Desert Commandos (1967) User Reviews

A different kind of war movie

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 24 February 2005]

• Five Nazi commandos parachute into the Sahara and must make their way to Casablanca. Their mission: the assassination of Roosevelt, Chruchill, and Stalin. Along the way, the five face not only possible discovery by the British and American troops, but (as they are dressed as British soldiers) they also face the real possibility of being killed by German troops.

• Before watching Desert Commandos, I had only seen some of Lenzi's thrillers - Seven Blood Stained Orchids being my favorite. Lenzi has always impressed me as a good story teller. Of his movies I've seen, all tend to use a straight ahead narrative style. Unlike many of his Italian peers who are criticized for being all style and no substance, I don't find that to be the case with Lenzi.

• I enjoyed seeing a WWII drama told from such a different perspective. Because Lenzi presents the Nazi soldiers as normal guys who just happen to be fighting for the other side, it's easy to identify with their concerns and fears. The Nazis in Desert Commandos are more than the stern, no emotion robots as presented in most American war movies. As impossible as it seems, I actually found myself wanting to see these guys succeed. It makes for a very nice change of pace.

• My biggest problem with the movie is the pacing during the first half. Almost all of the scenes consist of the soldiers stumbling through the desert. A little more action like run-ins with British or German soldiers might have made for a much better movie. But, once the commandos get near Casablanca, things pick up. The ending is really fantastic.

• The copy of Desert Commandos I saw came on one of those double feature (with something called Ransom Money) $1 DVDs. While the transfer wasn't pristine, it's not bad for $1. The transfer, however, was Pan and Scan. A lot of information was cut from the sides of all of the scenes. For example, if you just looked at the title page before the movie starts, you would think you were watching a movie called Desert ommando. The "C" and "s" were completely cut off the screen.

A taste of frustration...

[maitredego · 5/10 · 3 December 2005]

Splendid plot idea, but a little more work on it might have made the difference: some scenes are just too simplistic; when they enter the house of the French officer's mistress, it doesn't ring "true". The desert scenes are nice but a little more camera and light work might have made them beautiful. WW II movie directors who use modern hardware are killing me: for obvious financial reasons, he probably rented the equipment on the site from the Moroccan army: the aircraft, a Max Holste Broussard, was designed in the fifties; there wasn't a single WWII vintage tank: they were either Creusot-Loire AMX-13 or Panhard armored vehicles, designed in the fifties. It's a pity.

Though some times silly, the film improves as it goes on and the action makes it worth seeing

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 28 August 2009]

German soldiers with some English background are rounded up and dropped into the desert with out really told their mission. They are to make their way to Casablanca where their objective will be revealed (kill Churchill). Along the way they are helped by an Arab woman with a connection to one of the soldiers and hunted by Allied troops. Okay war film is an odd mix of unintentionally silly (The cigarette/mine scene or the behavior around the tanks in the following one) and the very serious making for an odd film. The running ironic bit about the German soldiers' disbelief at the failure of the plan from Berlin ceases to be ironic and just funny for the wrong reason. The unevenness of the tone greatly diminishes what is otherwise a pretty good action film. The action sequences are all quite good and they are what keep you watching even when you're groaning at the awkwardness of the dialog scenes. Overall its good enough to make you wish it were better. Its worth a bowl of popcorn on a rainy Sunday, but its best to have a second film.

Somewhat flat Italian war movie

[Wizard-8 · 27 October 2014]

There are a couple of problems right from the start with "Desert Commandos". The first problem is that the central figures are Germans soldiers in the middle of World War II, so it's hard to get involved and root for these guys. The second is that the particular mission they are assigned obviously would not succeed if you know your history. We are essentially watching a failure in action - and not a noble failure.

I'll give the movie this: it looks pretty good. The production values are pretty solid, from the costumes to the various war machines, and the movie shoots on some eye-catching desert locations. However, while the movie looks good, it doesn't move very well. There is surprisingly very little action to be found here (the first real action scene does not come until 40% of the movie is over!) What really hurts the movie, however, is a severe lack of tension. The movie feels soft and without bite for the most part.

