mlraymond Review of Station Six Sahara

Station Six Sahara (1963)

Peculiar little movie offers unpleasant entertainment

[5/10 · 13 November 2006]

This film is almost forgotten today. I have only seen it twice, and don't know anyone else who has seen it, or even heard of it. The setting and characters are reminiscent of Flight of the Phoenix, with an international group of oil riggers getting on each others' nerves in the Arabian desert. SPOILERS AHEAD: The only part of this movie that's actually interesting is the strange cat and mouse game played between two Englishmen, over a letter. One complains that he never receives any mail, and the other guy gets lots of mail, so he offers to buy a random letter. The condition is that the original recipient will not be allowed to see it, or know anything about who sent it. Having agreed and sold one of his letters, the first guy spends the rest of the movie trying to find out what's in the letter, offering to buy it back, nearly going crazy when the purchaser gloats over " his" letter, hinting that it's from a woman. At the end, the purchaser reveals what the letter is about. That subplot is the only thing remotely interesting in the movie. It might be worth seeing, if you get the chance, just out of sheer curiosity. It's an odd little cult item with no likable or admirable characters at all, which may be why it's not better known.