sahara43

With war films, there are really two types. Discerning which type a war film in question might be is
simply a matter of assessing its scale. There are epic history lessons that show the complex size
and power of battle, seen best in films like “The Longest Day,” “Battle of Britain” and “Midway.”
Then there are the war films that tell stories of just a few men and women in extreme circumstances
on the battlefields. These films are often fictional, but carry the essence of the related war with
them.

Of these centralized and intimate types of war films, few are better than “Sahara.” The movie takes
place in the North African desert, hence the title, and follows an American tank crew separated from
their armor division after a major engagement. Humphrey Bogart stars as the rough and ready
tank commander bent on getting back to the American army.

As they coax their tank out of the desert, they encounter a group of British and Australian soldiers,
along with a single Frenchman. These boys tag along with the tank as they head for an
abandoned mosque they’ve heard about that supposedly has a well where they can acquire water.
By the time they reach the mosque, they have also managed to gather up an Allied African soldier
along with an Italian prisoner and a German prisoner. One problem: The well is nearly dry.

Thoughts of moving on prove impossible when Bogie and the boys realize there is an entire
German reinforcement division headed their way, hoping to sandwich the Allied forces currently
fighting at El Alamein. The boys know that if the German’s reach El Alamein, it will spell doom for
the Allied troops. They make the decision to hold off an entire German division as long as
possible, under the ruse that there is actually water at the mosque, even though they themselves
will soon be dying of thirst.

Rarely are war films this powerful. Sure, it’s an idealized situation with every major Allied and Axis
nation represented by a character. Likely this film was trying to promote some war bond sales, but
that facet of its construction isn’t so easily seen. What has been left behind for film history is a
story of psychological warfare and courageous self-sacrifice.

The film is riddled with extremely good character development, even including Bogie’s tank!
Everyone in the group is a whole person, including the very young wounded soldier played by
Lloyd Bridges (“Attack on the Iron Coast”). Bogart is fantastic as the commanding officer who just
won’t give up and his supporting cast is superb.

Another impressive aspect of this film is the action, with explosions so close to the screen they rock
the camera. However, the most impressive treat of this flick is the thickness of the suspense. I was
sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if they would make it through the next wave, the next
attack. How are they going to do this? I asked myself that question a million times. “Sahara” really
holds the viewers attention. It’s a captivating story in a treacherous setting during turbulent times.