There have been worse World War II movies - I've seen some of them. But there's little here to make it worth investing ninety minutes of your time.

Totally iconoclastic for 1967!

[drystyx · 4/10 · 10 February 2010]

This is an interesting plot, done only a few times, in which we follow the Axis invaders behind Allied lines ("The 49th Parallel", "Das Boot" are probably the two definitive classics of this sort).

5 German commandos go on a far fetched plot to assassinate the Allied supreme leaders. To its credit, the officer in charge admits it is half cocked, and only agrees to allow the 5 to go because it doesn't interfere with any other plans. Realistic? Probably not, but probably more realistic than people today realize.

Ken Clark, who is famous for the super cheese scene of being the blonde muscle man embracing the scantily clad blonde in one hand and packing a pistol in the other in "Attack of the Giant Leeches", goes to portraying a very believable bad guy. This was very typical of the evil Nazi. His cruelty and savagery come across in a convincing way in mixing with a civilized world. Very similar to the evil leader in "The 49th Parallel" in being a three dimensional and credible bad guy.

The second in command is also believable, and quite credible for the time, as a German officer who is not a Nazi. The film serves much as a vehicle for this character to develop. In fact, even the other 3 Germans develop some character in their limited lines. While serving as an action desert film, it also gives some good characters. We probably would've liked to see more of them.

And just about everything that happens, plot twists and characters who die, go totally against the grain for the late 1960s and early 1970s. We know, of course, the mission will fail, but we are surprised to see how some of this comes about.

This may classify as just short of a hidden gem.

Decent war flick from Umberto Lenzi

[The_Void · 5/10 · 3 May 2008]

I have to be honest and say that I don't generally have much interest in war films and thus my only reason for bothering with this film was due to the fact that it's directed by one of my favourite horror directors, the great Umberto Lenzi. Like most directors that made films in Italy during the sixties, seventies and eighties; Lenzi dipped his hand in many different genres and while he was always best at Polizi flicks and Giallo (in spite of being most famous for blood splattered cannibal and zombie films), Lenzi was clearly talented enough to make films outside of his 'comfort zone', and for a cheap World War 2 thriller; Desert Commandos is actually not too bad. The film takes place somewhere towards the end of World War 2 and focuses on a group of German commandos who parachute into the desert with a special mission. The group, dressed as British soldiers, must make their way to a secret meeting that is taking place between the allied 'Big three' - Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin - and eliminate the powerful trio.

The plot is fairly preposterous and obviously a work of fiction. As mentioned, I'm not a fan of war films in general; so I haven't seen many so I don't have a lot to compare this film to. Umberto Lenzi was obviously not too concerned with reality, and I found it odd how the group of fascist, racist Nazi's easily found help from an Arab woman in the desert. The film is different to most western war films in that our 'heroes' are actually German and the British and American troops are the antagonists. The first two thirds of the film are fairly interesting but never truly fascinating as all we really have to go on is the interaction between the various members of the group and as you can probably imagine considering the type of film that this is; none of them are particularly interesting. Still, there's a fair few action scenes to keep the action ticking over. The film tries to become a bit deeper in the final third and while this doesn't really come off; the final scenes are better than what went before it. I wouldn't really recommend this film as I'm sure there are better war films out there; but on the other hand, I'm sure there's worse too.

Christmas for Hitler and Germany.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 6 January 2023]

It's the holiday season for a special squad of German soldiers in North Africa, heading to Casablanca where they hope to begin a beautiful friendship as they plot to assassinate the leaders of the allies, a ridiculous mission that can't succeed in any way, but a fun piece of fiction for a low budget 60's war drama where the Nazis have no trace of an accent and mix in among the Arabs as if they're old pros with dealing with the desert sands, scorpions and scorching heat. There's plenty of intrigue but the lack of any names in the cast makes it rather tepid, and poor prints point out the film's shortcomings.

Ken Clark and Horst Frank are the stars, with the sultry Jeanne Valarie as the German girl they befriend while attempting to achieve their mission. The film have some very slow moments, and the acting for the most part isn't very exciting so the film overall may be impossible for some to get into, but for those with patience who have to see every film made about World War II, both good and bad, this is an unchallenging distraction. This is closer to the preposterous war melodramas made at low budget studios during the war years like Monogram and PRC, featuring a script that really doesn't develop the characters very well, or provide any inspired direction. However, I've seen much worse, so this is far from a bomb.

