Destination Gobi (1953)

In 1944, US Navy specialists run a weather station in the Gobi desert where they are harassed by Japanese warplanes but aided by local Mongol nomads.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Everett Freeman (screenplay), Edmund G. Love (story)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Don Taylor, Max Showalter

Cast

Cast overview:
Richard Widmark	...	CPO Samuel T. McHale
Don Taylor	...	Jenkins
Max Showalter	...	Walter Landers (as Casey Adams)
Murvyn Vye	...	Kengtu
Darryl Hickman	...	Wilbur 'Coney' Cohen
Martin Milner	...	Elwood Halsey
Ross Bagdasarian	...	Paul Sabatello
Judy Dan	...	Nura-Salu (as Judy Dann)
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Tomec
Russell Collins	...	Lt. Cmdr. Hobart Wyatt
Leonard Strong	...	Wali-Akhun

Storyline

A group of US Navy weathermen taking measurements in the Gobi desert in World War II are forced to seek the help of Mongol nomads to regain their ship while under attack from the Japanese air force. The Mongols are rewarded by an airlift of the finest saddles.

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Plot Keywords:

mongol | gobi desert | navy | u.s. navy | saddle | 

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Taglines:

ADVENTURE AS FIERY AND FURIOUS AS THE FLAMING SANDS OF CHINA'S GOBI DESERT! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Don Taylor as "Jenkins" occasionally wears a baseball cap similar to the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians major league teams of the 1940s, both of which wore navy blue caps with red bills and top buttons - but without those team's red "wishbone C" letters.

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Goofs

McHale claims that "Gobi Desert" means "wall of spears." Actually, "Gobi" is the Mongolian word for "desert."

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Quotes

Paul Sabatello: I don't get it. What I don't get, I don't like.
Jenkins: Looks like you ain't been getting much lately.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: In the Navy records in Washington, there is an obscure entry reading "Saddles for Gobi."

This film is based on the story behind that entry--one of the strangest stories of World War II.

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Connections

Edited into All This and World War II (1976)

User Reviews

i was quite young when I saw this

My father was a part of this group, they were actually called SACO. He liked this movie, thought it was somewhat accurate. He was a Navy Chief Petty Officer, a Medic, he loved Mongolia, it reminded him of Montana, where he grew up, and he admired the people. He liked the humor in it. They were actually a sort of obscure, almost "guerilla" group. Kind of like Navy Calvary. I thought it was called "Saddles for SACO", (maybe another earlier title?). He always felt it was a great mistake to underestimate the indigenous people, he used to use Mr.Custer as an example. All the West Point training or Annapolis , for that , purpose , may not help you in the end.And he told me, all Americans think they're John Wayne, unfortunately, those ponies didn't always know.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 1953 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Gobi Outpost

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,340,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1