Good warlike movie focusing on the futility of war in the desert , in which a British unit stranded in Libyan desert in the path of Nazi infantry joins a pair of German soldiers . Regarding a certain depth of the roles that were portrayed in it and showing the true face of war : total nonsense. The events set in Lybia , as Mussolini occupied Tobruk as part of his campaign to invade the Suez canal, but the British easily took it from him on January 21, 1941. Hitler sent Rommel and the Africa Korps to retake the city and after a siege of 242 days they entered the city in December 1941 . Then Montgomery launched a successful contra-offensive against the Germans that were defeated by Eight Army in the battle of El Alamein which occurred in July, 1942 . It deals with Captain Bradbury who is tasked to lay mines through the desert . Their objective is to avoid a German advance , as Bradbury commands a varied team of misfit soldiers . They are the following ones : the tough commander officer (George Hilton) , an unsettling , crazed Canadian (Frank Wolff) , a wounded young soldier (Fabrizio Moroni) and a veteran (Rik Battaglia) . The squadron of British Commandos are making their way back to Allied lines after a raid , but they end up stranded in the middle of nowhere after their truck is partially destroyed by a German tank . They meet two survivors from a German tank (officer Robert Hossein and tank driver Ivano Staccioli) , all of them join forces and decide to attempt to run the several hundred miles along the desert . As the motley goup formed by British and German soldiers are trapped in the desert . The small group of British and German militay has to try to work together in order to survive back to their own lines . The expedition to rejoin their command must contend with warming desert , minefield , German patrols and a nutty Canadian ex-con soldier in the midst . The truck becomes stuck in a hole surrounded by explosive mines and all are busy digging the vehicle out . Of course this does not last long , as fatigue soon catches up with all the unfortunate soldiers . As they travel through the desert , they have no food, and very little water , needless to say the bad luck continues when the vehicle runs into a German recon patrol .
Story takes place during 1942 in the Libyan desert at the crucial battle in El Alamein , when the British finally defeated the German "Afrikakorps" , as a varied Brit/German group get together with their jeep , on a trip through the desert back to El-Alamein . It shows faithfully a lot of warlike feats , with few characters , few accurate words and in the overwhelming emptiness of the desert . The basic storyline is quite simple : during a tank raid , the British commando gets killed and the remaining members of the squad have to make their way back to friendly lines , along the way they lose some members but then capture an enemy tank , together with a German captain and a soldier . There are some brief biographic remarks about the main characters , and portraiting partially the madness of war, including several flashbacks with a German officer : Robert Hossein and his Brit sweetheart Evelyn Stewart or Ida Galli , and the soldier Fabrizio Moroni along with his pregnant girl Laura Belli , as well as the motorbiker Rik Battaglia . A number of stereotypes here ; a movie about an unlikely band of people , attempting to survive in the desert . This is a pretty good film with nice work from the entire cast and crew . The film , made in Libya ; in fact , producers thanksgiving the Lybian Army , features several authentic German tanks , this is an enjoyable movie about wartime adventures , courage , betrayal and craziness . Interesting screenplay by the prolfic writer Ernesto Gastaldi based on his own story . Although routinely directed and inclined to be talky , the film does have a fair degree of special appeal for people like me who like to watch films that present characters that are way different from the norm. It is especially recommended for the art to use stereotypes in nice style and the image of the other in war times . The film bears a certain resemblance to ¨A Taxi for Tobruk¨ (1961) by Denys De La Patelliere concerning a similar plot . It displays an atmospheric cinematography by Federico Zanni , as well as a rousing and moving musical score by Bruno Nicolai who usual collaborator to great Ennio Morricone . The motion picture was well directed by Mino Loy , though it has some flaws and failures . Rating : 6.5/10 . Intense performance , fascinating plot , keeps one glued to the yarn . A really entertaining war movie and even today still worthwhile watching . A pity this film is far underrated and not very well known.
Other films dealing with the African campaign include : ¨Desert Rats¨ by Robert Wise , ¨Tobruk¨ by Arthur Hiller, ¨Raid on Rommel¨ by Henry Hathaway, ¨Rats of Tobruk¨Terence Young. And Macaroni Combat films as ¨Kill Rommel¨by Alfonso Brescia , ¨War devils¨ by Bitto Albertini , ¨Desert commando¨by Umberto Lenzi , ¨The Battle of the Last Panzer¨by José Luis Merino and ¨Battle El Alamein¨ by Giorgo Ferroni.
Story takes place during 1942 in the Libyan desert at the crucial battle in El Alamein , when the British finally defeated the German "Afrikakorps" , as a varied Brit/German group get together with their jeep , on a trip through the desert back to El-Alamein . It shows faithfully a lot of warlike feats , with few characters , few accurate words and in the overwhelming emptiness of the desert . The basic storyline is quite simple : during a tank raid , the British commando gets killed and the remaining members of the squad have to make their way back to friendly lines , along the way they lose some members but then capture an enemy tank , together with a German captain and a soldier . There are some brief biographic remarks about the main characters , and portraiting partially the madness of war, including several flashbacks with a German officer : Robert Hossein and his Brit sweetheart Evelyn Stewart or Ida Galli , and the soldier Fabrizio Moroni along with his pregnant girl Laura Belli , as well as the motorbiker Rik Battaglia . A number of stereotypes here ; a movie about an unlikely band of people , attempting to survive in the desert . This is a pretty good film with nice work from the entire cast and crew . The film , made in Libya ; in fact , producers thanksgiving the Lybian Army , features several authentic German tanks , this is an enjoyable movie about wartime adventures , courage , betrayal and craziness . Interesting screenplay by the prolfic writer Ernesto Gastaldi based on his own story . Although routinely directed and inclined to be talky , the film does have a fair degree of special appeal for people like me who like to watch films that present characters that are way different from the norm. It is especially recommended for the art to use stereotypes in nice style and the image of the other in war times . The film bears a certain resemblance to ¨A Taxi for Tobruk¨ (1961) by Denys De La Patelliere concerning a similar plot . It displays an atmospheric cinematography by Federico Zanni , as well as a rousing and moving musical score by Bruno Nicolai who usual collaborator to great Ennio Morricone . The motion picture was well directed by Mino Loy , though it has some flaws and failures . Rating : 6.5/10 . Intense performance , fascinating plot , keeps one glued to the yarn . A really entertaining war movie and even today still worthwhile watching . A pity this film is far underrated and not very well known.
Other films dealing with the African campaign include : ¨Desert Rats¨ by Robert Wise , ¨Tobruk¨ by Arthur Hiller, ¨Raid on Rommel¨ by Henry Hathaway, ¨Rats of Tobruk¨Terence Young. And Macaroni Combat films as ¨Kill Rommel¨by Alfonso Brescia , ¨War devils¨ by Bitto Albertini , ¨Desert commando¨by Umberto Lenzi , ¨The Battle of the Last Panzer¨by José Luis Merino and ¨Battle El Alamein¨ by Giorgo Ferroni.