Umberto Lenzi's finest WW2 movie

[SgtSlaughter · 7/10 · 26 September 2002]

Italian director Umberto Lenzi, who went on to bring audiences across the globe epic schlock in "The Greatest Battle" and incredibly cheap thrills in "Bridge to Hell" begins his career in the war genre with a slam-bang suspense piece which proves to be, undoubtedly, one of the best war movies to come out of Italy in the 1960s.

The story is fresh and original, and presented with unique twists from beginning to end. Five German soldiers are parachuted into North Africa, and will trek to Casablanca to assassinate a conference of Churchill, Roosevelt and DeGaulle.

Lenzi's film is a true example of character-driven drama at its best. Ken Clark is Captain Schoeller, leader of the unit, and he's never less than totally convincing as a die-hard advocate of Hitler and Nazism. Horst Frank ("Thunder from the West") plays Lt. Wolf with gusto and conviction. Wolf's mother is American and his best friend is a Jew, so he and Schoeller don't see eye-to-eye. He and Schoeller clash over opposing ideals several times. Despite their dissension, both are dedicated soldiers who have a job to get done, and grudgingly work together to accomplish the mission. Lenzi never strays far from this central conflict of ideals, always keeping his message clearly in focus.

The supporting cast of familiar European actors is excellent all-around. Carlo Hintermann, Hardy Reychelt and Howard Ross round out the German team. Hintermann makes the most of his little role as a tough, dedicated German Sergeant, a career soldier who'll do what he's told when he's told, no questions asked. Jeanne Valerie and Fabienne Dali are two female characters, whose motives are never clearly defined until the film's third act – and that's when you realize whose side each is really on. Gianni Rizzo has a few brief scenes as a French informer, working with the Germans, and gets to do blast away at American soldiers with a machinegun in one of the film's nail-biting action scenes. Be sure to watch for Tom Felleghy ("The Greatest Battle"), John Stacy ("Battle of the Commandos"), and Franco Fantasia ("Adios, Sabata") in small, yet key roles as Allied officers.

Though the action-packed footage is scant, what's here is brilliantly edited and directed. The third act is tense and fast-paced, as the German "heroes" dodge bullets across rooftops and duck through alleyways as American MPs are in hot pursuit. The final infiltration of Churchill's banqueting hall is excellently set up, with frustratingly deliberate pacing, which will leave you on the edge of your seat. This climax ends abruptly with a great surprise, causing your jaw to drop as you wonder "What just happened…?" Two aspects of film-making that Lenzi and his crew seem to emphasize are the sets and landscapes. There is not one shot in this movie that looks out of place. When the German officers talk in headquarters, the interior looks like an office in a German headquarters. The film is set in the desert, and there are constant wide shots as actors speak and walk which reveal that these scenes were actually shot in the vast Egyptian sand dunes. The oasis of Kuffran looks especially bustling, and the essence of the atmosphere of Casablanca during wartime is superbly captured. During this time period, many directors fell back on shabby interiors and shot in outdoor locations which looked completely wrong. For example, "Commando Attack", also shot in 1967, was lensed in Spain and exteriors were passed off as "southern France", yet it's clearly visible the action was not occurring in the French countryside.

Finally, there are a number of other little details which contribute to this film's success: fine editing and camera-work give this movie a very professional look and feel; it always looks professional. Lenzi is just starting to develop his style, and his signature close-ups are used in moderation, but mean all the more when they are used. There are some great crane shots and wide shots used to establish the scope of the sets, most notably in the scenes set in Casablanca.

This is definitely a great film, with some strongly developed internal conflicts and fleshed-out characters. The quality of Lenzi's films would degenerate as the years passed, but "Desert Commando" is easily one of the best war films to come out of 1967, ranking right up there with "The Dirty Dozen".

7/10

Prolongs the story so that it can be a two hour movie.

