Sahara (1943)

Second viewing; first seen on May 23, 1998.

The ultimate source of this movie is the novel Patrol, by Philip MacDonald, first published in 1927. IMDB makes a mistake when it credits MacDonald for a "story based on an incident in the Soviet Photoplay The Thirteen". That movie was released in 1937 and was probably based on MacDonald's novel or one of its previous film versions. I am grateful for commenter Diosprometheus for first pointing out some of these facts on the aforementioned Soviet film's IMDB page.

During World War 2, a group of allied soldiers in Africa receives orders to retreat to the South. They pick up a few others along the way and decide to look for water. They eventually find it next to a small building, and, while stationed there, come up with a heroic plan.

Entertaining war adventure, with blatantly stereotypical characterizations and juvenile plot. The cinematography is excellent, and was probably the main reason for my deciding to view it a second time, now in a better copy.

Rating: 57 (down from 66)