Sahara

The Good Guys are desperate for water. The Bad Guys are desperate for water. Everyone is obsessed with the impossibility of getting water. Water. Water. Water.

There just isn't any. It's central to the plot. Everyone is terrified of dying for lack of it. They're ready to kill for it. They're ready to die for it. They travel miles and miles out of their way to get to wells.

And yet... when they start seriously shooting at each other, both sides are laying down a practically non-stop withering fire with.... WATER-COOLED machine guns!!!!!!

I guess they must have had a whole bunch of water all along!

"Sahara" is a first-rate War film, well directed by Zoltan Korda, which qualitatively balanced its superb action sequences with penetrating character studies…

Bogart is seen as a tank commander who, when separated from his unit in the Libyan Desert, picks up a group of allied (and eventually several enemy) stragglers and heads out in search of badly needed water… Once they arrive at a nearly dry oasis, and after he learns that a motorized battalion of Germans is also after the water, Bogart decides to make a valiant stand…

Bogart's characterization is excellent as he gave what many considered to be the most realistic portrait of the truly "American" fighting man yet pictured on the screen…

Assisting in the overall success of "Sahara" was a masterful musical score by Miklos Rozsa, who did similar duty the same year in another "tank" picture, Billy Wilder's "Five Graves to Cairo."

Bogart does well as an American tank commander early in WW II coming across some retreating British infantry. They later make a dramatic last stand against the attacking Germans.

Two actors make this movie a standout. J. Carroll Naish was of Irish descent, and he never played an Irishman in his long and great career as an actor. Check his movies and look for his great performances. Here he is magnificent as a tormented and disillusioned Italian prisoner (a German ally) who has to fianlly decide if he'll fight with the Germans or stand with the Allies, who could have let him die in the desert.

Rex Ingram was a fine black actor who here plays a Sudanese soldier in British colonial service. The depiction of a heroic black soldier was rare during World War Two (see my review of "Bataan"). He too was memorable. It's a fine film and worth catching whenever you can find it.

Sahara (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Exciting and highly entertaining WW2 drama has Humphrey Bogart playing the leader of a tank crew who are slowly trying to make their way to safety by crossing the Sahara Desert. Soon the group of men begin to struggle as the sand storms and lack of water begin to have a toll on them so they decide to give their lives and battle a large number of German's. This is certainly one of the better WW2 dramas out there and I guess it's what you'd call a "man's movie" since there isn't a single woman in the film. The movie works so well because of the wonderful cast who turn in some great and memorable performances. Bogart leads the way and turns in another winning performance but I'd stop short of calling it amongst his best. He certainly fits that tough guy role better than anyone in history so there's no problem believing anything his character is doing. The supporting cast is where the real greatness is as several members are able to outshine Bogie. J. Carrol Naish gives one of his greatest performances with a spot on Italian accent. It's a real shame so many people just remember Naish from his later day exploitation titles because he was certainly one of the better character actors from this era. Lloyd Bridges, Rex Ingram, Bruce Bennett and Richard Nugent also add great support. Guy Kingsford also should receive special attention as Stegman. I think the best part of the movie is the first sixty-minutes or so where the men are having to deal with the desert as their main enemy. The effects of them dealing with a sand storm was very well done as was a terrific scene where the men get to taste water for the first time in days. I think the later part of the story gets a tad bit far fetched but one should also keep in mind that movies like this were being made to make those watching them feel proud of the troops battling in the real war.

"Sahara" is a 1943 film starring Humphrey Bogart, directed by Zoltan Korda, and intended as a propaganda film during World War II. It succeeds.

Bogart is a Sgt. Joe Gunn, and after Tobruk falls in North Africa, he leads a tank unit into the desert. He's joined by French, South African, British, and Sudanese soldiers. They come up against a group of Germans that want the water well where the tanks are stationed.

Besides Bogart, the great cast includes Bruce Bennett. Lloyd Bridges, Dan Duryea and J. Carrol Naish, and they all do an exemplary job. What I like best about this film is the atmosphere - the sun beating down, the dryness, the filth - you're thirsty just watching it.

It was films like this that probably kept people in the U.S. going during the war, I imagine. World War II has been highly romanticized, but despite the pretty songs, there wasn't anything romantic about it. Since there are no women in this film, there's nothing romantic about "Sahara" either. Very good work.