[jordondave-28085 · 4/10 · 15 May 2023]

(1967) Desert Commandos/ Attentato ai tre grandi DUBBED SPAGHETTI WAR

European production with a fictional setting which centers on a team of five Nazis commandos dropped to a desert to perform a mission. And that is to execute all of the world's most important leaders of the names of Winston Churchill and Roosevelt, as they are supposed to have set up a meeting in Casablanca. Written and directed by well known exploitation cinema director Umberto Lenzi. Made in 1967 this film has a similar idea to the 1976 film "The Eagle Has Landed" starring Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland except that it's based on a novel written by Jack Higgins. 'Desert Commandos' is another one of those movies which prolongs the story so that it can be a two hour movie.

Beer In Casablanca.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 3 March 2012]

Being in the mood a while ago of attempting to try and get hold of some rare films by director Umberto Lenzi at super-cheap prices,I decided to one day do a search on ebay,where I instantly met head on dozens of people selling the same titles from Lenzi's catalogue.Feeling slightly disappointed that I had not been able to find a good "Lenzi bargain",I was surprised when on the second to last page I found a film of his being sold for $2,which I had never hear of before!.Along with the film being sold for such a low price,I was also thrilled to discover that the film was from a genre that I had not seen Lenzi do before,which led to me getting prepared in going to war with Umberto Lenzi for the very first time.

The plot:

With the hope of winning the second World War starting to fade away,Hitler is thrilled to learn that a secret meeting has been set up to take place in a few days time at Casablanca,where three of the worlds most powerful leaders are going to meet up in the hope of reaching a decision over how they can finally defeat the Nazi's.Feeling the this might be his one and only chance to destroy the residence for ever,Hitler orders for a small group of his very best Nazi's to be assembled so that they can carry out a mission to kill all three world leaders in one go.With being given only limited info of their mission,the group of five Nazi's are parachuted into North Africa so that they can make their way to Casablanca incognito.Since none of them have ever experienced the conditions of the desert before,each of them seriously starts to struggle in handling this new location,as some of the soldiers brains almost start to melt.Luckally for the group,they by chance meet a woman who kindly offers to be their guide and show them the way to Casablanca.Although the soldiers main leader (Capt. Fritz Scholler)is completely trusting on the woman's offer,some of the other soldiers begin to suspect that she may be helping them to get to their destination so that they are never seen again.

View on the film:

Since having been amazed by Lenzi's whip-pans and brilliant scatter shot directing in the past, my first expectations were that I was about to see a War film filled with lightning fast,energetic action.Surprisingly,whilst writer/director Lenzi does show some of that style for this fantasy War time thriller yarn, with a terrific long scene ,that involves an enemy aeroplane looking down on the group of Nazi's riding on camels and a scene where the brains of the Nazi's also begin to suffer as they attempt to get a grip on the intense heat being the two strongest,most eye-catching moments in the film.For the rest of the movie Umberto disappointingly goes for a much more leisurely pace,that despite the fun,clean cut performance of lead actor Ken Clark and the wonderful performance by Jeanne Valerie ends up making the film feel very muddled and mundane,as the middle section of the film feels far longer than it is due to the thriller part of the plot having almost disappeared,and the rest of the story just plodding along,until almost near the end where Lenzi gives the film a nice little twist.

Final view on the film:

A very easy to watch War Thriller,that is disappointingly mundane and only able to show Lenzi's stylish directing in the films first half.

Average, but could have been better

[chazzarb · 4/10 · 15 June 2019]

A fairly unremarkable, but competently made WW2 action film. The acting is reansonable, although the English dubbing leaves something to be desired, although that is far from unusual for the period. Most vehicles and some equipment in this film is incorrect and appears to be of post-war French military origin, which detracts from the experience for military history buffs. The plot of this film is somewhat reminiscent of the 1976 classic 'The Eagle Has Landed', with the exception that this film is nowhere near as engaging and is filled with pretty boring segments which detract from the interesting premise. I think this film could have been edited down to lose about 20 minutes without losing any of the plot or exciting scenes. Far from the worst WW2 film I've seen, but still sadly not very memorable despite the interesting premise.

