This Second World War drama follows a British commando raid into the German occupied city of Benghazi in Libya. Their task is to break into the German headquarters, take the documents out of the safe before returning overland to rejoin British forces in Egypt. Getting their hands on the documents and escaping from the Germans is going to be the least of their worries though; the Sahara Desert is not a forgiving place to walk through and to make matters there is bad feeling between commanding officer Major Brand and his second in command Capt. Leith... the woman Leigh had been involved with before the war went on to marry Brand but deep down Brand knows she still loves Leigh. He believes that this mission should be an opportunity to prove his bravery because although he is a professional soldier he hasn't seen action. When the time comes for him to kill a sentry he hesitates and Leigh does it. As they head back east it becomes clear that it would suit Brand very much if Leigh didn't make it back and the desert will provide more than one chance for the captain to have an 'accident'.
I found this to be a good taut wartime thriller; this is largely down to Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens who did fine jobs as Leigh and Brand... to very different characters; Leigh the brave volunteer with combat experience and Brand a professional who doesn't have what it takes but is determined to keep that fact hidden. The action scenes are competently handled although they will seem tame to a modern audience... not a drop of blood is spilt when people get machine-gunned! The conclusion is likely to come as a shock; it certainly surprised me although it does fit with the downbeat feel of the film which is really about the nature of cowardice more than anything else. Filmed on location in Libya the film nicely captures the inhospitableness of the desert as the soldiers struggle to get back to British lines. If you are looking for a gung-ho action packed war film then this probably isn't for you but if you want something a little different give it a go.
I found this to be a good taut wartime thriller; this is largely down to Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens who did fine jobs as Leigh and Brand... to very different characters; Leigh the brave volunteer with combat experience and Brand a professional who doesn't have what it takes but is determined to keep that fact hidden. The action scenes are competently handled although they will seem tame to a modern audience... not a drop of blood is spilt when people get machine-gunned! The conclusion is likely to come as a shock; it certainly surprised me although it does fit with the downbeat feel of the film which is really about the nature of cowardice more than anything else. Filmed on location in Libya the film nicely captures the inhospitableness of the desert as the soldiers struggle to get back to British lines. If you are looking for a gung-ho action packed war film then this probably isn't for you but if you want something a little different give it a go.