zardoz-13 A crippled American fighter-bomber tries to elude a tenacious German tank in the North African desert in director David Lowell Rich's "Death Race," a contrived cat-and-mouse World War II thriller, co-starring Doug McClure, Lloyd Bridges, Eric Braeden, and Roy Thinnes. For the record, the plane is an actual, vintage, 1940's era Allied war plane, and two P-40s are shown flying over the desert. However, the German Panther tank is a replaced American Sherman tank. The performances are average, with Lloyd Bridges hamming it up as a German officer who has clearly gone off his rocker. As World War II movies go, "Death Race" is definitely outlandish. The worst problem with this hour and 15 minute epic is its inconclusive ending and leaves the opposing sides in a desert stand-off.Doug McClure plays a happy-go-luck American fighter pilot Lieutenant Del Culpepper who is running low on fuel when he lands at a British airfield, only to find himself recruited back into combat by the English. As turns out, the Africa Korps is in full retreat, and the British want to destroy a German minefield to prevent unsuspecting Arabs from wandering by accident into it and getting blown-up. Culpepper is extremely reluctant to carry out his mission. The British explain that they have a similar P-40 Tomahawk, but their aircraft is not equipped with a bomb rack. Another American pilot, Arnold McMillan (Roy Thinnes of TV's "The Invaders"), who joined the British Eagle Squadron before the United States entered the war, serves as Culpepper's wingman on the mission. Meanwhile, a high-ranking German commander, Hans Pimler (Lloyd Bridges of TV's "Sea Hunt"), has survived a battle that leaves him the lone survivor. Just when things look bad for one of the Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's top officers, Pimler spots a lone German Panther tank tooling through the sand dunes. He hitches a ride on it. About the same time that all this takes place, Culpepper decides to drop his only bomb. Culpepper doesn't have his heart in his mission and only sticks around because McMillan, a fighter ace in his own right, threatens to shoot him down. After Culpepper has ditched his bomb, McMillan sites a German convoy and makes a strafing run on it. The Panther tank and its crew that got lost in the desert is now under Pimler's command, and the high ranking German officer participates in the battle. The Panther's tank commander is wounded, and Pimler manages to shoot down McMillan's plane. Culpepper lands and rescues McMillan, but the two Americans find themselves pursued by Pimler in the Panther tank. As it turns out, Pimler is taking the crew of the Panther tank to a secret rendezvous in the desert where survivors have been ordered to meet in case of disaster. They chase our heroes in the damaged plane who realize that they are bound for their original target, the German minefield. Along the way, Culpepper and McMillan shrug off their differences and struggle to keep their ground aircraft far enough ahead of Pimler so they won't be captured.Eventually, the big showdown comes with Culpepper driving his plane at Pimler's tank in an old West showdown. By this time, McMillan has bitten dust and the tankers under Pimler's command have lost faith in their unhinged leader. As crazy as "Death Race" is, director David Lowell Rich and scenarist Charles Kuenstle, who later provided the story for "Airport '77," could have furnished a stronger ending rather than the wash0ut they end this made-for-television movie. The footage of convoy scene where McMillan strafes the Germans has lifted from the Universal Pictures' theatrical release "Raid on Rommel."

Geoffrey901 Death race, a.k.a. State of Division, was a made for TV movie, that for the time especially, was very well done. The German tank actually had correct markings for one used in North Africa, the P-40 was about the right series, the clothing and weapons were all pretty much correct-except for two glaring goofs. Bridge's character sported a Luger pistol, and while this is an authentic German WWl sidearm, almost no command rank officer carried one, most favored the more modern and reliable Walther P-38. The only other readily apparent wrong is the P-40 supposedly had 20mm cannons as wing guns. No Curtiss P-40 of any series (B through N) was equipped thusly from the New York factory, and the only change the British made to theirs was changing the wing and cowl mount guns to .303 Brownings instead of the standard .30 caliber U.S. I actually enjoyed this movie for the most part, as it really was very authentic, and for someone like me (a confirmed military history buff!), the closer they get it to right, the easier it is to just watch and get lost in the story. I do wish it had been made longer, so more character development could have taken place. McClure's Culpepper starts off as a 'get by' kind of guy, not really caring much about the war or any greater ideal than his next meal or shower. They really rushed his change to a 'now I see why I should care' after a day and a half spent with the Thinne's McMillan, an Eagle squadron pilot, whom he starts taking a liking too through their shared dilemma. McMillan starts to explain why he enlisted with the British, why he put himself into harms way, but never gives the reason. The final 'battle' sequence at the end is pretty exciting, but again feels rushed. The movie runs approx. 90 minutes, so overall, except for the above listed comments, I feel this is an enjoyable movie for both the WWll buff or the action/drama movie watcher.

djaxon The equipment is worth watching in this movie. The two P-40's are nice to watch, and what other movie shows a P-40 being "bombed up" with a really big 500 pounder. The tank is a chance to see armor work in real sand. It is a late model M-4 but so what, it looks good and is fun to watch in desert terain, which is not all flat as it really was in North Afrika. And wasn't that sargent in Rat Patrol? All the actors give a good show and I liked this movie for its location, equipment and action.

ebert-11 I remember seeing this movie during college at University of Houston and I remember being spell bound by the concept of a tank chasing a plane across a desert, and the psychological warfare that was taking place in side the tank,because of his endless pursuit of the enemy who was crippled like an animal, but was not ready to show mercy. until the surprising end.A great movie that brings you into there struggle.Would like to find a copy of this movie somewhere for purchase