Excellent Italian War Thriller With a Twist

[Steve_Nyland · 8/10 · 20 February 2006]

I've recently become enamored with the Italian Euro War genre, a very obscure part of Italian cult cinema from 1967 to about 1970 when the financial success of films like THE DIRTY DOZEN, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE caught the attention of Italian producers who sensed that the glory years of the Spaghetti Western (1964 - 1968) were winding down. The cinema is an industry just like any other and there was a need to find new things to make movies about.

So between 1967 (right on the heels of THE DIRTY DOZEN) and 1971 about 50 - 75 of these war potboilers were made; A concise list of all candidates from the classic period would be helpful to see how the trend changed from experimental & rather daring efforts like DESERT COMMANDOS to jumbled garbage like Joe D'amato's HEROES IN HELL (1973). Upon closer inspection the best known examples (FIVE FOR HELL, BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN, "Eagles Over London") emerge as Spaghetti Westerns re-defined to depict battle carnage rather than dusty shootouts between Pistoleros & Gringos. The majority of them are rather bland & un-involving (CHURCHILL'S LEOPARDS, THE RANGERS) some unexpectedly moving in a way that transcends their nature as B-grade genre films (SALT IN THE WOUND/THE LIBERATORS) and others are just plain weird enough to be remarkable (COMMANDOS, HELL IN NORMANDY) simply by having been made at all.

There are also sub-routines to plot structure and settings that became the formulas by which stories would be spun out of a vacuum -- none of them are really based on actual events (BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN being the big exception, and perhaps the most satisfying on a traditional basis as a "war movie") and usually involved small unit military operations to keep budgets under control. The two main categories were Desert Epics such as this one, set in Northern Africa and making good use of the desert conditions as plot devices, and then the French Villa Commando Raid Missions, where elite special ops squads would be sent to infiltrate command facilities or weapons labs (usually housed in large French villas in the middle of the woods) to avert certain doom for their armies at Normandy -- universally depicted by edited-in newsreel footage of WW2 destruction, usually tastefully tinted in some sort of Robert Indiana like neon pop art method, and with the Spanish countryside subbing for France.

This is of course an example of the Desert Epic crossed with the Commando Raid genres and emerges as one of the more potent efforts, with convincing location photography filmed in Morocco, excellent performances by the ensemble cast of genre actors (Horst Frank from THE GRAND DUEL and good old Franco Fantasia from MURDER MANSION being the most recognizable faces), noble attention to period detail and a script that allows for some genuine conflict within the group to build as the obstacles against them mount. And true to form the Italians even work a gorgeous, exotic woman or five into the mix (including a Peplum-inspired Belly Dancing Scene), with a crackerjack twist ending that manages to tweak a good War Is Hell moment out of thin air.

The War Is Hell moment is of course always going to be the payoff when looking at these films, since because of their subject matter they cannot simply be entertainments -- something the Italians themselves seemed aware of even when stumbling around the issue at times. Usually these moments are imposed on the story by showing atrocities like German massacres of civilians (CHURCHILL'S LEOPARDS) or the execution of the movie's leading lady (FIVE FOR HELL). By contrast, DESERT COMMANDOS actually has two or three War Is Hell moments but they are so cleverly worked into the structure of the plot that you don't notice. The film is also rather daring in that it's "heroes" are clearly the German commandos -- who's leaders were trying to conquer the world, remember -- and if they accomplish their mission (assassinating Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at a summit meeting in Casablanca) they will win the war. By getting us to sympathize with and root for the plucky, resourceful and seemingly rational & honorable German commandos, Umberto Lenzi sets up the viewer for a shock that would not have been nearly as potent as if these were allied commandos going after der Shickelgruber.

What is interesting is that the shock comes after the movie is over when you realize what you may have been hoping for, rather than it being spelled out by some heavy-handed revelation. The whole movie has a sort of existentialist agenda to it that examines what it might have been like to try and cross the desert for sure, but also what it must have been like to be a German officer & realize that not only was your side doomed to defeat, but would be judged to be on the wrong side of history when all of the bodies are counted. From that perspective the entire movie is a War Is Hell moment, or rather a series of them broken up by the formula scenes involving tanks, gunfights, narrow escapes, heroic sacrifices, bold speeches about the nature of humanity and a request for us to consider the German army like our own army -- as a collection of men, each with their own strengths & weaknesses. DESERT COMMANDOS was way ahead of it's time and there may be a lesson in here for those of us who have perhaps forgotten what war is really all about, which is breaking things and killing people. Being ruthless and unapologetic may seem cruel or barbaric, but it can often result in the only thing good about war, which is it's ending.

