just watch it!

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Blistering performances.

Definitely amongst the best war movies of the period and worth a watch. Bogart, his pet tank, and a ragtag team of miscellaneous soldiers from different armies and nationalities try to survive the desert while retreating from the German army, and a find way to make one last stand using water as the most precious resource.Some of the characters are more three-dimensional than others, Bogart is superb, the fighting is good, the tension and pacing superb. Although this was made during the war and is accused of being a propaganda film thanks to its portrayal of the Italians and Germans according to the attitude of the war at the time, and the fact that it is about a handful of allies against the evil Germans, there is much here to enjoy beyond the propaganda.*spoilers* The flaw that I found difficult to get over, however is that I found it impossible to suspend my disbelief that nine soldiers could hold off an army of 500 Germans for 2-3 whole days even though the Germans had artillery. A couple of hours, sure, but days? One determined run by the Germans backed by artillery would have done it. And they even knew it was only a handful of people.Another flaw, is that they could have come up with a more realistic, practical and less needlessly heroic plan: Send the Germans back on foot with the belief that there is water just like they did in the movie, except they all run off to get reinforcements instead of sending one soldier. I.e. the delay was unnecessary! The Germans would have wasted time walking back and forth without water and the mobile allies could have caught up even if the Germans had already moved on (and without water).Still an enjoyable movie and worth a watch though.

One of Bogie's films for Columbia Pictures is a real winner: a WWII film about a trio of Americans, a gaggle of British, a British Sudanese, a "Frenchie", and an Italian and German prisoners of war all riding on top of and inside a lone US tank Bogie's Sgt Gunn across North Africa as the Nazis take Tobruk. Needing to find water, the Sudanese (a wonderful Rex Ingram) knows of wells to the South (which is the only direction not taken by or surrounded by German forces), and Gunn follows his directions, eventually finding Bir Acroma, a temple with a man-made well with just enough water to keep them all from starving. As a regimen of Nazis (and a guide) are on their way, desperate for water, Gunn learns from a couple of soldiers real thirsty that about 500 men are in a mechanized battalion heading their way. Sending the Germans on their way with a fake proposition over trading food for water, Gunn and company (except for the Nazi captive who actually knows English) plan to fight the battalion, using the Bir Acroma as their outpost. Can they keep them at bay, while Gunn's fellow soldier, Waco (Bruce Bennett) drives off for potential ally reinforcements?An exotic setting (director Korda knows how to direct adventure films as evident by the excellent Four Feathers and popular Jungle Book) with the desert looking mighty treacherous and the windy sand storms quite overbearing. Add the tension of encroaching Germans with more men, limited water, and tiring wait for the hopes of help on the horizon, "Sahara" is the perfect kind of war film to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. The weaponry is as limited as the water, and the film shows Gunn and his small squadron doing all they can to battle the enemy with everything they have.Memorable scenes include a marvelous J Carrol Naish standing up to Kurt Kreuger's nasty Nazi about his people's misfortune and his stand against what Hitler is all about and the soldiers who fall for his madness & Rex's Tambul smothering Kurt's face in the sand. The lengthy standoff at the end at Bir Acroma, with forces from both sides dwindling, has a lot of likable characters (including terrific character actor Dan Duryea as Gunn's other American soldier, Richard Nugent as the British captain, and Louis T Mercier as the lone French soldier who had worked for the French Resistance, having seen those he knew in Occupied France perish at the hands of the Nazis, with Patrick O'Moore as a British soldier and Lloyd Bridges in a bit part as the first casualty on the desert trip) involved in the gunfire and shootout. Rex's scene with Bennett as they talk wives while inside the well is a nicely warm moment where two men from different worlds find common ground...their comraderie is nifty. Duryea and Bennett's betting is a source of amusement as well...particularly when they bet on the decisions Gunn will make. Naish's begging to come with the tank crew and Bogie's deciding to allow him to join them is a real dramatic highpoint. Here is where Naish proves that he's more than some B-movie minor talent. Naish deserves to be re-evaluated by buffs, in my opinion.The sacrifices of war is nothing new in films like Sahara, as men risk it all to represent what they believe in: freedom. Kreuger's Nazi is an appropriate villain and despicable symbol of Hitler, in a plane shooting at Gunn's Loulabelle (name of his tank after his beloved horse!) before they shoot him down. Tambul's Sudan soldier is a key figure in the film, his black skin repulsive to the Nazi, with it only fitting that he kills Kreuger, dying a hero in the process as the Germans fire at him with heavy artillery. Bogart's stalwart, courageous hero, speechifying the danger of their stand against the Germans but why it is important to do so, is a joy to watch for me personally. But the whole cast behind him is first rate.

First, the story is excellent. Not overly fancy or complicated, and it is very well told. Combining 'soldiers' from many sides of both the Allies and the Axis, beyond the main plot point it is a great story to watch.There is action, there is a bit of drama, and there is suspense. And of course, there is Bogart. It can be a little pedestrian at times, the dialog a little hammy, but given that it was released in 1943 it can be forgiven. Character interactions that are the 'must see' items of this movie - 1) The German pilot in regards to the Sudanese soldier, and Bogie's response. 2) The Italian prisoner's dressing down of the German pilot. 3) The French soldiers' description of 'the Nazi.' 4) The Sudanese solders' (yes, again!) conversation with 'Waco' about marriage. 5) The entire crews' visible yet silent reaction to their first decision regarding the Italian prisoner. If I say anymore I'll have to mark this review as having spoilers! It's a cheap DVD, GET IT! If it comes on your TV or you can stream it, WATCH IT!

Humphrey Bogart is tough Army Sgt. Joe Gunner whose British tank crew picks up several other military stragglers in the Libyan desert while fighting a much larger group of German soldiers dying of thirst and anxious to get to the nearest water hole.The battle scenes are gritty and convincing as the men under Bogart's direction try to subdue and outsmart the Germans. His Sgt. Joe Gunner is one of his feistiest performances and he gets good support from an outstanding group of actors including Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish and Dan Duryea.Oddly enough, not made at his home studio Warner Brothers, this one is released by Columbia and directed by Zoltan Korda. The director fills the screen with realistic shots of sand and desert, North African style, with an all male cast. The usual stereotypes among soldiers in WWII films are kept to a minimum and the action scenes are plenty explosive and feel like the real thing.Well worth watching.