Escape in the Desert

Nazi prisoners of war escape in the U.S. They find their way to a remote motel resort in the Nevada desert and terrorize the inhabitants. Will they succeed in reaching California where the war plants are?

Weak remake of "The Petrified Forest" with Dorn as a Dutch flyer in the Leslie Howard role and Dantine as an escaped Nazi POW replacing Bogart's Dick Mantee. Alan Hale supplies some minor comic relief as a stranded dentist. Robert Shayne, who later played Inspector Henderson on TV in "Superman," is heard as a radio newscaster.

This was apparently rushed into production to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the mass escape of some POWs from a camp near Phoenix in December 1944. Ironically, by the film's release date Hitler was dead and the Third Reich was in its final days, so the propaganda value was minimal.

It must have been a long war in Hollywood too as everyone looks as tired as the material.

I thought the story sounded familiar... it's based on the same play that was made into petrified forest in 1936! But here, instead of a desperate bank robber, the locals encounter a group of escaped nazi prisoners of war. Several sub plots... hank falls for jane, but she likes phil, the dutch flyer who is also passing through. Grandpa just wants to work his mine. This is a much less compelling story than the original... the awesome alan hale is the only actor I recognize, as doctor tedder. And the war itself only had a few more months to go when this came out. It's got some suspense, some drama, but it just doesn't measure up to the original from 1936. Probably due to the lesser known stars. Directed by ed blatt, who only directed three films. Based on a play by robert sherwood. Entertaining enough. Tells a pretty good story.

Phillip Dorn is in the desert making his way to the coast, when he stops at one of those gas station/motel/Indian curio shop/restaurant places that used to dot the west. There's talk on the radio about escaped Nazi POWs, Jean Sullivan wants to get away, Samuel S. Hinds is doing the Old Coot Act..... well, it's THE PETRIFIED FOREST updated a bit. The Warners liked to use successful movie ideas over and over again, rubbing off the serial numbers until the nickel plating wore away. Here it is again.

And it's certainly good on those terms, even without Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart. Dorn is a fine actor, Jean Sullivan is winsome in the Bette Davis role, albeit reduced to the shrinking girl while Dantine beats up on Hinds, and Dantine plays the Nazty Nazi. There's a rousing action finish, and Western democracy is saved again for the time being. Director Edward Blatt does a good job, or perhaps it's the well-oiled Warners machine. It probably played a week or even two, but it was another rah-rah movie, and the distribution guys knew they had to shove them out the door immediately, because the War would be done in three weeks in Europe, and then people wouldn't want it.

This 'B Picture' does seem to be an unnecessary re-make of Petrified Forest (1936), but appearing in the lead roles was an opportunity to recognize the contributions of two European Expatriates. Philip Dorn from the Netherlands had previously featured in characters roles for WWII flicks Escape (1940), Underground (1941), Reunion In France (1942), Paris After Dark (1943) & Passage to Marseille (1944), while Helmut Dantine of Vienna had previously featured in character roles for WWII flicks Edge of Darkness & Northern Pursuit (Both 1943), Passage to Marseille (1944) and Hotel Berlin (1945). Co-Star Samuel S. Hines had appeared in nearly 200 motion pictures by this point in his career, but very few films held him in a role where he was such an integral part of the plot as he is as 'Gramp'.

Armchair cynics shouldn't criticize the timing of this film's release in relation to the state of National Socialism Affairs in Europe. It's clear, the scriptwriters correctly anticipated the pending dispatch of the Nazis on May 07, 1945, but the purpose of the film was to reflect on the fact that the outcome of the on-going conflict in the Pacific had yet to be played out. At the time this film was being made prior to its release on May 01, 1945, the atomic bombs hadn't yet been used, so the time-line on when the WWII would end in the Pacific could not be determined. To paraphrase this film's patriotic message - 'Our fight is not yet over, we must be vigilant and press on against the enemy!' And to this end, Japan was forced to surrender on August 15, 1945.