8/10: Look for this on cheapo box set called "50 ACTION CLASSICS" and on a double movie DVD you can sometime find at the dollar stores. You'll watch it more than once.

Five Nazi commandos parachute into the Sahara to carry out a dangerous mission beyond enemy lines

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 2 June 2020]

Action-filled movie set in WWII , it follows the reckless adventures of a valiant platoon , some courageous Nazi soldiers during WWII in Morocco . German commandos dressed as British soldiers are dropped behind enemy lines in the Sahara Desert tasked with a risked assignment and must make their long way to Casablanca . Their objective : the assassination of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at a meeting at Casablanca . Along the way, the five face not only possible discovery by the British and American troops, but they also take on the real possibility of being shot by German troops. Suffering several flops , explosion , attacks and deaths across the way burt the leader insists on attempting to complete the commandos' mission.

Ken Clark is the leader in this ordinary wartime movie about a commando getting to Casablanca in an assassination attempt on allied leaders being professionaly directed by Umberto Lenzi . Medium budget European war film that lost continuity with US cuts . This moving film packs frantic thrills , perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made , especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes in which the motley group is really besieged , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their tails whipped into shape and develop a complex and tense relationship with their leader . The final part is all action , as the brave commando wreak havoc and then run for their lives . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by Ken Clark into his misfit group , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough , muscular, well-built , hairy-chested American actor Ken Clark was born on June 4, 1927 in Neffs, Ohio, USA as Kenneth Donovan Clark and died on June 1, 2009 in Rome, at 82 . A former model, he appeared in 'tough' western roles under contract to 20th Century Fox and then had a solid run as the second lead of several low-budget, cult science-fiction films in the 1950's . He moved to Italy during the 60's to star in spaghetti westerns and sword and sandal epics. He was an actor, known for Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), FBI chiama Istanbul (1964) and Operation Lady Chaplin (1966). He starred several sword and sandals and adventures as Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan, Jacob and Esau , Hercules invincible , Maciste contro i Mongoli, Re Manfredi , among others . Here Ken Clark is the two-fisted leader of the motley pack together thwart the enemy schemes , he gives a so-so acting while showing bizeps and muscles . Clark dominates this warfare adventure war with his strong performance as a merciless commando boss with only one purport : to execute at whatever cost the nail-biting as well as puzzling mission . Main cast is acceptable with B-actors ordinary , such as: Horst Frank , Jeanne Valérie, Howard Ross , John Stacy , Gianni Rizzo , Hintermann and Franco Fantasia .

This one belongs to a numerous group of Italian/Spanish WWII films , imitating American ones , usually directed by José Luis Merino , Leon Klimovsky , Umberto Lenzi , Bitto Albertini , Al Bradley and including tarnishing Hollywood stars , such as ¨The legion of no return¨ with Tab Hunter , ¨Hell's brigade¨ with Jack Palance , ¨Command attack¨ with Michael Rennie . All of them supported by local armies that lent tanks , weapons , soldiers and extras to make these films . This is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨warlike commando sub-genre¨ , in USA style which also belong the American classics as : ¨Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich)¨ ,¨ Where eagles dare (Brian G. Hutton)¨ , ¨Kelly's heroes (Hutton)¨, ¨Tobruk (Arthur Hiller)¨ , ¨Devil's Brigade (Andrew V McLagen)¨ and many others.

Atmospheric and functional musical score by prolific Angelo Francesco Lavagnino. Sunny cinematography in Eastmancolor filmed by Carlo Carlini , a perfect remastering is extremely necessary .This is a well conceived WWII with action filled , brief studio character , drama and exciting battles , being well directed by Umberto Lenzi .he often used the pseudonym Hank Milestone and Humphrey Logan . He's an expert on wartime genre such as he proved in ¨ Desert commandos¨ , ¨Battle of commandos¨, ¨From hell to victory¨, and ¨Bridge to hell¨.

