Sahara (1943)

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.

Director:

Zoltan Korda

Writers:

John Howard Lawson (screenplay), Zoltan Korda (screenplay)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Sgt. Joe Gunn
Bruce Bennett	...	Waco Hoyt
J. Carrol Naish	...	Giuseppe
Lloyd Bridges	...	Fred Clarkson
Rex Ingram	...	Sgt. Major Tambul
Richard Aherne	...	Capt. Jason Halliday (as Richard Nugent)
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

Storyline

Sergeant Joe Gunn and his tank crew pick up five British soldiers, a Frenchman and a Sudanese man with an Italian prisoner crossing the Libyan Desert to rejoin their command after the fall of Tobruk. They and the Germans are greatly in need of water.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | british soldier | reference to muhammad | italian soldier | american soldier | 

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Taglines:

A mighty story of adventure, courage and glory in the desert!...tender human emotion...triumphant action...matchless thrills...a memorable entertainment experience!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Italian French

Release Date:

11 November 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Somewhere in Sahara

Filming Locations:

Zzyzx, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie originally was going to star Melvyn Douglas and Glenn Ford according to an edition of the 'Hollywood Reporter' in November 1942.

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Goofs

One of the machine guns shown is an M1917A1 Browning belt fed, water cooled machine gun. The gun has an eight pint cooling system that is recycled via hose to a reservoir. In this film there is no hose or reservoir visible; even though the gun is fired at length.

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Quotes

Waco Hoyt: [down in the well at El Alamein where Sgt. Major Tambul is collecting water, sharing a cigarette while discussing their cultural differences] But I guess you fellas feel differently about marryin'... the boys up top are tellin' me you Mohammedans have as many as 300 wives!
Sgt. Major Tambul: [smiles] No... the Prophet tells us that four wives are sufficient for a *true* believer.
Waco Hoyt: Why four?
Sgt. Major Tambul: Hmm...? The Prophet says: "One wife, makes a miserable life, for she always gets bored. And two wives make a mess of your life ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Opening 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 - -

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Connections

Remade as Sahara (1995)

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Soundtracks

Oh! Susanna
(uncredited)
Music by Stephen Foster
Played on the harmonica by Patrick O'Moore.

User Reviews

An excellent WWII movie

"Sahara" is interesting from several standpoints. First, it is an excellent drama, well acted and directed, with good production values. Second, it raises an interesting moral question. Third, it has implications regarding the main actor and his future movie career.

"Sahara," the story of a rag-tag group of soldiers fleeing from Rommel's Afrika Korps in a US tank, is enjoyable throughout. The cast is fine, representing a number of nationalities and even races. I think this is one of Bogart's better acting jobs, and J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges, Rex Ingram, Dan Duryea, and the others are equally good.

While this may be a propaganda film, it is no "our hero wipes out an enemy division without a scratch" potboiler. On the contrary, the decision made by Sgt. Joe Gunn (Bogart) to stay and fight a German regiment rather than heading for British lines is a desperate gamble little better than a suicide mission. This brings up my second point; the ethical question.

St. Gunn gets the idea to stay at the oasis they have reached in order to fight and delay a German regiment in hopes that such a sacrifice may help the Allied cause. He must convince the others, and one or two do not go along without some persuading. "I don't mind fighting and dying," one says, "but this is pointless." Well, that's the issue. How easy it is to find reasons NOT to stay behind and fight! Makes me appreciate the plight of our soldiers on Bataan and Wake Island, who had no choice. But this little band does stay and fight, and the story hangs on their decision.

My third point is a bit arcane, and has to do with Hollywood business practices of the 1940s. Bogart was, when this movie started production, about the biggest star in Hollywood. Remember, he had already made High Sierra," "The Maltese Falcon," and "Casablanca." Why then, did Warner Brothers lend him out to Columbia to do this picture? Columbia was still barely a second rank studio. What did they have to trade in return? Rita Hayworth? I don't think she made any films for Warners, but I may be wrong.

Lastly, it's interesting to note that Bogart, when he started his own company (Santana Productions) in the late 40s, signed a releasing deal with Columbia. I guess he must have been impressed with Columbia while making this picture, as well as "Dead Reckoning" (1947).

I strongly recommend "Sahara" to anyone who has not seen it. It's exciting action combined with interesting characterizations.