Sahara (1943/I)

Director:

Zoltan Korda

Writers:

Philip MacDonald (story)
John Howard Lawson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

THE STAR OF "CASABLANCA" IN THE WAR'S MIGHTIEST ADVENTURE DRAMA! (original three-sheet poster)

Plot:

Sergeant Joe Gunn and his tank crew pick up five British soldiers, a Frenchman and a Sudanese man with...

Plot Keywords:

Tank | Propaganda | Desert | Sergeant | Remake

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Sgt. Joe Gunn
Bruce Bennett	...	Waco Hoyt
J. Carrol Naish	...	Giuseppe
Lloyd Bridges	...	Fred Clarkson
Rex Ingram	...	Sgt. Major Tambul
Richard Nugent	...	Capt. Jason Halliday
Dan Duryea	...	Jimmy Doyle
Carl Harbord	...	Marty Williams
Patrick O'Moore	...	Osmond 'Ozzie' Bates
Louis Mercier	...	Jean Leroux, 'Frenchie' (as Louis T. Mercier)
Guy Kingsford	...	Peter Stegman
Kurt Kreuger	...	Capt. von Schletow (as Kurt Krueger)
John Wengraf	...	Maj. Von Falken

Also Known As:

Port Said (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1944-1945) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #9040)

Filming Locations:

Brawley, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The German aircraft strafing the tank was actually an early P-51B.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene when the Italian POW is helping work on the tank, Bogart's character is tightening a nut with an adjustable wrench (Cresent). The camera angle shifts to another view of the scene and he is tightening the same nut with a non-adjustable wrench. The camera angle shifts back to the original view, the Sargent is again using the adjustable wrench.

Quotes:

Giuseppe: But are my eyes blind that I must fall to my knees to worship a maniac who has made of my country a concentration camp, who has made of my people slaves? Must I kiss the hand that beats me, lick the boot that kicks me, no! I rather spend my whole life living in this dirty hole than escape to fight again for things I do not believe against people I do not hate. As for your Hitler, it's because of a man like him that God - my God - created hell!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Oh! Susanna

Bogey Battles The Germans In The Desert

I guess this is what you'd call a "man's movie," a tough war story with no female characters in the cast. Humphrey Bogart is an effective tough-guy American sergeant leading an international group of Allies in a tank across the Sahara desert.

Eventually they battle huge odds against an onrushing German forces. intent on getting water from a well that was being tapped by Bogart's crew. There are a few lulls when characterizations are made, and the anti-German fervor in here is a little overdone. However, since it made right in the middle of World War II, that's understandable.

There is some good photography in here with nice shadows form the sand dunes. Overall, a pretty solid war film that has decent action without overdoing it. Complementing Bogart in he cast are the likes of Bruce Bennett. Lloyd Bridges, Dan Duryea and J. Carrol Naish