch, explosive action in this 1943 "Bogie" classic about a ragtag battalion stranded in the great African desert during World War II. After the fall of the Libyan city of Tobruk, Sergeant Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) and his crew--"Waco" Hoyt (Bruce Bennett), Fred Clarkson (Lloyd Bridges) and Jimmy Doyle (Dan Duryea)--retreat in their tank across the Sahara. Along the way they pick up six Allied stragglers and Tambul (Rex Ingram), a Sudanese corporal and his Italian prisoner. Tambul directs the group to a desert fortress, where they hope to find desparately needed water. A detachment of German soldiers arrives and attempts to barter food for water, but Gunn and his followers refuse. When the Germans attack, Gunn leads his desert-weary men in a desparate battle, hoping that British reinforcements can arrive in time.
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