This is another of Humphrey Bogart's war movies, this one made for Columbia Pictures instead of his usual work for Warner Brothers. In some respects, it's a war movie with a difference, in that it focuses much more on the men than the fighting. Bogie's character is Sgt. Gunn, an American tank commander separated from his unit in North Africa, trying to get his tank and his men back to Allied lines. Along the way they pick up a few stranded British soldiers, and also take a few prisoners, most notably Italian Giuseppe (a role for which J. Carroll Naish was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar.)
The primary issue involved is not so much the battle against the Germans (although that comes in the last half hour or so) but is rather the battle with the desert. The men are running out of water, and are desperately searching for a well. There's a brief hint of some competition, as at first the British soldiers aren't clear that they want to be given orders by an American sergeant, but that gets resolved quickly. Naish did, in fact, do a great job as Giuseppe, portraying very believably the general contempt that many Italian soldiers had for the war. He was contrasted with a stereotypically gung-ho German soldier.
The climax comes with a battle against a German battalion that's also desperately searching for water. Hopelessly outnumbered, Gunn decides they should take a stand and delay the Germans as much as possible. The scenes of desert warfare were believably portrayed (and the desert landscape was totally believable.) The result of the "battle" was perhaps not believable enough, unfortunately. It's an interesting movie, less action-packed than many war movies and as a result a bit slow perhaps at the start as it builds toward that last battle.
The primary issue involved is not so much the battle against the Germans (although that comes in the last half hour or so) but is rather the battle with the desert. The men are running out of water, and are desperately searching for a well. There's a brief hint of some competition, as at first the British soldiers aren't clear that they want to be given orders by an American sergeant, but that gets resolved quickly. Naish did, in fact, do a great job as Giuseppe, portraying very believably the general contempt that many Italian soldiers had for the war. He was contrasted with a stereotypically gung-ho German soldier.
The climax comes with a battle against a German battalion that's also desperately searching for water. Hopelessly outnumbered, Gunn decides they should take a stand and delay the Germans as much as possible. The scenes of desert warfare were believably portrayed (and the desert landscape was totally believable.) The result of the "battle" was perhaps not believable enough, unfortunately. It's an interesting movie, less action-packed than many war movies and as a result a bit slow perhaps at the start as it builds toward that last battle.