This is one of those 'before I was a megastar' turkeys that are best forgotten.
Starring Richard Burton and Kurt Jurgens as British army officers serving in the middle-east during WW2; they are also the male corners of a predictably tedious love-triangle.
Despite themselves and a decent sprinkling of familiar faces from the time, they all collectively fail to salvage anything but their pay-cheques from this formulaic hokum.
Quite frankly; it's inept. In fact it's boring. The mission seems badly-planned and implausible from the outset. The conflicts are contrived, the tension scarcely noticeable. More effort seems to have gone into the model of the town that everyone is poring-over at the outset than has been applied to the 'real' stage sets. Filmed in black and white, that and the lighting are at least competent, but sound, effects, editing and script scarcely manage B-movie standards. The jealous exchanges between Burton and Jurgens are particularly banal and stagy.
Unless you happen to be a rabid fan of either star, this is definitely one to miss. Which is a shame really; its 1950's vintage and black-&-white photography seem to promise so much more. The similarly styled and vintaged 'Ice Cold In Alex' could knock it into a cocked hat.
Starring Richard Burton and Kurt Jurgens as British army officers serving in the middle-east during WW2; they are also the male corners of a predictably tedious love-triangle.
Despite themselves and a decent sprinkling of familiar faces from the time, they all collectively fail to salvage anything but their pay-cheques from this formulaic hokum.
Quite frankly; it's inept. In fact it's boring. The mission seems badly-planned and implausible from the outset. The conflicts are contrived, the tension scarcely noticeable. More effort seems to have gone into the model of the town that everyone is poring-over at the outset than has been applied to the 'real' stage sets. Filmed in black and white, that and the lighting are at least competent, but sound, effects, editing and script scarcely manage B-movie standards. The jealous exchanges between Burton and Jurgens are particularly banal and stagy.
Unless you happen to be a rabid fan of either star, this is definitely one to miss. Which is a shame really; its 1950's vintage and black-&-white photography seem to promise so much more. The similarly styled and vintaged 'Ice Cold In Alex' could knock it into a cocked hat.