Based on a true story, it's hard to determine what part of it is fictionalized and what part of it actually happened, but it's fascinating nonetheless. A good performance by Richard Widmark and professional direction by Robert Wise, as well as good desert location photography, helps make this World War II story an amazing adventure about the necessity of survival and the desperation to stay out of enemy hands. It's also about finding necessary allies who may not have the same heights of cultural elements in common but finding what they do have so they can aide each other during wartime.
In this case, it's a group of sailors led by Widmark's McHale (jokes are obvious so I'm not going there) who encounter a group of nomad Mongolians who live inside the Great Wall of China and are avoiding Japanese conquest, aiding the Americans in traveling across the very hot desert where they do eventually end up being captured by the Japanese. Their efforts to escape as well as aide to the war are documented with many amusing situations occurring which includes the trade of saddles for other necessities and the Mongolian's fascination with something that they've never seen before called a camera.
In researching this film, it appears that much of the detail is accurate although I doubt that anyone of Mongolian descent looked like Murvyn Vye. The all male cast includes Don Taylor, Martin Milner, Max Showalter and Darryl Hickman, and the difference in the many characters provides plenty of entertainment. Action-packed and fast-moving, it's a unique war story that is pretty believable although some of the situations are questionable. Perhaps not a movie that Robert Wise would have choose to direct if he had the choice, but his professional hand is obvious in making it a cinematic treat.
In this case, it's a group of sailors led by Widmark's McHale (jokes are obvious so I'm not going there) who encounter a group of nomad Mongolians who live inside the Great Wall of China and are avoiding Japanese conquest, aiding the Americans in traveling across the very hot desert where they do eventually end up being captured by the Japanese. Their efforts to escape as well as aide to the war are documented with many amusing situations occurring which includes the trade of saddles for other necessities and the Mongolian's fascination with something that they've never seen before called a camera.
In researching this film, it appears that much of the detail is accurate although I doubt that anyone of Mongolian descent looked like Murvyn Vye. The all male cast includes Don Taylor, Martin Milner, Max Showalter and Darryl Hickman, and the difference in the many characters provides plenty of entertainment. Action-packed and fast-moving, it's a unique war story that is pretty believable although some of the situations are questionable. Perhaps not a movie that Robert Wise would have choose to direct if he had the choice, but his professional hand is obvious in making it a cinematic treat.