After the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.After the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.After the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 3 nominations total
- Capt. Jason Halliday
- (as Richard Nugent)
- Jean Leroux - 'Frenchie'
- (as Louis T. Mercier)
- Capt. von Schletow
- (as Kurt Krueger)
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
- German Private
- (uncredited)
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
- German Private
- (uncredited)
- British Soldier
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKurt Kreuger said that in the scene where he tried to escape back to his lines with the Sudanese sergeant (Rex Ingram) in pursuit, Ingram caught him and pressed his face into the sand to kill him, Kreuger almost passed out due to lack of air.
- GoofsAll of the German vehicles are emblazoned with Nazi Party swastikas rather than the Balkenkreuz, the straight-armed cross that was the emblem of the Wehrmacht used on their vehicles during WWII.
- Quotes
Giuseppe: Mussolini is not so clever like Hitler, he can dress his Italians up only to look like thieves, cheats, murderers, he cannot like Hitler, make them feel like that. He cannot, like Hitler, scrape from the conscience the knowledge that right is right and wrong is wrong, or dig holes in their heads to plant his own ten commandments: steal from thy neighbor, cheat thy neighbor, kill thy neighbor.
Capt. von Schletow: You dare to insult the Führer?
Giuseppe: That would take an artiste - I am but a mechanic.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: In June, 1942, a small detachment of American tanks with American crews, joined the British Eighth Army in North Africa to get experience in desert warfare under actual battle conditions.
History has proved that they learned their lesson well - -
- ConnectionsFeatured in Going Hollywood: The War Years (1988)
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.
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,300,000
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1