Fantastic!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This a wonderful film with a stellar cast headed by Humphrey Bogart. Seldom did a war film reflect so well the combined effort of the countries involved. There seemed to be a greater understanding of the wider struggle, and genuine understanding and mutual respect between the nations. Great to see Dan Duryea in a heroic role, with marvellous support from Rex Ingram, J. Carrol Naish, Bruce Bennett and the lesser known actors such as Carl Harbord and Louis Mercier. The movie has a lot of humanity, reflected especially when they don't let the Italian prisoner onto the overcrowded truck, but then change their mind. It brings to mind Ice Cold in Alex in which the greater enemy for both sides is the desert.. Not seen the remake, but I think I will pass on it.

In June 1942, American Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart) leads his tank crew in a battle alongside the British 8th Army. They're ordered to retreat with the Germans closing in on three sides. They fix up their M3 Lee tank and head south. Along the way, they pick up some stragglers, fend off the Germans, and even get POWs. The biggest threat however is the lack of water. The German forces are also in dire need for water.This is a fine propaganda war movie made at the height of WWII. Most of the Allie countries are well represented. They even have a colonial Sudanese to show the Nazi's racism. The Italian prisoner gives voice to the hope that the Italians are a reluctant axis power. The German prisoner is the typical evil Nazi. Their tank is contemporary for the actual battle. Of course, they don't have German equipment but the movie doesn't suffer for it. Bogie is a great Hollywood star and he's the perfect lead for this. The battle is a little bit static but they do have lots of action.

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!

Regardless of whether you like war pictures, there is a lot to like in "Sahara". Normally speaking, war movies are riddled with 2-dimensional characters, are either good guys or bad guys, and get killed or survive. But here, Director Zoltan Korda has fleshed out each player so that we are familiar with their backgrounds and motives. They are not comic-book soldiers because Korda has imbued the film with heart - we have a particular rooting interest for each character.Humphrey Bogart, 2 films removed from "Casablanca", is the anonymous hero, from "No place. The Army", just as in Casablanca. Sgt. Tambul, played by Rex Ingram, is despised by the captured German flier because of his race which he deems to be inferior, but Tambul proves to be the better man. Even the Italian prisoner, (J.Carroll Naish) we find, has a family and does not believe in Fascism - he just wants to go home.There are several gun battles for action fans and the films tense moments are heightened by background music written by Dmitri Tiomkin and directed by Max Steiner. Korda has overlooked nothing to bring us a great war picture, as I stated in my headline. This picture was on TCM recently. I have seen it several times and feel it is several cuts above the average war movie.