Les diables du désert

SEA OF SAND is, unsurprisingly, another North African WW2 movie. Although they made literally dozens of such productions over the years, I never get tired of them as they have such great backdrops against which to present war-time action. This one's a very typical piece from the period, filled with a kind of brisk efficiency which goes hand-in-hand with the no-nonsense British cast.

The story follows the misadventures of a team of British soldiers sent behind enemy lines to blow up a fuel depot. They end discovering a massive depot of tanks ready to strike against Allied forces and, with their radio out, they must return to their own side to spread word of their discovery. The only problem is that the Nazi forces are well aware of this, sending soldiers out in pursuit.

SEA OF SAND is an admirably tough movie. There's little room for sentiment here, just necessity of getting the job done. The ensemble cast is fine with Michael Craig and John Gregson particularly standing out and more minor parts for the likes of Richard Attenborough (surprisingly underutilised in a comic part), Barry Foster, Ray McAnally, and Percy Herbert. I was delighted to spot an uncredited Dermot Walsh playing the guy who sends the team on their mission. It's solid stuff, at times exciting, heroic, tragic, and harrowing.

Recently saw this on TV. I tuned in on a whim and was delighted I did. It features a really good line up of mid 50's talent and some lustrous black and white photography. It seemed to me a forerunner of the later "mission" movies which became the norm for WW2 films in the following decade.

There were a couple of hard hitting -for the time- action sequences, which were crisply filmed and edited. There was a smattering of officers v men tension, mostly supplied by Attenborough in his cheeky chappy guise. And a fantastic sequence of a lone British soldier waiting by his machine gun for German half-tracks to appear over the crest of the dunes.

My only slight problem with the film is the heroic display by one of the officers towards the end. It felt like a throwback to earlier, more genteel values, not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the piece. Apart from that, well worth a look. Would make an good double bill with De Toth's later Play Dirty.

A nine-man unit of the Long Range Desert Group is told off to drive deep behind German lines and make trouble. They discover the Germans are planning a major offensive and must get the information back to British command. The problem is that the Germans don't want them to.

The LRDG was a British unit founded by Major Ralph Bagnold in Cairo in 1940. It was intended to carry out patrols, reconnaiscence and raids behind Italian lines. It never numbered than about 350 men. Mostly drawn from New Zealanders, with a few Southern Rhodesian and British soldiers, it was disbanded in 1945. Many of its techniques have been used by elite military groups ever since.

With a capable cast, including Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, and Michael Craig, this turns into one of those films in which men heroically sacrifice themselves for the unit, interspersed with them talking about their civilian live to give them some individuality.

A British war film; A story about a patrol raid made by the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) during the North African Campaign in the Second World War. This is a film which captures the remoteness of the conflict and the boredom for the soldiers involved. It also depicts how British soldiers went out on a limb deep behind enemy lines to fight Rommel's Afrika Korps with all its risk and danger. While the screenplay is predictable and it is a routine war adventure, the dialogue is natural and the various characters are well drawn. As an aside, it has some excellent acting which led to a BAFTA nomination for the lead actor, as well as a nomination for Best Picture for the producer.

I am very prejudiced here as my Dad served out in the Western Desert with his courageous RNF comrades under such harsh conditions that few today can even begin to understand. I cannot speak for my Dad but I firmly believe that he would have liked much of this film (so that's why I like it for starters) whilst being very polite about its failings with his wry grin and a knowing glint in the eye. Its strengths are good characters who all play their parts in a story that does have you willing them on and on in their battle against the Nazi baddies, the unforgiving Sun and the relentless sand. Richard Attenborough is particularly excellent throughout, as is Percy Herbert when playing a solo part in one of the Fifties greatest short war scenes. If all directors were made to study this scene they could learn much, but what do I know! Thank goodness the film is still shown in black and white and this should always remain so. I liked this film so I say to all old fogeys and inquisitive but sensible youngsters just give it a watch and enjoy the film for what it is. The LRDG were incredibly brave men.