In this WW II adventure, five brave Allies endeavor to escape from an Italian POW camp in North Africa. They succeed, but their trials are not over as they must still cross the burning Libyan desert to get safely behind Allied lines. En route they are captured by a Nazi-loving sheik. The sheik takes considerable time to decide the fate of the escapees; in that time, the five manage to escape again. This time they kill their captors.
Though it stars the charismatic Victor Mature, the focus isn't just on him, the other cast members such as Leo Genn, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano -who steals the scene as a soldier gone kill mad - get screen time. It's a solid WWII POW escape film with a strong boys own adventure leanings - there's some tense moments and a ton of explosions courtesy of WWII real tanks that blow things up everywhere. Character development is curtailed due to the frantic and a sense of urgency of the escape and adventure where things happen. Superb desert scenery that is depicted as a harsh environment than in a dreamy and romantic adds some grit. Victor Mature is excellent as always, the scene where he holds a dead Luciana Paluzzi and covers her with a blanket is touchingly done.
Though it stars the charismatic Victor Mature, the focus isn't just on him, the other cast members such as Leo Genn, Anthony Newley and Bonar Colleano -who steals the scene as a soldier gone kill mad - get screen time. It's a solid WWII POW escape film with a strong boys own adventure leanings - there's some tense moments and a ton of explosions courtesy of WWII real tanks that blow things up everywhere. Character development is curtailed due to the frantic and a sense of urgency of the escape and adventure where things happen. Superb desert scenery that is depicted as a harsh environment than in a dreamy and romantic adds some grit. Victor Mature is excellent as always, the scene where he holds a dead Luciana Paluzzi and covers her with a blanket is touchingly done.