This unbelievable WWII action film actual portrays the Germans as the good guys!

[B. Simmons · 15 December 2000]

Five German commandos are parachuted into the Sahara desert, and must make their way to Casablanca, where Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin are holding a top-secret meeting. Then, they must kill them! This film is quite bizarre; but it contains alot of action-packed scenes and some good suspense. Worth a good viewing.

Drags in Parts, But a Lot of Fun!

[Mercer99 · 7/10 · 19 December 2014]

"Desert Commandos" is the story of a group of five German commandos who are air-dropped into North Africa during WW2 in a desperate attempt to assassinate the Allied Supreme Commanders at a conference in Morocco.

I enjoyed this movie. It does drag in some parts, especially in the desert marching scenes, but it is nearly eclipsed by its on-location locales. Oases (plural of oasis), camel chases and various ancient fortifications that the Germans encounter along the way are simply gorgeous and definitely lend the film an air of authenticity. The ladies they encounter are easy on the eyes as well.

Great action sequences including a rooftop chase in Casablanca, the aforementioned camel chase scene and a final...well, don't want to get reported for spoilers, but the action sequences are well staged and exciting.

The ending seemed very tacked on, almost as if there was a more "downbeat" ending that was replaced for some reason. Regardless, I like the ending as it stands, but it was very abrupt and not in the style of the rest of the film. Regardless, this was a good attempt to introduce audiences to the feelings of the "other side" in WW2. BTW Horst Frank (who plays Wolf) looks almost exactly like Christoph Waltz. Really uncanny! This film is definitely worth a watch.

Mission to Morocco

[Chase_Witherspoon · 6/10 · 17 May 2013]

Sometimes tense Euro-war movie in a similar vein to "The Guns of Navarone" has brawny Ken Clark (familiar from the Peplum genre) leading four of the Nazi's finest into North Africa where they attempt an audacious plan to assassinate not one, but three Allied Forces leaders, namely Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt present in Casablanca for a summit. As it turns out, they'll have to settle for De Gaulle substituting for Stalin, nevertheless their epic hunt behind enemy lines is an expansive mission leading them to the brink, encountering cross and double cross around every corner.

Solid cast includes Horst Frank as an American-born Nazi commando, whose commitment to the Feuhrer wanes in the face of the desperate mission and 'immoral' sacrifices taken to improve its chance of success, future Italian leading man Howard Ross in a small role, and pleasantly, gender balance achieved with beauties Jeanne Valeri playing an Arab guide, and Fabienne Dali as a turncoat who may or may not be in cahoots with the Allies.

Italian horror master Umberto Lenzi is better known for his Cannibal capers, but demonstrates a universal talent in bringing together this B-Italian action film with moderate suspense, light humour and at least some semblance of depth in characterisations despite the clichés. Probably not for the average GI Joe, but if you're comfortable with Euro style then you should enjoy this mission to Morocco.

Could Have Been A Contender, but laid down

[verbusen · 10/10 · 23 June 2009]

Don't go in with high expectations with this low budget Italian French WW2 actioner. I didn't and therefore was not disappointed. I got it part of the Mill Creek 50 Combat Classics which also had on it the Lee Van Cleef movie Commandos, and both are similar that besides being Italian WW2 Africa campaign movies, they both kind of disappoint. Both movies take us on a long long long road that is entirely too long to get to its final; destination. The ending for this one reminded me of an ethnic joke about a circular firing squad. It had some good promise and I wasn't expecting much but hoped it would be decent, I was wrong. Check out The Eagle Has Landed for a similar plot with some decent acting and budget, or if your looking for desert commando stuff, try Play Dirty or Tobruk, neither is perfect but both are a lot more exciting then this stuff and the print quality is bound to be much better to watch then this public domain throw away. I am being generous giving this a 5 but if your an Italian made war film fan that's about what it rates in my book. Less if your just a war film fan.

Italian World War II Movie (Macaroni Kombat)

[ZeddaZogenau · 7/10 · 4 November 2023]

Italian war film with Ken Clark and Horst Frank

In the second half of the 1960s, more war films were made in the Italian-European film industry. These are referred to as Macaroni Kombat in analogy to the equally popular spaghetti westerns. Another common name for this genre is EuroWar, which, not entirely coincidentally, is reminiscent of the EuroSpy films that followed the James Bond series.

Something unusual happens in this film by cult director Umberto Lenzi (1931-2017): at the center of the action are actually five convinced National Socialists who are traveling to Morocco on a special assignment. These are unusual anti-heroes that take some getting used to. The command is led by the cold-hearted Captain Schöller (Ken Clark, 1927-2009), who with his four comrades-in-arms (Horst Frank, Carlo Hintermann, Howard Ross, Hardy Reichelt) are actually the big three (Roosevelt, Churchill, De Gaulle / Stalin was indispensable because of Stalingrad) at the Casablanca conference.

Man oh man, only the Italian film industry can do something like that! Film companies from Germany and France also co-financed. The main producer was the recently deceased Alberto Grimaldi (1925-2021), who also produced "Gangs Of New York" (2002).

Back to the action! The five Nazi soldiers parachute into the Sahara and have to make their way from there to Casablanca. There is surprising help from two enchanting women, the Moroccan Faddja (Jeanne Valerie, who has a great resemblance to the fantastic Geraldine Chaplin) and the French Simone (Fabienne Dali). Of course, there are other difficulties that need to be solved before the all-important showdown can finally take place in Casablanca. The busy Gianni Rizzo (THIS TIME I WILL MAKE YOU RICH, 1974) is also there as an opaque middleman.

Counterfactual historiography? But so different from Quentin Tarantino, who, as we know, deservedly let Hitler and Goebbels meet a violent (and, above all, much earlier) death in a Paris cinema in "Inglourious Basterds" (2009)? Of course, this shouldn't be revealed here, but you should definitely keep an eye on the character played by Horst Frank (1929-1999). The German actor, who made his mark with roles in West German war films such as "HUNDE, WOLLT IHR EWIG LEBEN?" became known, was one of the German-language Cinecitta Divos often used in Italian films.

Highly recommended for fans of the MacaroniKombat genre!

"Peace on Earth and all that to men of good will."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 1 December 2012]

As a World War II actioner, this fairly passes muster, but I found it difficult to get into because the protagonists were German soldiers and I'm not too keen on Nazis taking advantage of the Allies. Reverse the scenario and I'd probably rate it a notch higher. Still, the film has a way of holding one's interest considering the mission - five German soldiers parachute into the Sahara, make their way to Casablanca, and attempt to assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Any single one of them would have been a formidable enough target, so going for a triple header sounded to me to be way beyond fiction.

Having seen hundreds of American Westerns, I got a kick out of the chase in the desert on camel back instead of horses. One puzzler before that occurred when four of the German soldiers each took off in a different direction on the command of Captain Scholler (Ken Clark), and they all wound up at the same spot. How does that work?

Well, it appears there's a fan base for these Italian war films judging by the other reviews here, some of which are quite scholarly. I casually came across this picture as part of the Mill Creek Mystery Collection box set of two hundred fifty films, and in what constitutes an interesting reverse lottery of sorts, this is the last one in the set I've gotten around to seeing today, which also means I've completed a personal mission of reviewing each of the movies in the set on IMDb. Whew!

The Eagle Has Landed in the desert.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 31 January 2021]

I am surprised that no many folks have noticed the resemblance between this film and John Sturges' last movie, speaking of a German commando seeking Churchill to kill him :THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. Of course many viewers will prefer the Sturges' feature but this one is so interesting, as was Giorgio Ferroni's LA BATAILLE D'EL ALAMEIN, starring Freredick Stafford, as an Italian officer, the lead character, fighting in Lybia in 1941-42. I don't understand viewers who dislike such films precisely because they show Axes side instead of Allies one. Idiots always in search of the same things, same clichés !!! I like the Ken Clark's lead character, so rough, ruthless, rare for a lead actor. It would have been cool to make a movie about Nazis impersonating Military Police during the battle of the Bulge.